From the recording It's a Very Good Life
Lyrics
Polly Ann’s Man
by Dianne Bochsler, Ed Johnson, Paul Elliott
The first time I saw John Henry
I was riding on that Chesapeake line
Just looking out my window
And Oh that man looked fine, Lord Lord
Oh that man looked fine
The steam train had lost an engine
We were stopped there on that track
They said, “This could be a long night ladies
And there ain’t no turning back, Lord Lord
There ain’t no turning back”
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My eyes were on John Henry
He was born for driving steel
He could hoist a jack and lay a track
But a man ain’t nothing but a man, Lord Lord
A man ain’t nothing but a man
John Henry stood there grinning
As I stepped down off that train
I held my ground, he laid that hammer down
‘Cause a man ain’t nothing but a man, Lord Lord
A man ain’t nothing but a man
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John Henry was a steel driving man
The strongest, folks agree
If he’d let the steam drill win that race
He’d still be here with me, Lord Lord
He’d still be here with me
I watched as they laid John Henry
‘Neath the West Virginia sand
He may be a steel driving legend
But a man ain’t nothing but a man, Lord Lord
A man ain’t nothing but a man