Chords for Rod McKuen sings 'John Henry' on Arthur Godfrey's "Talent Scouts" (1955)

This happens to be the second time in the long, long history of Talent Scouts
that this show comes from the West Coast.
Now it's not that they've run out of talent back East,
it's just that we found some out here.
So who knows, tonight we may discover a new Elvis Presley.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _
But let's bring Rod out here so he has his chance tonight.
So into the Tony spotlight, we present _
Rod McIlwain.
Rod.
_ _ [F] _ _ [C] _
_ [Dm] _ _ [Am] _ _ _ [C] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ This [B] here's a story about John Henry.
_ John [C] Henry, _ he could hammer,
_ he could whistle, he could sing. _
He went singing in the mountains early in the morning,
just [C] to hear his [G] hammer ring, _ [G] _
[A] hear his [Em] hammer ring.
_ _ [A] _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ _ _
When John Henry [C] was a little baby, _
was sitting on his mama's knee.
_ [G] _
[C] He picked up a hammer, lord, a little piece of steel, said,
hammer be [Dm] the death [C] over me, [F] _
_ [G] hammer be [Dm] the death [C] over me. _
_ _ _ _ John Henry called to his captain,
he said, captain, I want to hear you sing.
_ [G] I swing [C] 13 pounds from my hips on down,
I love to hear [Dm] the cold steel [Em] ring, _ [F] _ [C] I love to hear the cold steel ring. _ _ _ _
Well, the captain called to
John Henry, _ I'm gonna bring me a steam drill around, _ [G]
I'm [C] gonna bring me a steam drill out on
the job, and hook that [Em] steel on down, [F] _
[C] and hook that [F] steel on down, [C] _
hook [Dm] that steel [Em] on down,
Lord, [F] _
[C] hook [G] that steel [G#] on [A#] down.
_ [Bm] _ _ [G#] _ [C#] John Henry had a little woman, _ her name [F#] was Polly [Fm] Ann.
_ [D#] _ When old [C#] John Henry got sick one day, and hammered steel like a man, [F#] _ _ [G#] and [F#] hammered steel [C#] like a man,
_ _ and [F#] hammered steel [C#] like a man, yes [F#] she did, [C#] and [A#m] hammered steel like a man.
_ _ [C#] _ _ _
John Henry,
he drove into the mountains, his hammer [F#] was striking [Fm] fire, [G#] _
[C#] he drove so hard he broke his poor heart.
He laid down his hammer and he died, [F#] _
[G#] he laid down his hammer [C#] and he died, _ he laid down [D#m] his hammer and [C#] he
died, Lord, [F#]
Lord, [C#] he laid down [F#] his hammer and [C#] he died.
Let me tell you all about it.
Oh, they took
John Henry to the graveyard, _ _ _ they buried him [G#] in the sand, _ _ [G#m] _
_ [C#] each and every _ locomotive comes a
_ roaring by, cries there lies a steel driving man, _ _ there lies a steel driving [C#m] man, _ _ [C#]
there lies a steel
driving man, there _ lies a [D#] steel driving man. _ _ _
_ _ Polly Ann went down by the railway,
_ she wore was red, _ get out of my way you steel [A#m] driving man, I'm going where Johnny lies [D#m] dead,
_ I'm [F#] going where Johnny lies [C#] dead, _ [A] _ [C#] where Johnny lies dead, good [D#] God, _ _ [C#] going where my [G#] Johnny _ lies dead. _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _