Take this hammer and carry it to the captain
Tell him I'm gone, won't you tell him I'm gone
Take this hammer and carry it to the captain 
Tell him I'm gone, cause I sure is gone

This is the hammer that killed John Henry
But it won't kill me, no it won't kill me
This is the hammer that killed John Henry

It's a long way from east Colorado
To my home, to my home
It's a long way from east Colorado
To my home, that's where I'm going

John Henry was a steel driving man
But he went down, oh he went down
John Henry was a steel driving man
But he went down, down in the ground, that's where I'm 
goin