The Day John Henry Died Drive-By Truckers

I watched the rain, it settled in
We disappeared for days again
Most of us were staying in
Lazy like the sky

The letters flew across the wire
Filtered through a million liars
The whole world smelled like burning tires
The day John Henry died

We knew about that big machine
That ran on human hope and steam
Bets on John were far between
Mostly on the side

We heard he put up quite a fight
His hands and feet turned snowy white
That hammer rang out through the night
The day John Henry died

When John Henry was a little bitty baby
Nobody ever taught him how to read
But he knew the perfect way to hold a hammer
Was the way the railroad baron held the deed

It didn't matter if he won
If he lived, or if he'd run
They changed the way his job was done
Labor costs were high