The song is based around a G chord and repeats this throughout
e|—0—–|-3——-1——-|-3—–3———|—————–|—————–|
B|-3—–0-|—————–|———–0—–|—————–|——-0——0–|
G|———|—————–|—————–|-0—————|———–3—–|
D|—–0—|—–0——-0—|—–0——-0—|—–2——-2—|—–2——–0–|
A|———|—————–|—————–|—————–|—————–|
E|-3——-|-3——-3——-|-3——-3——-|-3——-3——-|-3——-3——-|
|—————–|—1—1—–0-1-|-0—————|—3—3—–0-3-|
|—————–|—–0—–3—–|—————–|—–0—–3—–|
|-0———0—0-|—————–|———–0—0-|—————–|
|—–0——-0—|—–0——-0—|—–0——-0—|—–0——-0—|
|———2——-|—————–|———2——-|—————–|
|-3—————|-3——-3——-|-3—————|-3——-3——-|
|—————–||———||———-3——-|
|—————–|*———|*———-0——-|
|———–0—0-||———||———-0——-|
|—–0——-0—||—–0—||—–0—-0——-|
|———2——-|*———|*———-2——-|
|-3—————||-3——-||-3——–3——-|
John Henry was a steel driving man
Yes he went down
Well he went down
You just take this hammer and carry it to my captain
Oh tell him I’m gone
Won’t you tell him I’m gone
John Henry, he left his hammer
Layin’ aside the road
Layin’ aside the road
John Henry, he left his hammer
All painted in red
All painted in red
You just take this hammer and carry it to my captain
Yes tell him I’m gone
Won’t you tell him I’m gone
This is the hammer that killed John Henry
But it won’t kill me
No it won’t kill me
I walked all the way from East Colorado
Baby that’s my home
Honey that’s my home
That’s where I’m goin’
You just take this hammer and carry it to my captain
Oh tell him I’m gone
Won’t you tell him I’m gone
e|—0—–|-3——-1——-|-3—–3———|—————–|—————–|
B|-3—–0-|—————–|———–0—–|—————–|——-0——0–|
G|———|—————–|—————–|-0—————|———–3—–|
D|—–0—|—–0——-0—|—–0——-0—|—–2——-2—|—–2——–0–|
A|———|—————–|—————–|—————–|—————–|
E|-3——-|-3——-3——-|-3——-3——-|-3——-3——-|-3——-3——-|
|—————–|—1—1—–0-1-|-0—————|—3—3—–0-3-|
|—————–|—–0—–3—–|—————–|—–0—–3—–|
|-0———0—0-|—————–|———–0—0-|—————–|
|—–0——-0—|—–0——-0—|—–0——-0—|—–0——-0—|
|———2——-|—————–|———2——-|—————–|
|-3—————|-3——-3——-|-3—————|-3——-3——-|
|—————–||———||———-3——-|
|—————–|*———|*———-0——-|
|———–0—0-||———||———-0——-|
|—–0——-0—||—–0—||—–0—-0——-|
|———2——-|*———|*———-2——-|
|-3—————||-3——-||-3——–3——-|
John Henry was a steel driving man
Yes he went down
Well he went down
You just take this hammer and carry it to my captain
Oh tell him I’m gone
Won’t you tell him I’m gone
John Henry, he left his hammer
Layin’ aside the road
Layin’ aside the road
John Henry, he left his hammer
All painted in red
All painted in red
You just take this hammer and carry it to my captain
Yes tell him I’m gone
Won’t you tell him I’m gone
This is the hammer that killed John Henry
But it won’t kill me
No it won’t kill me
I walked all the way from East Colorado
Baby that’s my home
Honey that’s my home
That’s where I’m goin’
You just take this hammer and carry it to my captain
Oh tell him I’m gone
Won’t you tell him I’m gone