C

It’s the kind of life I doubt you’d understand

G

I'd give anything just to hear that cold steel ring

I was born with a hammer in my hand

Swingin’ steel's the only life I've known

I've never been afraid to be alone

I hope my Mama understands, I'll always be a working man

I was born with a hammer in my hand

John Henry was a steel drivin man

You could bear his hammer ring across the land

But before the steam drill came, John Henry knew my name

I was born with a hammer in my hand

Boss man tries to break a good man's back

He takes thirty men to lay a mile of track

But if my shaker holds the line, they'll be thirty miles behind

I was born with a hammer in my hand

John Henry was a steel drivin’ man

You can hear his hammer ring across the land

But if you put us side by side, he'd have to take a ride

Cause I was born with a hammer in my hand

Yes, I'll die with a hammer in my hand