Joan Henry – she was a strong woman
Strong as any man
She said give me that iron hammer
Just put it in my hand
Joan Henry she was no lady
She wore her britches too high
She said let me swing that hammer
And I will build you a railroad to the sky
Joan Henry the bosses teased her
They said go on – go on run on home
Go find you a little husband
One that will not let you roam,
One that will not let you roam..
Joan Henry she picked up that hammer
And she laid that hammer down
The spike they could not find it
She banged it 50 miles into the ground,
Lord Lord, 50 miles into the ground..
Joan Henry the bosses told her
They said "You can be our girl"
Just take your iron hammer
Build a track around the world,
Lord Lord- A track around the world..
Joan Henry it took her one month
And she was working most every day
She built the little railroad to Californ I-A,
Lord Lord, Californ-I-A..
Joan Henry -she was ready
To build over the sea
But when she saw her pay cut
Well hell hath no fury,
Lord Lord Hell hath no fury..
Joan Henry she was a smart woman
Smart as any man
She don't work for half pay
She tore the tracks up with her hand,
Lord Lord, the tracks up with her hand
Joan Henry she still got that hammer
On that mountain high
And she's teaching all the little girls now
To build a railroad to the sky
Lord Lord, Build a railroad to the sky..
Build a railroad to the sky.
Strong as any man
She said give me that iron hammer
Just put it in my hand
Joan Henry she was no lady
She wore her britches too high
She said let me swing that hammer
And I will build you a railroad to the sky
Joan Henry the bosses teased her
They said go on – go on run on home
Go find you a little husband
One that will not let you roam,
One that will not let you roam..
Joan Henry she picked up that hammer
And she laid that hammer down
The spike they could not find it
She banged it 50 miles into the ground,
Lord Lord, 50 miles into the ground..
Joan Henry the bosses told her
They said "You can be our girl"
Just take your iron hammer
Build a track around the world,
Lord Lord- A track around the world..
Joan Henry it took her one month
And she was working most every day
She built the little railroad to Californ I-A,
Lord Lord, Californ-I-A..
Joan Henry -she was ready
To build over the sea
But when she saw her pay cut
Well hell hath no fury,
Lord Lord Hell hath no fury..
Joan Henry she was a smart woman
Smart as any man
She don't work for half pay
She tore the tracks up with her hand,
Lord Lord, the tracks up with her hand
Joan Henry she still got that hammer
On that mountain high
And she's teaching all the little girls now
To build a railroad to the sky
Lord Lord, Build a railroad to the sky..
Build a railroad to the sky.
Contributed by giorgio - 2010/11/11 - 09:21
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Lyrics & Music by Rob Lincoln
"Joan Henry is my feminist folk tale song.. Lessick and me only performed this a few times at the end of our stint. A few more times practicing and we might have really hammered down the arrangement. We didn't quite nail this one. But the harmonies we attempted to lay down were dramatic".