Meaning Behind John Henry

It was later commonly spelled heinrich with the spelling altered due to the influence of other germanic names like haganrich in which the first element is hagan enclosure.

Meaning behind john henry. John henry refused to accept this decision. He died shortly after some say from exhaustion some say from a stroke. Between 1868 and 1870 the c o railroad was building rail lines in southern wv when it had to tunnel through.

John henry won the legend says driving 14 feet to the drill s nine. While the character may or may not have been based on a real person henry became an important blue collar icon as the saga of his race against a steam powered hammer developed mythic proportions. In 1877 a cut in pay.

John henry was an american folk hero who legend has it built the mighty railroads that span the united states. The ballad of john henry song meanings add your thoughts 1 comment. One of those stories involves a man a machine and a legacy left behind.

From the germanic name heimirich meaning home ruler composed of the elements heim home and ric ruler. The ballad of john henry is a traditional song also called a popular ballad. Much of the john henry story can be traced to the author guy johnson who published a book called john henry.

Or perhaps it s that john henry represents to us a man who stayed true despite living in a time and place where just like in big bend the. It is told that john henry a former slave worked for the c o railroad driving steel a job required when blasting rock. Tracking down a negro legend in 1929.

John henry s legend grew in fact during the early years of the american labor movement and some of the most violent labor battles during those years occurred on the railroads. This early version was called john henry steel driving man and contained 12 stanzas. Who killed john henry.