Big Bad John
Big John, Big John
Ev'ry mornin' at the mine you could see him arrive
He stood six foot six and weighed two forty five
Kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip
And everybody knew,
you didn't give no lip to Big John
(CHORUS)
(Big John, Big John)
Big Bad John
(Big John)
Nobody seemed to know where John called home
He just drifted into town and stayed all alone
He didn't say much,
he kinda quiet and shy
And if he spoke at all, He just said "Hi" to Big John
Somebody said he came from New Orleans
Where he got in a fight over a Cajun Queen
And a crashin' blow from a huge right hand
Sent a Louisiana fellow to the Promised Land,
Big John
(CHORUS)
Then came the day at the bottom of the mine
When a timber cracked and men started cryin'
Miners were praying' and hearts beat fast
And everybody thought
That they breathed their last, 'cept John
Through the dust
And the smoke of this man-made hell
Walked a giant of a man
That the miners knew well
Grabbed a saggin' timber, gave out with a groan
And like a giant oak tree
He just stood there alone,
Big John
(CHORUS)
And with all his strength he gave a mighty shove
Then a miner yelled out, "There's a light above"
And twenty men scrambled from a would-be grave
Now there's only one left down there to save,
Big John
With jacks and timbers they started back down
Then came that rumble way down in the ground
And the smoke and gas belched out of that mine
Everybody knew it was the end of the line for
Big John
(CHORUS)
Now they never reopen that worthless pit
They just placed a marble stand in front of it
These few words are written on that stand
At the bottom of this mine lies a big, big man
Big John
(Big John, Big John)
Big Bad John
(Big John)
(Big John)
Big Bad John
--Jimmy Dean, Big Bad John, Released in 1961