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John Henry's Son

from Dirt & Heartache by Jay Stott

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lyrics

John Henry’s Son- JG Stott

John Henry was my father, and I am my father’s son,
But that ain’t the kind of thing it’s easy to live with when the working day is done.
I don’t know if it was worse to wish him dead, or miss him now that he’s gone,
But you don’t ever get to pick your father and he never picked his son.


Yes he was a steel driving bastard, that part of the story is true
But did you ever think what a bastard is like when you’re only a child of two.
He never gave me more than the back of his hand, I wanted a father, I wanted a friend.
But when your father’s a legend and you’re just a kid, there ain’t a damn thing you can do.

Living with a story ain’t no joy, kinda takes away the power of choice,
Stuck in between the silence and the noise, with no place to go.
Looking high and low for some way out, running from a life of fear and doubt,
All you can do is to scream and to shout, and hide behind a slamming door.

Living with a legend, just ain’t that much fun,
I can still hear the ring of that hammer, even though his day is done.
I’ve tried to block out that sound, it’s a battle that I’ve never won,
And it starts all over again every time I hear that goddamned song.

Now I swing a pretty fair hammer, learned a couple of other things too,
But I can’t compete with a man whose dead, no matter what I do.
I’m stuck here and I can’t break out, when I was younger I would just cry and pout,
Now I walk with the ghosts and live with the doubt, ‘cause there ain’t nothing else to do.

John Henry was my father, and I am my father’s son…

credits

from Dirt & Heartache, released March 12, 2016
Jay Stott- Guitar, vocal
Arthur Lee Land- Guitar
Brian Schey- Bass
Brian McRae- Drums
Ash Ganley- Vocals

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Jay Stott Lyons, Colorado

Jay Stott plays roots music the way you like it: sad, gritty, and loud.

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