"John Hardy" is a traditional American

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

based on the life of a railroad worker living in

McDowell County, West Virginia McDowell County is a county in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,111. Its county seat is Welch. McDowell County is the southernmost county in the state. It was created in 1858 by the Virginia Gener ...

in the Spring of 1893. The historical John Hardy is believed to have gotten into a drunken dispute during a craps game held near

Keystone Keystone or key-stone or ''variation'', may refer to: * Keystone (architecture), a central stone or other piece at the apex of an arch or vault * Keystone (cask), a fitting used in ale casks Business * Keystone Law, a full-service law firm * D ...

, and subsequently killed a man named Thomas Drews. Hardy was found guilty of murder in the first degree, and was hanged on January 19, 1894, with 3,000 people allegedly in attendance. Hardy is believed to have made peace with the Lord the morning before his death by being baptized in a river.

Overview

The song has been performed by numerous artists from the 1920s through the present, including (in alphabetical order) Tom Adams, Clarence "Tom" Ashley,

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with

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(as the

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to their hit single "

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"),

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. The earliest known recordings are credited to Eva Davis for

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in 1924,

for

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in 1925, and

for Brunswick in 1927. As with many other traditional folk songs, lyrics change from version to version. Early folk historians confused the ballads of John Hardy and John Henry. This has led to a mixing of stories related to Hardy and Henry. In fact, the historical John Henry was a steel driver, not a railroad worker.

John Harrington Cox John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

, in an early (1919) article in ''The Journal of American Folklore'' attempts to disentangle the history of the two songs and their main characters, and provides a detailed discussion of five versions of "John Hardy." Interestingly, most later versions of the song open with the lyric, "John Hardy was a desperate little man." But all contemporary accounts of the real John Hardy describe him as about six feet tall and strongly built. Alternate early lyrics describe him as a "brave little man" or a "brave and desperate man."

has written and recorded a song 'Thomas Drew' which recounts the tale from the POV of the victim.

References

External links

Historical account of John Hardy's trial and execution
{{authority control American folk songs Burl Ives songs Lead Belly songs Songs about West Virginia Year of song unknown Songs about criminals Cultural depictions of American men Murder ballads

Overview

See also

References

External links