Big Bad John (Cover)

Wildgeas Music

Just messing around on a Saturday morning. A
rough cut at best, but I get a kick out of it.
This is a song by the great Jimmy Dean - 1961
I used to spin this 45 RPM record way back when I
wore a young boy’s clothes. I always wanted to
cover it. This is to see if I could actually do it.
I may or may not do it up for real sometime.

Of course, Jimmy did it a bit different :)

This is 3 drum loops, a bass guitar, and a fuzzed up Ibanez. Basically a raw 3 piece and my unpolished vocals.

Big Bad John

Ever’ mornin’ the mine you could see him arrive
He stood six-foot six and weighed two forty-five
Kinda broad at the shoulders and narrow at the hip
Ever’ body knew you didn’t give no “lip”, to Big
John

Nobody seemed to know where John called home
He just drifted into town and stayed all alone
He didn’t say much, kinda quiet and shy
And if you spoke at all, well, you 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;

Then came the day at the bottom of the mine
When a timber cracked and men started cryin’
Miners were prayin’ and hearts beat fast
And ever’body tho’t that they’d breathed their last, ’cept John;

Thru the dust and the smoke of this man made hell
Walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well
Grabbed a sagging timber and gave out with a groan
And like a giant Oak tree just stood there alone,
Big John;

With all of his strength, he gave a mighty shove
Then a miner yelled out, there’s a light up above
And twenty men scrambled from a would-be grave
And 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 smoke and gas belched out of that mine
And ever’body knew it was the end of the line, for Big John;

Now they never reopened 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;

Jimmy Dean - 1961