Big Bad John:Jimmy (Ray) Dean.
#1 Hot 100..#1 Adult Contemp..#1 Country in 1961.
INTRO:
F G F G
Big John, Big John..
#1.
G F
Every morning at the mine you could see him arrive,
G F
he stood six foot six and weighed two forty five.
#2.
G F
Kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip,
G F G
and everybody knew you didn't give no lip, to Big John.
CHORUS:
Em C D G
Big John, Big Jo..hn..Big bad John..
F G
Big John.
#3.
G F
Nobody seemed to know where John called home,
G F
he just drifted into town and stayed all alone.
#4.
G F
He didn't say much, kinda quiet and shy,
G F G
and if you spoke at all, you just said, hi, to Big John.
#5.
G F
Somebody said he came from New Orleans,
G F
where he got in a fight over a Cajun Queen.
G F
And a crashing blow from a huge right hand,
G F G
sent a Louisiana fellow to the Promised Land, Big John.
CHORUS:
Em C D G
Big John, Big Jo..hn..Big bad John..
F G
Big John.
#6.
G F
Then came the day at the bottom of the mine,
G F
when a timber cracked and men started cryin'.
G F
Miners were praying and hearts beat fast..
G F
And everybody thought that they'd breathed their last,
G
'cept John.
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#7.
G F
Through the dust and the smoke of this man-made hell,
G F
walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well.
G F
Grabbed a sagging timber and gave out with a groan,
G F G
And like a giant Oak tree he just stood there alone, Big John.
CHORUS:
Em C D G
Big John, Big Jo..hn..Big bad John..
G G#
Big John.
#8.
G# F#
And with all of his strength he gave a mighty shove,
G# F#
then a miner yelled out, 'There's a light up above!'
G# F#
And twenty men scrambled from a would-be grave..
G# F# G#
Now, there's only one left, down there to save..Big John.
#9.
G# F#
With jacks and timbers they started back down,
G# F#
then came that rumble way down in the ground.
G# F#
And then smoke and gas belched out of that mine..
G# F# G#
Everybody knew it was the end of the line, for Big John.
CHORUS:
Fm C# D# G#
Big John, Big Jo..hn..Big bad John..
F# G#
Big John.
#10.
G# F#
Now, they never reopened that worthless pit,
G# F#
They just placed a marble stand in front of it.
G# F#
These few words are written on that stand..
G# F# G#
'At the bottom of this mine, lies a big, big man, Big John.'
CHORUS:
Fm C# D# G#
Big John, Big Jo..hn..Big bad John..
F# G#
Big John.
OUTRO:
F# G# F# G#
Big John..Big Bad John..(Fade.)
A sixties smash from Kraziekhat.
