John Henry | Steel-Drivin' Legend

A man of great strength and a powerful heart, John Henry epitomized the power of the human spirit as he challenges the then-new technology of the steam drill to a race. It's man versus machine in this timeless tale, told elegantly by guest narrator Dani Burke!

MYTHOLOGY HAS BEEN TOLD AND RETOLD IN MANY FORMS ACROSS TIME, STORIES AND ACCOUNTS MAY VARY.

REFERENCES:

GUEST NARRATOR:
Dani Burke

OPENING:

MUSIC:
"In the Sweet By and By" Mark Burchfield
"John Henry theme" from Tall Tale

CLIPS:
"John Henry" by Disney

ART BY:
Jerry Pinkney
Palmer C Hayden

If I used your artwork please let me know so I can give proper credit!

[Gearz-]

I love this story. It's a classic scenario of man vs machine. Especially since John fought off the steam drill to save him and his friends from losing their jobs. He may have died, but he died a hero, and even the drill couldn't catch up and broke down before John even finished. His story will forever live on

[TheMovieUniverse]

No American will ever forget the name John Henry!

[anarchochristian]

Certainly one of the best American folk heroes.

[houstonfrey]

Used to hear about John a lot end second third grade I love the stories about him can you did a really great job on this I love your Channel❤❤

[skurvay]

No matter how advanced Technology may get, it will never be able to compete with the Human Heart & Spirit, That is just one of the lessons that the Legend of John Henry teaches us.

[benjaminfeld]

I heard somewhere that some legends claim that John Henry didn't actually die that day but actually fell into a deep sleep from which he hasn't yet woken up.

Kind of reminiscent of the legend of King Arthur.

[Gunganfan]

Wonderful
Marvelous
A man with the strength of many (Yes, he was
Brave and bold with a heart of gold
John Henry was a mighty man
Born with a hammer right in his hand

[markgreiser]

One of my favorite Stories, ever. Heroes mean an lot to me. Real Heroes, not the kind that are Men playing Child's games, for a living. I think John Henry was a real Man. God rest his Soul.

[comettamer]

John Henry was a mighty, mighty man and even the march of technology was no match for him.

[aidanhever]

He's the main inspiration for the character of John Henry Irons AKA Steel from the Superman mythos.

[ayodari_style]

Thank you for doing this video! We love this tall tale!

[codyherrera]

Need to do Pecos bill next in american tall tells and legends

[Wyrmshield]

I was not expecting this story to be so epic, wow

[nicholasjones]

John Henry is the inspiration for Steel.

[krissaberhagen]

i learned about this american legend in elementary school. good to know he is not forgotten.

[jackbelinski]

If the company was going to get the drilling machine regardless, then that means
the contest wasn’t about proving machines are totally useless compared to man, it was about proving man’s value in relation to machines.
By winning the contest, John Henry proved that machines can’t replace man’s value.

[al]

John Henry is probably what should be "an American Tall Tale" in that, it's definitively "American" in the sense of everything about it

[David-S.]

i didnt know that their were "myths" from the civil war timeframe

[genericwhitekidthesecond]

We need John to come back and save us from being replaced by AI and robots

[mikearts]

1:16 Yo the sun is doing the pogchamp! lmao 😲😂