Differences between two versions of the classic song “John Henry”—one by Fiddlin’ John Carson, and another by Woody Guthrie—reveal an interesting sense of evolution for the concept of “folk music.” The two recordings are a generation apart (John Carson recording in the 1910s, Guthrie in the 1940s), so the qualities of the recordings differ. But there are also interesting and important differences between the ways that the performers interpret the melody and lyrics of the song.

In both of these recordings, the form of the song is a verse that repeats several times. Each verse is five lines long, in a form that might be described as AA’A”BB’. The “A” is like a celebratory shout, starting high in its first words (“John HENRY!”) and trailing off in the last words of each line. The third “A” always has more syllables than the first two, so that each shout seems to add a larger amount of information to an accelerating story. The last two lines of each verse are repetitive both in melody and in lyrics.

John Carson’s recording of the song is compromised a little by scratches on the very old recording, and it seems as though he is straining his voice to be heard (as though perhaps he knows that the technology is imperfect!). His lyrics seem to wander from place to place, and sometimes it is difficult to understand the logic that connects one verse to another. Woody Guthrie’s recording uses lyrics that seem more polished, with verses organized in pairs: a pair about his birth, and then pairs in which two verses reflect the two sides of a conversation, first with his captain and then with his “shaker.” John Henry’s sickness and death is told in the final pair.

The songs share the same melody and form, but the differences between the interpretations reflect an evolution away from folk music. Carson’s recording is called “John Henry Blues”, but it has features typical of the folk music discussed in our lectures. Like “The Sun and the Moon”, Fiddlin’ John Carson’s recording keeps changing its rhythm, and is hard to tap a foot to.  The testimony of John Lomax, quoted in Barker and Taylor’s “Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” also may be relevant. Lomax claimed to be searching for music that is not “too refined” (19), and this song would certainly fit that category for some listeners. By contrast, Guthrie’s recording seems to have a steady rhythm, and clear phrases. Perhaps Guthrie’s presentation represents a mixture of elements from both folk song and “Parlor Song,” whereas the older recording from Carson represents a clearer example of folk music: a type of music that is associated with a specific community of listeners, and uniquely comprehensible to that group.

However, some issues contradict that possibility. In John Carson’s version of the song, sung with only one voice, accompanied by one fiddle, rhythm can seem quite expressive and free at times, conveying some of the musician’s attitudes toward the ideas in the song. One moment in particular in which this approach to rhythm seems to affect the emotional impact of the song is in the lyric of the fourth verse. John Henry reassures the captain that the tunnel isn’t collapsing; it’s “just my hammer hawsing in the wind”, Carson pauses noticeably on the syllable “haws”, and the rhythm seems to break. The effect is a little disorienting. This nicely implies the heavy and frightening rhythm of a hammer swung over Henry’s legendary shoulders. Normally this coupling of specific emotions with specific musical sounds is more associated with art music than with folk. The differences in rhythm and melodic delivery between the two recordings are note-worthy, and they contradict the idea that Guthrie is evolving away from folk music.

Woody Guthrie’s version also possesses little variation in the singing of the melody from one verse to the next. The tune is sung and harmonized by two men, and the well-rehearsed pair stick to their notes. Guthrie’s steady guitar accompaniment makes the interpretation feel regular and precise, allowing less freedom to pause. This doesn’t prevent Guthrie from interjecting humorously between some of the lines of the lyric, with comments like “yessir” and “what’d he say?” But the singers do not change the emotional presentation of their voices, and this produces a tension—typical of folk songs—between the constancy of the music and the dynamic and emotionally ranging story of the lyrics.