Talk:John Henry (folklore)

message: It seems odd to me to say that John Henry himself rejected the 19th century work ethic.  Isn't it the story that rejects the work ethic, not the character?  --Allen 15:14, 3 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: No response, so I'll be bold.  --Allen 21:55, 15 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  rejection of work ethic 

message: I've removed the following paragraph, added today by an anonomous user:
:"Whilst most of the songs written about John Henry have a similar melody, and often similar lyrics, many have focused not on the story of the fight with the steam drill but on John Henry's tumultuous goings-on with numerous women of varying repute, and the (admittedly one-sided) brawls they would get him into."
I'm not certain if this is true, or vandalism.  If it is true, it would be usefull to be more specific, citing particular renditions of the song that deviate from the normal story.  Certainly, any songs about John Henry's "goings-on with numerous women" are not the norm. ~CS 19:11, 4 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Goings-on with women 

message: John Henry is not a mythical folklore hero, he was a real person. I saw posted the question "P.S. how can anyone know it was a heart attack ?" Because if you check the web you can find scan images of the actual death certificate finding the cause of death a massive heart attack. The only thing they don't have actual proof of is as to whether or not he actually raced a steam powered drill; I believe he did. here's a site that has much information - http://www.ibiblio.org/john_henry/index.html
John Henry
Wheather John Henry was a real person or a mythical amalgamation of the issues of the time period has been a point of contention between scholars for some time, with no final determination possible.  Many of these theories are good leads -- your link is a facinating one -- but I'd use caution when regarding any source that claims that claim actual proof.  ~CS 23:51, 1 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Myth v Reality

message: While it is true that no proof exists for the Leeds connection, that is equally true for the Talcott story, so it is not MORE craven for Leeds to capitalize on it. (Also, Garst is a Mississippi native living in Athens, Georgia and has no particular vested interest in promoting tourism in Leeds.) Presumably better references could emerge from the planned symposium next week. --Dystopos 14:36, 18 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Leeds

message: While it is true that Talcott, W. Va.’s “proof” and right to the promotion of the John Henry legend is no more or no less substantial than that of Leeds, AL; Talcott does have 10 plus years prior claim on the J. Henry tourist money maker. One might speculate as to why Leeds could not be more original than having to “rip off” someone else’s claim, valid or not.  Particularly when the Leeds claim is just as questionable.  But then again, it has been said that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.  Well I guess Talcott should just feel flattered and so should any other local folklore promoter in case Leeds decides to flatter them.--vett69 01:41, 19 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Please stop adding the accusation that Leeds is ripping off tourists to this article. The article is already clear that claims of a historical John Henry are wide and often dubious -- there is not need to single out Leeds. This kind of content does not meet Wikipedia's Neutral point of view policies, and editors will continue to remove this line because of this. You may also want to not Wikipedia's Three-revert_rule which you violated yesterday. If you want, you can discuss how to impropve this section of the article here. Thanks, ~CS 15:59, 20 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Leeds  vs. Talcott

message: This is best regarded as a different song where the singer is part of a work gang (presumably a prision chain gang) dreaming of escape to freedom or to death..hence  'take this hammer, carry it to the captain, tell  him i'm gone'.  John Hirt includes the name John Henry in his version but this is not usual.
Other related recordings:-
'John Hardy'   Carter family, 1928    similar name and tune but about a shooting.
'Gonna Die with my Hammer in My Hand'  Williamson brothers and Curry 1927
'Spike Driving Man'  Missippii Joe Hirt  1952
82.47.176.254 08:49, 21 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Take This Hammer 

message: Seems there should be something here about Zora Neale Hurston's report of the folktale in her ~1935 book Mules and Men.  Anyone know of other early records of the story.  Her's would be significant as it gives an early African-american version of the song.  Also, the song's lyrics are public domain and might be discussed directly (various versions and what not). -MrFizyx 21:04, 4 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  ''Mules and Men'' 

message: Quite possible that this is just a coincidence and there really is a "big man" by the name of Rosie O'Donnell. More likely, methinks, someone put that in there as a wisecrack and it ought to be rubbed out. Consider that my recommendation. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.62.255.14 (talk) 22:08, 6 May 2007 (UTC)
thread_title:  Rosie O'Donnel? 

message: :Image:Johnhenry1996.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.
Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.
If there is  other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page.  Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.
BetacommandBot 14:46, 19 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Fair use rationale for Image:Johnhenry1996.jpg

message: In the "See Also" heading of the article there is a link to chess Grand Master Gary Kasparov.  Does anyone know of the link between John Henry and Gary Kasparov?  Kasparov played chess against computers so there is a man vs. machine dynamic at play.  However, the link seems strenuous at best.  Thoughts about removal?  VirginiaProp 12:15, 27 July 2007 (UTC)
thread_title: Include Gary Kasparov???

message: The list of "Other Big Men" includes many men of high legend who none the less were not noted to be "big."  More or less this same list is present on many of the referenced pages.  Is there a "Big Men Project" or something? Should these lists be otherwise titled?  Or should they be pruned down to just the "big" men? Jackrepenning (talk) 15:03, 23 March 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: "Big Men"?

message: So that it made more of a logical progression from topic to topic in the "history" section. Also delted the section that referenced the Terminator TV show because that shit was irrelevant as fuck.  72.65.238.202 (talk) 03:50, 15 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title: Moved some paragraphs around

message: I was thinking the song section might need a face lift. The 'one giant paragraph' is a little hard on the reading eye and doesn't seem to flow well. Perhaps a list or table and move some of the information around to other places or smaller paragraphs?  Operator873 (talk) 09:29, 29 December 2008 (UTC)
thread_title:  Song Section 

message: When and where exactly is John Henry first mentioned in print? It is strange that such pivotal (for a folklore hero) information is absent. --CopperKettle 07:40, 29 October 2009 (UTC)
thread_title: First mention in print?

message: I realize that this was just restored, but I removed it and am bringing it here for discussion.  I do not know why this was removed in the first place, but my reasoning is that it is unreferenced and original research.  All of the following may be true and accurate, but without references, it is simply an editor's opinions. ---RepublicanJacobiteThe'FortyFive' 23:12, 18 May 2010 (UTC)
replies: text: It was removed by a vandal on 6 November 2009, and the initial corrector of said vandalism simply erased the profanity the vandal had put in its place, without actually undoing the deletion. I'm putting this back in with a tag - as it stands now, the article contains no description of what the story actually is or what John Henry does. Ergative rlt (talk) 16:30, 19 May 2010 (UTC)
thread_title:  Background 

message: It seems to me that there should be a separate article for the song of the same name. It's just as notable, and there's an entire other history behind the song itself. There could be a lyrical article on Wikisource of the most notable version, probably Lead Belly's, if it's in the PD. Of course, information would be left on this article, but it seems better to create another article about the song than to just have the pittance of information found here. BootleggerWill (talk) 19:54, 27 May 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Song  

message: The opening paragraph of this article gives me the impression that this person is a well-defined historical individual. However, the rest of the article is less clear on this point, talking of a "mythical representation", citing different versions of the "story", and leaving me overall slightly confused about his historicity. I would like to see this crucial point made clearer in the lead section. Is he real, myth, or an uknown/confused mixture of both? 86.179.112.237 (talk) 02:25, 31 May 2011 (UTC)
thread_title:  Historicity 

message: There is a reference in the tv series sarah connor chronicles:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Henry_(Terminator)
--77.181.143.245 (talk) 23:08, 22 June 2012 (UTC)
thread_title:  Reference in pop-culture 

message: I motion that this section should either be renamed "Nelson" or removed and replaced with a couple sentences in another section.
64.134.183.112 (talk) 13:23, 1 March 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  John William Henry 

message: User:Bdb484 is constantly reverting additions inappropriately.  Primary sources are acceptable when the "Primary sources may only be used on Wikipedia to make straightforward, descriptive statements that any educated person—with access to the source but without specialist knowledge—will be able to verify are directly supported by the source" criterion is met from WP:PRIMARYNOTBAD.  Clear, explicit references to John Henry in songs, television shows, movies, or even comic books clearly meet this criterion.  Any educated person can very these sources with reference to the sources, and many acceptable contributions to this page are being eliminated by a single person.  User:Bdb484 should not be constantly making these reversions. (Smallvillefanatic (talk) 17:07, 15 March 2014 (UTC)
thread_title:  Inappropriate Reversions by [[User:Bdb484]] 

message: There is a reference to John Henry in Cheers (Season 7, Episode 1, 'How to Recede in Business', 1988, from 14:30 to 15:00). Simon Kidd (talk) 15:06, 22 September 2015 (UTC)
replies: text: For me, it's a bit too trivial for the article. In any case, reference to a source would be needed. Willondon (talk) 15:23, 22 September 2015 (UTC)
thread_title:  Cheers Reference 

message: This seems an appropriate test case and so I tried asking ChatGPT
Andrew🐉(talk) 10:06, 30 January 2023 (UTC)
thread_title: ChatGPT

message: The redirect John Henry (folklore has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at  until a consensus is reached.  Utopes (talk / cont) 18:29, 3 March 2024 (UTC)
thread_title:  "[[:John Henry (folklore]]" listed at [[Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion|Redirects for discussion]]