Every mornin' at the mine you could see him arrive He stood six-foot-six and weighed two-forty-five Kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip And everybody knew ya 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, 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 everybody thought that they'd breathed their last, 'cept John Through the dust and the smoke of this man-made hell Walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well Grabbed a saggin' timber, gave out with a groan And like a giant oak tree he just stood there alone, big John ~Jimmy Dean