Story
The song tells the story of a mysterious and quiet miner who earned the nickname Big John because of his height, weight, and muscular physique ("He stood six foot six and weighed two forty-five"). He supposedly came from New Orleans, where he killed a man over a Cajun Queen.
One day, a support timber cracked at the mine where John worked. The situation looked hopeless until John "grabbed a saggin' timber, gave out with a groan / and like a giant oak tree just stood there alone", then "gave a mighty shove", opening a passage and allowing the 20 other miners to escape the mine. Although the miners were about to reenter the mine with the tools necessary to save him, the mine fully collapsed and John was believed to have died in the depths of the mine. The mine itself was never reopened, but a marble stand was placed in front of it, with the words "At the bottom of this mine lies one hell of a man---Big John". (Some versions of the song change the last line to "lies a big, big man" to replace what was at the time considered to be borderline profane language.)
Its 1962 sequel, The Cajun Queen, describes the arrival of "Queenie", Big John's Cajun Queen, who rescues John from the mine and marries him. Eventually, they have "a hundred and ten grandchildren". The sequel's events are more exaggerated than the first, extending the story into the realm of tall tales.
In June 1962, the story continued (and evidently concludes) with the arrival of Little Bitty Big John, (the flip side to Steel Men on Columbia 4-42483), learning about his Father's act of heroism.
In 1964, Dottie West recorded a sequel to the song called My Big John. This song was told from the point of view of the "Cajun Queen" that drove John away---her search for him, then discovering about his death.
Read more about this topic: Big Bad John
Famous quotes containing the word story:
“I read a part of the story of my excursion to Ktaadn to quite a large audience of men and boys, the other night, whom it interested. It contains many facts and some poetry.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Wit is often concise and sparkling, compressed into an original pun or metaphor. Brevity is said to be its soul. Humor can be more leisurely, diffused through a whole story or picture which undertakes to show some of the comic aspects of life. What it devalues may be human nature in general, by showing that certain faults or weaknesses are universal. As such it is kinder and more philosophic than wit which focuses on a certain individual, class, or social group.”
—Thomas Munro (1897–1974)
“When I die, my epitaph should read: She Paid the Bills. That’s the story of my private life.”
—Gloria Swanson (1897–1983)