A Storybook of Quotes

I've Been Workin' On The Railroad . . .

I've been workin' on the railroad,
All the live long day
I've been workin' on the railroad,
Just to pass the time away
Can't you hear the whistle blowing?
Rise up so early in the morn
Can't you hear the captain shouting?
Dinah, blow your horn?

Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?
Dinah, won't you blow
Dinah, won't you blow
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?

I've been workin' on the railroad,
All the live long day
I've been workin' on the railroad,
Just to pass the time away
Can't you hear the whistle blowing?
Rise up so early in the morn
Can't you hear the captain shouting?
Dinah, blow your horn?

Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow,
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?
Dinah, won't you blow
Dinah, won't you blow
Dinah, won't you blow your horn?

Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Someone's in the kitchen, I know
Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah
Strumming on the old banjo

Fee, fie, fiddle-i-o
Fee, fie, fiddle-i-o-o-o
Fee, fie, fiddle-i-o
Strumming on the old banjo

John Henry. He was working on the railroad. Well, I take that back, maybe he wasn't. Heck, how could he be if he wasn't real?
Here is what I have to say on wheather or not John Henry was real, who cares??? The songs that came about because of his legend do not depend on his actual life, or lack there of. Dinah's explots in the kitchen don't really matter either, true, they are mentioned in the song; but it is the song, that really matters.
The thing that interested me in these songs was the differences in the lyrics between the different groups singing them. Yes, I know that it makes sense that there are differences between a paid construction crew and a group of prisioners doing time (for example) singing about the same thing. What I think is cool is the small differences that are there and why.
In the prison and chain gang versions of John Henry, there is far more about his wife being loyal to him and how important that is. Also, the color of her dress is red. I mention that because in the construction crew version, her dress is blue. I am not in the fashion business nor claim to be a fashion expert, but different color dresses means more then just wearing different color shoes.
According to Desktop Publishing, the color red is "a strong color that conjures up a range of seemingly conflicting emotions from passionate love to violence and warfare." The color blue on the other hand is "calming. It can be strong and steadfast or light and friendly. Almost everyone likes some shade of blue." I might be the only one, but I think even looking more closely at that small detail shows a huge difference between the two groups.
I think that more important then if the subject matter, John Henry, was real or not is how the people who sang about him went about doing so.