G                                      F  
Every moning at the mine you could see him arrive 
         G                          F 
He stood six foot six and weighed 245 
      G                                       F  
Kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip 
    G                                 F          G 
And everybody knew you didn't give no lip to Big John. 
    Em        C      D            G 
Big John, Big Jaw----won, Big Bad John.  

Nobody seemed to know where John called home 

He just drifted into town and stayed all alone 

Didn't say much a-kinda quiet and shy 

And if you spoke at all you just said high to Big John 

Somebody said he came down from New Orleans 

Where he got in a fight over a Cajun Queen 

And a crashing blow from a huge right hand 

Sent a Louisiana fellow to the Promised Land Big John 
 
(Chorus) 
     Ab                                F# 
Then came one day at the bottom of the mine 
       Ab                                 F# 
When a timber cracked and the men started crying 
Ab                                         F# 
Miners were paraying and their hearts beat fast 
    Ab                                      F#         Ab 
And everybody thought they'd breathed their last 'cept John 
            Ab                                  F# 
Through the dust and the smoke of this man made Hell 
         Ab                                  F# 
Walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well 
          Ab                                 F# 
Grabbed a sagging timber and gave out with a groan 
           Ab                               F#       Ab 
And like a giant oak tree just stood there alone Big John 
    Fm        C#     Eb           Ab 
Big John, Big Jaw----won, Big Bad John  
     A                                    G 
With all of his strength he gave a mighty shove 
       A                                     G 
Then a miner yelled out "There's a light up above 
    A                                G 
And 20 men scrambled from w would be grave 
            A                           G        A    
Now there's only one left down there to save Big John 
     A                                   G 
With jacks and timbers they started back down 
     A                                G 
Then came that rumble way down in the ground 
    A                                     G 
And smoke and gas belched from outta that mine 
A                                    G            A            
Everybody knew it was the end of the line for Big John 
    F#m       D      E            A 
Big John, Big Jaw----won, Big Bad John.  

Return to 
G 
 
Now they never re-opened that worthless pit 
They just placed a marble stand in front of it 
These few lines are written on that stand 
"At the bottom of this mine, lies one Helluva man.--BIG JOHN". 
 
(Chorus)