Carter Family, The - John Hardy Was A Desperate Little Man Lyrics






John Hardy was a desperate little man
He carried two guns every day
He shot a man on the West Virginia line
And you ought to see John Hardy getting away

John Hardy got to the east stone bridge
He thought that he would be free
And up stepped a man and took him by his arm
Saying Johnny, walk along with me

He sent for his poppy and his mommy too
To come and go his bail
But money won't go a murdering case
And they locked John Hardy back in jail

John Hardy had a pretty little girl
That dress that she wore was blue
As she came skipping through the old jail hall
Saying Poppy, I been true to you

John Hardy had another little girl
That dress that she wore was red
She followed John Hardy to his hanging ground
Saying Poppy, I would rather be dead

"I've been to the east and I've been to the west
I've been this wide world around
I've been to the river and I've been baptized
And it's now I'm on my hanging ground"

John Hardy walked out on his scaffold high
With his loving little wife by his side
And the last words she heard poor John-O say
"I'll meet you in that sweet bye and bye"





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Carter Family, The John Hardy Was A Desperate Little Man Comments
  1. A.... R....

    E.V. "Pop" Stoneman told me that John Hardy and John Henry were the same man. John Henry Hardy. He had the papers to prove it. He told me the date of the hanging, but I forgot it. Hmmm. Food for thought.

    A.... R....

    Great History

  2. L.... K....

    Sometimes Jeffrey Lee Pierce whistles this song in Heaven♡

  3. R.... O....

    this song really brings back memories of when my parents died...I came home late from the glee club after school...and found mom and dad barely breathing from a heroin overdose...this song was playin in the background when I called 911

    R.... O....

    Rkk O'Tilley geez, both tragic and deep. Hope you're ok!

    R.... O....

    I'm sorry for your loss.

  4. J.... V....

    I miss hearing them, from The Many thousands of times Dad played them over the years, he loved them so much he even considered changing his name to Steve Carter,

  5. R.... S....

    my new drunken song!

  6. J.... B....

    downtuned to e-flat to match Sarah's autoharp. This was probably the first time it was recorded and no matter who has redone it, it has never been improved. Seems the more they alter the basics the farther they get from something one might have heard at John Hardy's hanging. AP got it right the first time.

  7. R.... B....

    Great I heard this when I was a kid and I,m 75 now Thanks for posting sure brought back memories

  8. e.... s....

    There was a John Wesley harding

  9. e.... s....

    lead belly recorded it too dunno when

    e.... s....

    First recordings of "John Hardy" were by Eva Davis in 1924, Ernest Stoneman in 1925, Buell Kazee in 1927, and the Carter Family in 1928. Lead Belly was first recorded by John Lomax (while still in prison) in 1933. After being released from prison, Lead Belly's commercial recording career began in 1935.

  10. s.... ....

    Bb ????!! Whyy!!

    s.... ....

    +sambulls B major and E major

  11. P.... ....

    Thanks for posting this. 

  12. m.... n....

    Sara Carter..one of my Idols!!  LOVE her voice!!

  13. M.... P....

    One of the most important songs in the history of the USA...

  14. H.... ....

    I guess her voice would be annoying to someone used to artificially enhanced vocals with no understanding of the history of recorded music. Perhaps an education would help them, perhaps not. Try the Kingston Trio version, too, though.

    H.... ....

    HeartoftheDragonColo or maybe it’s because it’s not good

    H.... ....

    @King Flexbot Different kind of vocals, really. Just listen to old singers like Woody Guthrie or Jimmie Rodgers. Early Dylan songs too.

    H.... ....

    King Flexbot Though it is good. Very good.

  15. R.... ....

    Her voice is crazy annoying. Leadbelly may have been a crazy violent guy but at least he didnt sound like two squirrels face fucking eachother.

  16. S.... J....

    and I'll meet you in the sweet by and by.

  17. T.... ....

    I found the original article from the Wheeling Daily Register and mikekadas (a few comments down) is wrong. Both John Hardy and the victim were black.

  18. A.... P....

    good song, but her voice gets so annoying after awhile ha

  19. e.... ....

    Love Leadbelly's version.

  20. M.... B....

    this is the same family that June Carter was a part of! Awesome!

  21. S.... T....

    the jam. love this one. nice reading the original story. thanks.

  22. P.... K....

    John Hardy Was A Desperate Little Man - The Carter Family [Virginia] - 1928 - "AMG pick. After shooting a co-worker over 25 cents in a crap game at the Shawnee Coal Company camp in 1893, he was spirited away by authorities just before the arrival of a lynch mob (he was black, while the victim was white)." - Anthology Of American Folk Music, Vol. 1B: Ballads (Smithsonian Folkways)-1997.

    P.... K....

    Wheeling Register for Oct 13th, 1893 says:
    WELCH, W. VA, October 12. “At 8 o’clock this morning the jury in the case of the State against John Hardy, colored, for the murder of Thomas Drews, colored, at Eckman, this county, in January last, brought in a verdict of guilty of murder in the first degree. The trouble arose over a game of craps and was a cold blooded crime."

  23. w.... ....

    love this melody it's the same as in Woody Guthries Tom Joad - it doesn't matter who was first at that time everybody ripped off everybody I guess - great song

    w.... ....

    dont forget also, Phil Ochs' joe hill...same melody