BONUS: The Story of John Henry (Two Parts)

We have created this special, two part bonus episode to learn and honor the story of “John Henry,” an African American folk hero to whom dozens of folk songs have been dedicated. 

In Part One, we will hear a live performance of “John Henry” by Eric George, a Vermont-based songwriter, sound engineer, and performer of original music and poetry. Eric also shares his relationship to the song and the repertoire of folk music more generally. We also discuss the role of music and culture in shaping personal narrative, social consciousness and social movements. Last, we hear Eric perform an original song off his album, “Songs of Resistance.”

In Part Two, Dylan Kelley, friend of the pod and local journalist, and I dive into the hard history embodied in the story of John Henry. We also discuss the revolutionary history and spirit so clearly embodied in the version we feature as our theme song in Season 1. 

We thought the story of John Henry and Eric George’s performance were so important and incredible, that we are making them available to all of our listeners. However, we will continue producing exclusive content for our Patreon members to show our thanks for being a member of our En Masse community. If you haven’t become a member yet, please consider doing so. Go to patreon.com/enmasse. That’s p a t r e o n .com / e n m a s s e. Thanks so much for your support.