Sawdust John

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The Barbaloots

5:04

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In the Ozark hills along the ridges and rills there worked a rough timber jack 
The folks in the woods forget if they could to remember the name of that hack
From dawn to dusk come boom or bust you could hear that frightful sound
Sawdust John's howling laughter another big tree hits the ground

Folks nearby let out a cry John you're starting to vex us 
Rest your blade and leave us some shade before these hills are as bare as Texas
He said  Step aside if you value your hide, you best stay out of my path
When I'm cutting through I might saw you in two and you'll be looking for your better half
He yelled up the holler I'm an Arkansawyer only two things I crave to hold
One's a singing crosscut saw the other's my pay of gold

Back and forth 
He saws to the core  
Through the heartwood
It falls, it's gone
Sawdust John 

Night and day he sawed his way 
Through chinquapin, oak and pine
If I'm the best I will not rest 'till the biggest of them all is all mine
The hills got steeper he cut deeper and deeper to the forest of the ancient trees
In a clearing there stood the king of the woods a giant old hickory

It was ten men wide standing side by side it branches gnarly and strong
It stood so high it tickled the sky in the breeze it whispered this song

Ax and saw, ax and saw 
They tried to cut me to the ground
Sticks and straw, sticks and straw 
I wore them, wore them down 

John turned red shook his fist and said I swear by all I'm worth 
I'm no fool I'll find the tool that will cut through the whole of your girth
In his cabin that night under-a full moon bright John worked like a restless wind 
With anvil and hammer he forged with a clamor two long blades end to end
I'll cut you tonight before the very first light by this tickity-tockity clock
Into cords and ricks and little match sticks you hickory-dickory dock

Back and forth 
He saws to the core  
Through the heartwood
It falls, it's gone
Sawdust John 

Over the hill and glade he drug that blade to the clearing where they first met
He pushed and pulled and pulled and pushed so hard he broke a sweat
For all his might the saw wouldn't bite but he said I'll never quit
He looked up surprised couldn't believe his eyes as that trunk seemed to split

It opened wide and deep inside something glittered in the moonlight
By my measure if that's a treasure I'll be taken it home tonight
He squeezed and squeezed panted and wheezed he wheedled through the wall of bark
He felt something close around him and then John's whole world went dark

Back and forth 
He saws to the core  
Through the heartwood
It falls, its gone
Sawdust John 

Old timers tell how a timber man fell to a tree with a scar in its side
In the hollow beneath there's the saw blades teeth and the men who failed when they tried
All they found of John was the hat he had on and the boots from his feet
And to this day the mountain folks say those hickory nuts taste bitter sweet

Back and forth 
He saws to the core  
Through the heartwood
It falls, its gone
Sawdust John

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