Sawdust John
The Barbaloots
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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
Watch: New Singing Lesson Videos Can Make Anyone A Great Singer
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"Sawdust John Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 9 May 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric-lf/5038050/The+Barbaloots/Sawdust+John>.
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