American Ballads and Folk Songs: page - 0177

Complete Text, Lyrics & Sheet Music

	Leader                                         Chorus Wid his diamond blade,                 Wid his di'mond blade, Got it in his han',                           Got it in his han', Gonna hew out de live oaks,           Gonna hew out de live oaks, Dat are in dis lan\                       Dat are in dis Ian'. Refrain He's long gone,                              He's long gone, He's Long John,                            He's Long John, He's gone, gone,                             He's gone, gone, Like a turkey through de corn,       Like a turkey through de corn, Wid his long clo'es on,                   Wid his long clo'es on, He's gone, gone,                             He's gone, gone, He's gone John,                             He's gone John, He's long gone.                              He's long gone. Stanzas Note: It is effective to sing stanzas two, three, and four, stanzas five and six, stanzas seven, eight, and nine, and stanzas ten, eleven, and twelve as groups without injecting the chorus. Then roar out the refrain after each group of stanzas. This is the way the song is actually sung by the Negroes when they are chopping down a tree. It is well to note that the ax-blow, and thus the most heavily stressed syllable, is the accented syllable that stands nearest to the end of each line. •[77]