February 26, 2005
American Mythos
It amazes me how quickly legends and tall tales arose in a country as adolescent as the United States. But arise, they did.
Not to piss on the rosebed, but I find the stories of Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill arid and ungratifying. Perhaps they are too regional for my tastes.
John Henry, though, that's a tale. Having one's heart burst whilst doing single combat with a steam engine is cool. Fucking cool. Not for John, but certainly for me.
Man versus Machine. The machine always wins, don't it? Humanity's apochryphal fear of progress, I suppose. But John had dignity. That machine? Rust in a few years.
Yeah, but he beat it before the ticker hit zero. John was the first certifiable American ass kicker.
Posted by: Jim at February 26, 2005 7:52 PMPoint well taken, Jim. Machine still won, though, eh?
Posted by: Velociman at February 26, 2005 8:09 PM.. where you've been is good and gone.. all you keep is the gettin' there...
Posted by: Eric at February 26, 2005 9:24 PMDon't forget--- when John Henry dropped dead, his WIFE picked up the hammer and "she drove steel like a man, lawd, lawd..."
When John Henry was a little baby
Sittin' on his daddy's knee
He picked up a hammer and a little piece od steel
Said, "This hammer's gonna be the death of me, lawd, lawd.
This hammer's gonna be the death of me."
Don't fuck with me about old folk songs. I know my shit.
Posted by: Acidman at February 27, 2005 9:17 AM