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About The Song
“Big Bad John” is a country music classic composed and performed by Jimmy Dean, which reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1961. The song became an instant hit and earned Jimmy Dean his first Grammy Award. The origins of the song are grounded in the universally understood themes of bravery, sacrifice, and the indomitable human spirit.
Jimmy Dean wrote the song about fellow actor John Minto, who was 6′ 5″ tall. The song’s lyrics describe John as a heroic figure who sacrificed his life to save others. Originally intended as a joke, “Big Bad John” managed to capture the attention of a broad audience, peaking at the top of international charts. The song’s appeal persists and continues to inspire generations.
Video
Lyrics
(Big John)
(Big John)
Every morning at the mine you could see him arrive
He stood six-foot-six and weighed two-forty-five
King of broad at the shoulder at narrow at the hip
And everybody knew you didn’t give no lip to Big John
(Big John)
(Big John)
Big Bad John
(Big John)
Nobody seemed to know where John called home
He just drifted into town and stayed all alone
He didn’t say much a kind a quiet and shy
And if you spoke at all you just said “hi” to Big John
Somebody said he came from New Orleans
Where he got in a fight over a Cajun Queen
And a crashing blow from a huge right hand
Sent a Louisiana fellow to the promised land. Big John
(Big John)
(Big John)
Big Bad John
(Big John)
Then came the day at the bottom of the mine
When a timber cracked and the men started crying
Miners were praying and hearts beat fast
And everybody thought that they’d breathed their last ‘cept John
Through the dust and smoke of this man made hell
Walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well
Grabbed a sagging timber and gave out with a groan
And like a giant oak tree just stood there alone
Big John
(Big John)
(Big John)
Big Bad John
(Big John)
And with all of his strength he gave a mighty shove
Then a miner yelled out there’s a light up above
And twenty men scrambled from a would be grave
And now there’s only one left down there to save
Big John
With jacks and timbers they started back down
Then came that rumble way down in the ground
And smoke and gas belched out of that mine
Everybody knew it was the end of the line for Big John
(Big John)
(Big John)
Big Bad John
(Big John)
Now they never reopened that worthless pit
They just placed a marble stand in front of it
These few words are written on that stand
At the bottom of this mine lies a big, big man
Big John
(Big John)
(Big John)
Big Bad John
(Big John)…