American Folk Heroes

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American Folk Heroes
John Henry
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Storybook
Robin Hood and his Merry Men
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Paul Bunyan

• North America was a great big landWith a great,
  big job to be doneA job that needed a great, big
  manPaul Bunyan was the one.Hey, PaulPaul
  BunyanHe's sixty three axe handles highWith
  his feet on the ground and his head in the
  skyHey, PaulPaul Bunyan
• Well he picked up his axe and he chopped a
  treeClean down with a forward swingGot him
  another when the axe swung backThat timber
  cuttin' thingHe kept on choppin' the live-long
  dayAnd then when it was nightHe walked back
  over the stumps he'd cutAnd stomped them out of
  sight.Hey, Paul (Why, it's nothing!)Paul Bunyan

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John Henry

• When John Henry was a little baby boy,
• sitting on the his papa's knee
• Well he picked up a hammer and little piece of
  steel
• Said Hammer's gonna be the death of me,
• Lord, lord, Hammer's gonna be the death of mine
• The captain said to John Henry
• I'm gonna bring that steam drill around
• I'm gonna bring that steam drill out on the job
• I'm gonna whup that steel on down
• John Henry told his captain
• Lord, a man ain't nothing but a man
• But before I'd let your steam drill beat me down
• I'd die with a hammer in my hand
• John Henry drove fifteen feet
• The steam drill only made nine
• John Henry hammered in the mountains
• His hammer was striking fire

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Pecos Bill

• Oh! Pecos Bill was quite a cowboy down in Texas,
• And a Western superman, to say the least.
• He was the roughest, toughest critter, never
  known to be a quitter
• 'Cuz he never had no fear of man or beast.
• So, yip-pee-i-ay i-ay, yip-pee-i-oh
• He was the roughest toughest critter west of the
  Alamo.
• Once there was a drought that spread all over
  Texas
• So to sunny Californy he did go,
• And tho' the gag is kind of corny, he brought
  rain from Californy
• That's the way we got the Gulf of Mexico.
• Pecos lost his way while travelin' on the desert
• It was ninety miles across the burnin' sand,
• He knew he'd never reach the border
• If he didn't get some water
• So he got a stick and dug the Rio Grande.
• While a tribe of painted Injuns did a war dance

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Casey at the Bat
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By Ernest Thayer The Outlook wasn't brilliant
for the Mudville nine that dayThe score stood
four to two, with but one inning more to
play.And then when Cooney died at first, and
Barrows did the same,A sickly silence fell upon
the patrons of the game. A straggling few got up
to go in deep despair. The restClung to that
hope which springs eternal in the human
breastThey thought, if only Casey could get but
a whack at that -We'd put up even money, now,
with Casey at the bat. But Flynn preceded Casey,
as did also Jimmy Blake,And the former was a
lulu and the latter was a cakeSo upon that
stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,For there
seemed but little chance of Casey's getting to
the bat. But Flynn let drive a single, to the
wonderment of all,And Blake, the much despised,
tore the cover off the ballAnd when the dust
had lifted, and the men saw what had
occurred,There was Jimmy safe at second and
Flynn a-hugging third. Then from 5,000 throats
and more there rose a lusty yellIt rumbled
through the valley, it rattled in the dellIt
knocked upon the mountain and recoiled upon the
flat,For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to
the bat. There was ease in Casey's manner as he
stepped into his placeThere was pride in
Casey's bearing and a smile on Casey's face.And
when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed
his hat,No stranger in the crowd could doubt
'twas Casey at the bat. Ten thousand eyes were
on him as he rubbed his hands with dirtFive
thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on
his shirt.Then while the writhing pitcher ground
the ball into his hip,Defiance gleamed in
Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.
And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling
through the air,And Casey stood a-watching it in
haughty grandeur there.Close by the sturdy
batsman the ball unheeded sped-"That ain't my
style," said Casey. "Strike one," the umpire
said. Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed
his hands with dirtFive thousand tongues
applauded when he wiped them on his shirt.Then
while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into
his hip,Defiance gleamed in Casey's eye, a sneer
curled Casey's lip. And now the leather-covered
sphere came hurtling through the air,And Casey
stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur
there.Close by the sturdy batsman the ball
unheeded sped-"That ain't my style," said Casey.
"Strike one," the umpire said. From the benches,
black with people, there went up a muffled
roar,Like the beating of the storm-waves on a
stern and distant shore."Kill him! Kill the
umpire!" shouted someone on the standAnd its
likely they'd a-killed him had not Casey raised
his hand. With a smile of Christian charity
great Casey's visage shoneHe stilled the rising
tumult he bade the game go onHe signaled to
the pitcher, and once more the spheroid flewBut
Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said,
"Strike two." "Fraud!" cried the maddened
thousands, and echo answered fraudBut one
scornful look from Casey and the audience was
awed.They saw his face grow stern and cold, they
saw his muscles strain,And they knew that Casey
wouldn't let that ball go by again. The sneer is
gone from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in
hateHe pounds with cruel violence his bat upon
the plate.And now the pitcher holds the ball,
and now he lets it go,And now the air is
shattered by the force of Casey's blow. Oh,
somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining
brightThe band is playing somewhere, and
somewhere hearts are light,And somewhere men are
laughing, and somewhere children shoutBut there
is no joy in Mudville - mighty Casey has struck
out.
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Characters

• Peter Pan
• Winnie the Pooh
• Mickey Mouse
• Bert and Ernie
• Spiderman

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Real People
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Casey Jones

• Come all ye rounders, if you wanna hearA story
  about a brave engineerCasey Jones was the
  rounder's nameOn a big eight wheeler, he won his
  fame
• ChorusCasey Jones, mounted to the cabinCasey
  Jones, with his orders in his handCasey Jones,
  mounted to the cabinAs he took his final journey
  to the promise land
• Rain was comin' down for five or six weeksTrack
  looked like the bed of a creekIt rated him down
  to a 30-mile gaitMade the southbound mail about
  eight hours late
• Fireman says, "Casey, you're runnin' too
  fast'"You run the block board last station you
  passed"Casey says, "Yes, but I think we'll make
  it through""'Cause this engine is a steamin'
  better than I ever knew"
• (Chorus)
• Around the curb he spied a passenger
  trainHeadlights shinin' in his eyes through the
  rainCasey blew his whistle, a mighty blastBut
  the other locomotive was comin' fast
• Casey says "Fireman you'd better jump""There's
  two locomotives and their gonna bump"The fireman
  hollered, "It's just ahead!""We might jump and
  make it, but we'll all be dead."
•  
•  

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Westerners

• Sam Hill
• Jim Bowie
• Daniel Boone
• Kit Carson
• Buffalo Bill
• Cody
• Wild Bill Hickok
• Wyatt Earp

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Davy Crockett

• 1786-1836
• Born on a mountain top in Tennessee,
• Greenest state in the land of the free. Raised
  in the woods so's he knew every tree, Killed him
  a bear when he was only three.
• Davy, Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier.
• Fought single handed through the Injun war, Till
  the Creeks was whipped and peace was restored.
  And while he was handling this risky chore,
  Made himself a legend, forevermore.
• He went of to Congress and served a spell Fixin'
  up the government and laws as well. Took over
  Washington, I heard tell, And patched up the
  crack in the Liberty Bell.
• When he come home, his politickin' was done,
  While the western march had just begun. So he
  packed his gear, and his trusty gun
• And let out a grinnin' to follow the sun.

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John Chapman

• Johnny Appleseed
• 1774-1845

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Western Outlaws

• Billy the Kid
• John Wesley
• Hardin
• Sam Bass
• Johnny Ringo
• Curly Bill

Billy the Kid, John Wesley Hardin (top), Curly
Bill (below)
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Jesse James

• 1847 -1882
• Led outlaw gang
• Shot in the back
• Robin Hood

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Sports

• George Herman
• Babe Ruth
• Joe DiMaggio
• Jackie Robinson
• Mickey Mantle
• Joe Namath
• Michael Jordan
• Tiger Woods

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Cultural

• Louis Armstrong
• Frank Sinatra
• Marilyn Monroe
• Clark Gable
• Howard Hughes

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Annie Oakley Rip Van Winkle Superman Mae West