text: artists who sang big bad john?   big bad john jimmy dean  (words and music by jimmy dean)   (big john, big john)  ev'ry mornin' at the mine you could see him arrive  he stood six foot six and weighed two forty five  kinda broad at the shoulder and narrow at the hip  and everybody knew ya 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, kinda 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 crashin' blow from a huge right hand  sent a loosiana 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 men started cryin'  miners were prayin' and hearts beat fast  and everybody thought that they'd breathed their last-'cept john   through the dust and the smoke of this man-made hell  walked a giant of a man that the miners knew well  grabbed a saggin' timber, gave out with a groan  and like a giant oak tree he 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  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 then 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 hell of man, big john  (big john, big john) big bad john (big john)   fade (big john, big john) big bad john (big john)