John Henry

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What values are present in that ballad of John Henry that influenced songs like The Message or N.Y. State of Mind?

I think that the John Henry ballad has influenced both of these songs because of the way they are written and the view they are written in. All of these songs come to a point where the characters in the book are being pushed over the edge or close to it. They all feel like they are being pressured and feel like they can’t do anything else. In the “N.Y State of Mind”, Nas talks about how he is so close to limit of going over the edge and turning into something he doesn’t want to. In the John Henry balled, he explains how he was a slave and also how he was hoping to get through the steam drill. When John Henry finally won the battle, he died. But he died happily and knowing that he succeeded. In the “N.Y. State of Mind” and the ballad of “John Henry”, the language is the biggest comparison. In “The ballad of John Henry” he talks with more sensitivity and compassion than the way Nas and “The Message does”. I think that the ballad of “John Henry” creates an influence for both of these songs but they treat that influence differently. I think its different because of the way the explain it through their songs and the way the phrase it. It still explores the same message but it is shown and written in a different way. In John Henry, he talked about a story he went through and that has impacted later songs and ballads. The N.Y State of Mind and The Message both explain the story of how they tried to survive without going over the edge.