Here’s another activity that involves a classic mining song. “Big Bad John” was first performed by Jimmy Dean and composed by Dean and Roy Acuff (see link below). It’s a story about a rough and tough miner from Louisiana who saved his mining crew from a collapse in the mine. It’s a great song, and touches on the hazards of working in a mine.

And here’s a shocker…if you haven’t heard its sequel, look up the song “The Cajun Queen”. It’s about Big John’s girl who rescues him from the mine. Apparently, there’s even a third song titled, “Little Bitty Big John”. But “Big Bad John” is the best for students.

If you don’t have a copy of this song, an MP3 can be downloaded from Amazon here.

For more information on the background of this song: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Bad_John