Lyrics and music Ben Edlund
Hero of Canton (aka The Ballad of Jayne)
Performed by Marc Gunn
from As Long As I'm Flyin'
Jayne, the man they call Jayne
He robbed from the rich
And he gave to the poor
Stood up to the man
And gave him what for
Our love for him now
Ain't hard to explain
The hero of Canton
The man they call Jayne
Our Jayne saw the mudders' backs breakin'
He saw the mudders' lament
And he saw the magistrate takin'
Every dollar and leavin' five cents
So he said “you can't do that to my people”
He said “you can't crush them under your heel”
So Jayne strapped on his hat
And in 5 seconds flat
Stole everythin' Boss Higgins had to steal
He robbed from the rich
And he gave to the poor
Stood up to the man
And gave him what for
Our love for him now
Ain't hard to explain
The hero of Canton
The man they call Jayne
Now here is what separates heroes
From common folk like you and I
The man they call Jayne
He turned 'round his plane
And let that money hit sky
He dropped it onto our houses
He dropped it into our yards
The man they called Jayne
He stole away our pain
And headed out for the stars
He robbed from the rich
And he gave to the poor
Stood up to the man
And gave him what for
Our love for him now
Ain't hard to explain
The hero of Canton
The man they call Jayne.
Hero of Canton Chords: Key D
[D]He robbed from the rich and he [Bm]gave to the poor
Stood [D]up to the man and [Bm]gave him what for
Our [G]love for him now ain't [A]hard to explain
The [D]hero of [A]Canton, the [D]man they call [Bm]Jayne
[Bm]Our Jayne saw the [A]mudders' backs [Bm]breakin'
[Em]He saw the [A]mudders' la-[Bm]ment
And he saw the [A]magistrate [Bm]takin'
Every [Em]dollar and [A]leavin' five [Bm]cents
So he said [Em]”you can't do that to my [Bm]people”
He said [Em]”you can't crush them under your [Bm]heel”
So [Bm]Jayne strapped on his [A]hat, and in [Bm]5 seconds [Em]flat
Stole [Bm]everythin' Boss [A]Higgins had to [Bm]steal
Background
“Hero of Canton” was written by Ben Edlund. It was featured in the pub scene of the episode “Jaynestown” from the TV show Firefly. We learn that Jayne botched a robbery. He dumped money down on the mudders of Canton. Because of that, a folk song was written about him.
This song launched lots of new Firefly music. My friend Cedric was one of the first. He wrote a cool parody called “The Ballad of Joss”. You can find that parody on the Bedlam Bards CD, On the Drift (Firefly and Serenity Music).
I recorded my first Firefly Drinking Song in the form of “Monahan's Mudder's Milk” for my CD, Kilted For Her Pleasure.
You can download and share a free Firefly MP3 of this song. I have a “The Hero of Canton” MP3 that was recorded live in a pub in Lisdoonvarna, Ireland in 2007.
In 2018, I released my second CD of Firefly music. It is called As Long As I'm Flyin'. It features a new studio recording of “Hero of Canton”.
Hero of Canton Videos
The original version from Firefly
from my Purgatorre studio
from As Long As I'm Flyin' CD
from Firefly Drinking Songs CD
