The protagonist of the song, a profane demi-god, follows the eponymous headmen across the sea, on foot, to a hidden cave where they have stored up a large treasure.
Taking as much as he can carry, he travels to a shrine only to find that the headmen have followed him; they open fire, wounding the protagonist but not killing him, and he decides to flee.
An album of highlights from this tour has been released.. Jim Capaldi's 2011 box set, Dear Mr Fantasy, includes a reggae version of the song.
The Chicago band "40,000 Headmen", who play the music of Traffic, Blind Faith and Spencer Davis Group, get their name from this song.
The Blood, Sweat and Tears version begins and ends with a music box playing Bela Bartok's Hungarian Folk Song.