Me and Johnny sittin' in the green grass -
I don’t remember too much from that far back in the past,
But man, oh man, was Johnathan a laugh
In those days.
Apparently he was my very best friend -
We spent warm summer days wishing they would never end -
But I only know from photographs I look at
Every now and again.

And J-J-Johnny -
Ooh, ooh, all he left us was an apple tree,
And ooh, where'd he go, and ooh, why'd he leave,
And ooh, why do I grieve?

Now I don’t ever see Johnathan no more,
But my life rolls on just like it did before,
And I only wonder what it is
That I even miss him for.

Me and Timory holdin' hands -
I was shakin' hers, ‘cause she said she was a fan,
There was an awkward pause, and something that should’ve began
Just passed us by.
But I watched her sing along with every word,
In the prettiest voice that I never heard,
And I still see her dancing, wearin' my shirt:
Right there.

And t-t-timorous me -
All Timory left me was a memory.
And ooh, I was blind, and ooh, now I find
That I can’t see.

Now me and Jodi spend a lot of our time
Just sittin' in silence, driving late at night,
And maybe even wonderin' what’s on each other’s mind
This time.
But I know she’s like me, so I let it ride -
She’s dwelling in that quiet space left behind,
Where only peace can answer why,
And you abide
The birds must fly.


Lyrics submitted by hollyhoxnj

Timorous Me song meanings
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29 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment

    This is an awesome song. I love Ted Leo and The Pharmacists. What I love about this song is as the verse "Now me and Jodie spent a lot of our time..." the song just starts building up to it's full point. So great. The only bad thing is that soon after it breaks open like that, it ends :( . Still, a great song.

    Biscuitson July 01, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Love this song! This song is about losing/making friends/relationships...damn, there have been to many lost. "we abide that birds must fly." Geez! these lyrics are all wrong, who is doing the posting?

    runningincircleson June 30, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    ooh ooh ooh amazing song. I'm amazed that this band isn't super famous.

    runningincircles is right...its about his relationships and friends who you'd have to know to understand all of the lyrics. The song brings to mind a guys itting looking at photos and reminiscing about all the good and bad memories...its a beautiful song.

    whatslifelikeon October 28, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    i heard that this song might be about timory hyde, a girl who fell out of a window on her 22nd birthday and died--her friend who survived the fall said he suspected this was about her and that she had some connection to ted leo. She also has another amazing song written about her by OKgo called "return" that is absolutely heartbreaking

    absolutelyamazingon January 03, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    wow, that is really interesting (to the comment above). this song musically is amazing also, i love the primitive irish sounding drum/guitar around the end of the song, it sounds marvelous.

    ghostson January 09, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    best Ted Leo song. hands down, man, crazy riff.

    jigga buh DOW duh duh DOW

    LittleUnicornBoyon January 31, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    To me, this is a song about missing old times with people that didn't really matter to you, but you still miss it for some reason. "My life rolls on just like it did before but I wonder what it is that I even miss him for." Timorous means "Full of apprehensiveness; timid". It seems like he is missing these times in his life where he had the opportunity to do something that didn't really matter, but he backed down, and he's regretting it.

    But really, who cares what it means. THIS SONG IS SO GOOD.

    spanwayhitson March 17, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    well ted has said himself that the song is a pseudo-irish wake song...

    benjabeanon April 23, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    What a great song, to me this song is about fear and regret and how those things guide your life - often times in ways that you may not want them to. Fear is the only limiting factor in our lives.

    miason April 26, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    In my opinion, he is of course, like most said, talking about the friendships we make and lose. I think he wonders what he misses Johnny for because he knows that missing him won't bring him back and even though they had good times, they're over now and he's going to make new friends. He is just honoring the beauty of friendship and the sadness of loss.

    Only making peace with the loss can help us accept that "birds must fly" (we must die). Yes? No? Maybe? I think so.

    prilla1206on May 15, 2005   Link

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