@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday".
I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Young Johnny, he really had a way
He did his homework on the school bus
And he always got an A
And the girls liked Johnny
More than anyone 'cept maybe Elton John
Later on in high school
He couldn't keep his red suspenders on
(chorus)
Oh where's Johnny has he gone away
Oh where's Johnny will he be back someday
He had a room full of trophies
From the track meets and the tennis games he'd win
He was a full-blown whiz kid
Bound to be a Renaissance man
Then he went on off to college
Got his head stuck in a different state of mind
When they asked him was it alcohol?
He told them it was nothing of the kind
Just life … just life, mom
(chorus)
But Johnny's alright he just turned out his lights
They'd have paid it no mind had he not been so bright
He opened up his eyes and he snapped out of the groove
He saw both sides of everything and found he could not
move
Johnny moved home
Now he reads a lot of poetry and plays
He'll sit out in the backyard
And not say a word to anyone for days
And his folks gave up
They no longer even bother getting through
He's thirty-odd years old
They must have figured there's just so much you can do
His mother keeps his pictures
In the scrapbook in the drawer with her pearls
She polishes the trophies
That he won back when they thought he'd save the world
Back when the girls liked Johnny
More than anyone 'cept maybe Elton John
She wonders where's her little boy
With the braces and the red suspenders gone
Just life …
He did his homework on the school bus
And he always got an A
And the girls liked Johnny
More than anyone 'cept maybe Elton John
Later on in high school
He couldn't keep his red suspenders on
(chorus)
Oh where's Johnny has he gone away
Oh where's Johnny will he be back someday
He had a room full of trophies
From the track meets and the tennis games he'd win
He was a full-blown whiz kid
Bound to be a Renaissance man
Then he went on off to college
Got his head stuck in a different state of mind
When they asked him was it alcohol?
He told them it was nothing of the kind
Just life … just life, mom
(chorus)
But Johnny's alright he just turned out his lights
They'd have paid it no mind had he not been so bright
He opened up his eyes and he snapped out of the groove
He saw both sides of everything and found he could not
move
Johnny moved home
Now he reads a lot of poetry and plays
He'll sit out in the backyard
And not say a word to anyone for days
And his folks gave up
They no longer even bother getting through
He's thirty-odd years old
They must have figured there's just so much you can do
His mother keeps his pictures
In the scrapbook in the drawer with her pearls
She polishes the trophies
That he won back when they thought he'd save the world
Back when the girls liked Johnny
More than anyone 'cept maybe Elton John
She wonders where's her little boy
With the braces and the red suspenders gone
Just life …
Lyrics submitted by SongMeanings
Where's Johnny Lyrics as written by James Mc Murtry
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Holiday
Bee Gees
Bee Gees
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988.
"'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it."
"There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
When We Were Young
Blink-182
Blink-182
This is a sequel to 2001's "Reckless Abandon", and features the band looking back on their clumsy youth fondly.
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it.
“I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.