"The Boy Looked At Johnny" as written by and Peter/barat Doherty....
The boy looked at Johnny and said
My word that was fun
When he did it with his hat on
Like in a saddle with his gun
We're in slow motion eating breakfast
At the side view hotel
Oh sipping down a pint
Everything's going so well
New York city's very pretty in the night time
But don't you miss Soho
Where everybody goes
La de di la de di da diddy
The boy looked at Johnny
He said "Don't you know who I think I am"
Well I knew you once before
Now I'm trying all I can
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
No no no no no
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
New York city's very pretty in the night time
But don't you miss Soho
Where everybody goes
La de di la de di da diddy
My word that was fun
When he did it with his hat on
Like in a saddle with his gun
We're in slow motion eating breakfast
At the side view hotel
Oh sipping down a pint
Everything's going so well
New York city's very pretty in the night time
But don't you miss Soho
Where everybody goes
La de di la de di da diddy
The boy looked at Johnny
He said "Don't you know who I think I am"
Well I knew you once before
Now I'm trying all I can
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
No no no no no
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
New York city's very pretty in the night time
But don't you miss Soho
Where everybody goes
La de di la de di da diddy
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"the boy looked at Johnny" is a line from Patti Smith's Land, which is a song about gay sex.
"he did it with his hat on" - he had sex with a condom on
"and a saddle" - he is literally riding the boy
"and a gun" - with his penis
(the cowboy references also lend themselves to homoeroticism)
Soho is mentoned as it is famous for its sex industry and prostitution... hinting that Johnny will miss Soho because of this. Everybody in Soho "goes la di da" i.e. they're homosexuals... Johnny will miss the homosexual sex industry and rent boys of Soho...
I think this song is just a bit slanderous towards Borrell, that is if this song is even about Borrell. (It could be another Johnny). Also, Doherty was a rent boy in his early days in order to fund his addictions... this song could be related to that.
That's quite funny now cos alot people do know who he is but it's a typical Johnny boast and sort of thing he's been saying for years and typical mickey take from The Libertines. Johnny was in The Libertines for a few days and lived with them for a lot longer.
i get the feeling that that would be one of those *moments*
the patti smith thing "the boy looked at johnny, johnny wanted to run" is a line from her song Horses, which is one of the most difficult songs to understand, but i've always felt that its about being roughed up/raped in a hallway. so if the Libs have made a reference, its.....too far away for my tired little mind to make the connection. but yes.
Also i've been looking for comfirmation of this for ages but apparently its about borrel cheating on his missus while with the libs.
"the boy(his penis) looked at johnny(borrell),
said my word that was fun (the sex act)
when he did it with his hat on (he had a condom on)"
Well thats what i've heard it means. It is crude but i heard this from my friend Craig who went out with Barats cousin Emily.
this might be one of my favorite lines ever.... i use it all the time now.... i love the chorus of this song and it reminds me of when i lived in nyc and drinking and stumbling around late at night....