This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Johnny's always running around
Trying to find certainty
He needs all the world to confirm
That he ain't lonely
Mary counts the walls
Knows he tires easily
Johnny thinks the world would be right
If it could buy truth from him
Mary says he changes his mind
More than a woman
But she made her bet
Even when the chance was slim
Johnny says he's willing to learn
When he decides he's a fool
Johnny says he'll live anywhere
When he earns time to
Mary combs her hair
Says she should be used to it
Mary always hedges her bets
She never knows what to think
She says that he still acts like he
Is being discovered
Scared that he'll be caught
Without a second thought
Running around
Johnny feels he's wasting his breath
Trying to talk sense to her
Mary says he's lacking a real
Sense of proportion
So she combs her hair
Knows he tires easily
Johnny's always running around
Trying to find certainty
He needs all the world to confirm
That he ain't lonely
Mary counts the walls
Says she should be used to it
Johnny's always running around
Running around
Trying to find certainty
He needs all the world to confirm
That he ain't lonely
Mary counts the walls
Knows he tires easily
Johnny thinks the world would be right
If it could buy truth from him
Mary says he changes his mind
More than a woman
But she made her bet
Even when the chance was slim
Johnny says he's willing to learn
When he decides he's a fool
Johnny says he'll live anywhere
When he earns time to
Mary combs her hair
Says she should be used to it
Mary always hedges her bets
She never knows what to think
She says that he still acts like he
Is being discovered
Scared that he'll be caught
Without a second thought
Running around
Johnny feels he's wasting his breath
Trying to talk sense to her
Mary says he's lacking a real
Sense of proportion
So she combs her hair
Knows he tires easily
Johnny's always running around
Trying to find certainty
He needs all the world to confirm
That he ain't lonely
Mary counts the walls
Says she should be used to it
Johnny's always running around
Running around
Lyrics submitted by boomslang20117
Johnny and Mary Lyrics as written by Robert Allan Palmer
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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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.
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Actually, Robert Palmer himself said that he wrote it about a specific sector of political people he knew personally, political people in the Bahamas, I believe. This song was about the shallowness & neediness of the policians themselves (all male, in this case) & the wives of those said men. Wives who were tired of the political game-playing, the jockeying for attention, the endless social obligations. But those same wives were not about to leave the life of privilege given to them, essentially making them into powerless shadows behind their men. Hence, the ennui, the boredom, the self-esteem issues written into the lines. How many politicians do we see "always running around, acting like he's being discovered"? Brillant but subtle writing, this one. So it's still about marriage to an extent, but there's a deeper meaning behind this song than that.
Not surprised it wasn't a hit in America, as they weren't & still in general aren't able to appreciate a darker song like this on the whole. And yes, I'm an American, and no, I don't hate my country. From what I've read, this song is still the most-respected in RP's catalogue in Britain to this day.
Excellent comment, Elawton. These are the kind of entries we want here on Songmeanings. By far the website I respect the most.
@elawton A truly exceptional description of the meaning of this song. To understand the meaning of any song, you need to delve into who the songwriter is and what he/she was experiencing at the time s/he wrote the song. That's just what you did here, by understanding how Robert's strong connection to the Bahamas (lived there for almost a decade), was the primary influence on the meaning of this song. I know the Caribbean fairly well myself and after reading your description, this song instantly went from being rather obscure to a crystal clear picture of what's going on in every line of the song.<br /> <br /> I also agree that this song was very underappreciated in the States. I'm an American too, at least by birth. But I've always thought of myself as a global citizen. So like you, I can be an American and still see the world through a less biased "lens" than the stereotypical "ugly American". Even your level of English is far above American norms. Few Americans, at least the ones who tend to connect virtually like this, would use or even know what "ennui" means, much less know how to spell it LOL. So you struck a chord with me there too! :))<br /> <br /> Typically, I'm not overflowing with (unwarranted) praise in my comments and reviews. So you earned this big thumbs up from me. IMO You should be a pro (or at least a regular) reviewer. Are you a regular blogger or reviewer anywhere? I like the way you think and write and would enjoy following your writings, wherever they appear. Tank yuh!