Lyric discussion by Pirtyfool22 

Cover art for Johnny 99 lyrics by Bruce Springsteen

This song is filled with great lines. "Down in the part of town where when you hit a red light you don't stop" "Too drunk from mixing Tanqueray and wine" "The judge was Mean John Brown."

I agree with Lwis that "Johnny 99" is the nickname of anyone serving a 99 year sentence. Once Bruce says "Now they call him Johnny 99" he continues to refer to him as Johnny from that point on.