James McMurtry - Where's Johnny? lyrics

McMurtry 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. 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, he's 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. Oh, where's Johnny? Has he gone away? Oh, where's Johnny? Will he be back someday? 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, just life, mom Just life, just life, mom Just life.