Johnny Too Bad

Written by: 
The Slickers, add. lyrics J. Martyn
1 Oct 1980

Walking down the road
With an old blade in your hand,
Johnny too bad, that's what they say.
Walking down the road
With a blade in your waist,
Johnny too bad, Johnny too bad.
Don't you play come faking,
You're looking and mistaking,
Too bad.
You're hurrying and you're shooting,
You're losing, told you,
You're too bad.

Just one of these days,
You're going to make your woman cry:
Ooh, Johnny too bad.
One of these days,
You're going to make your woman cry,
'Cause Johnny, you're so bad,
That's what they tell me about you.
With you looking and sticking
Switchblade a-picking,
Too bad.
Oh I told you, yes you did it,
Don't you, I told you, too bad.
That's what they say about you.

[guitar solo]

Walking down the road,
You're going to hear a voice say:
Go, Johnny, where you're going to run to,
Come that sweet day.
You may be walking down the road,
You're might hear a voice say:
Go, Johnny, where you're going to run to,
Come that sweet day.
You might run to the rock for rescue,
You'll find a rock, you'll find a rock there;
Run to the rock for rescue,
There will be no rock, be no rock at dawn.

Walking down the road,
With a blade in your waist;
{Johnny too bad}
Johnny too bad, Johnny too bad.
Walking down the road,
With a blade in your, with a blade your waist;
You're too bad Johnny, too bad Johnny, too bad Johnny.
With your blade a picking, switchblade licking,
Too bad.
With you licking and sticking, blade come picking,
Too bad, that's what they say about you.
With your blade come licking, licking, sticking,
That's what they say about you.
Licking, sticking, too bad.

[J-J-J-J-J-J-Johnny]

Johnny go walking.
Johnny go talking.
Johnny go walking.
Johnny go talking.
Johnny go walking now.
Johnny go talking.
Johnny go out.
Too bad...
Johnny...

sitenote:
The song by the Slickers was one of many hits that featured in the 1972 Jamaican movie The harder they come starring Jimmy Cliff. It charted in Jamaica in 1971. John refers to a sixties band called Johnny and the Shootouts in the sixties but I have no confirmation on this.
The title somehow is associated with the Johnny B Goode rock and roll classic by Chuck Berry.

First release: