Madness - Johnny The Horse Lyrics

2020 anyone. Love this track

This is why I can't stand horse racing

A brilliant song mixing their variety hall musicality with social comment and pure happiness.

What a great song. I wouldn't want to be playing my own death scene. Very chilling to see Chaz's eyes get closed. So hard when friends start to die off one by one. Terrible esp if you don't have friends anymore!

Kind of metaphorical as Chas is no longer in the band.

Johnny the horse was kicked to death
he died for entertainment…

Would you believe he came out well
He had a bright inquiring mind
His family knew that he'd go far
If he applied his time

But he started out
Standing on corners
And talking out loud too loud
You see he couldn't believe in himself the world
Or anything he heard

It seems like a million years ago
That he left his life behind
The moment came for him to go
He said goodbye to his wife and child

He started out walking
Never looked back
It was too much pain
Between Glasgow and London
One hot summer he forgot his name

Can you remember his name?
Doo doodle eh do do

But he started out
Standing on corners
And talking out loud too loud
You see he couldn't believe in himself the world
Or anything he heard

Can you remember his name?
Doo doodle eh do do

Can you remember his name?
Doo doodle eh do do
Ditto Woooh!

Will you remember his name?
Doo doodle eh do do
Ditto Woooh!

He took his battered bones and broken dreams to Regents Park at sunset

what's going on with chas these days? when's he going to rejoin?

nice promo. this track reminds me a bit of beatles, kinks and others like that.

I can watch MADNESS videos all day long !!!

This song is one of the best madness ever sang ...watched them at uttoxoter racecourse recently they were awesome .....!!!

I would buy every single one of your albums, past and present...but you have to meet me first... cu@ the blues stadium

Sounds the the beetles album ...walruses

One of my favourites by madness 👌

Watching the video in hindsight it’s kind of a symbolic prediction of Chas Smash leaving the in band.

1:40 marks face!

*JOHNNY THE HORSE WAS KICKED TO DEATH!!!!!*

For my nephew, Freddy. RIP

I'll never understand the face morph trend in music videos.

Got album for Xmas gone..this song came up..unsure what it's about didn't listen to it...so this is...oh...thought otherwise a horse

I'm Morgan the donkey. :(

Between Glasgow and London one hot summer he forgot his name...

Ian Dury ............ Part of this band.

I have always thought that this is slightly Autobiographical too!, Their Career up to a certain time in the Mid 80's could scan with them burning themselves out and relate that to them being sort of kicked to death Career wise & sort of dying for Entertainment!.

Marmalade Stex1591 Nail on the head! Always the double or triple entendre.

RESPECT

Jesus, WHAT a song. Superb.

top class madness, happy, sad, reminiscent, joyful,.... madness........i hope i don't outlive them, cos the world will be a sadder place without them,

Wish granted

Just read that this failed to even enter the Top 40, peaking at 44. I really don't get that. This is one of the best singles of all time. I guess that people generally like the bouncier, more jolly pop tunes of Madness. But they are really missing out on the real genius of Madness, by not delving deeper into this fantastic group and discovering their more bitter-sweet tracks.

+97channel Well said......agreed!

97channel before I read your comment I said exactly the same thing to my wife, a crying shame that this never got any further up the charts, the album Wonderful is totally amazing.

Totally agree 97, a superb record. Think wonderful Radio 1 had lost interest in Madness by then. A classic record.

This is a song for all the lost men out there whos life has spun out of control, who have wasted years and years of their life doing nothing, who have wrecked good relationships and pushed away people who loved them. Its happened to me too. This is a great madness song, but listen to the words of the song, its incredibly sad and moving. remember.,......time gone can never be regained. Life is short. Its not always easy to change, although it is possible if you dont go mad trying.

Can totally relate, but it's not too late to turn it around

Madness have a valuable gift for deep and not necessarily uplifting lyrics. Got to wonder how happy life really is behind the nutty boys' upbeat exterior.

I love all of Madness, all 7 of them, but looking at this I must say that Chas is my favourite. Cos he together with Thommo is the nuttiest and funniest out the whole lot.

+Greatest1979 Chas has always been my favourite......

Seems common and predictable but suggs is my favourite

Really good song...was a Madness fan from the 80's and love this new one. they still got! It....

God Bless Johnny ..... :(

I could never grow tired of this song but for the life of me I still couldn't figure out if they were alluding to someone, a real person or just a myth? I enjoy looking at the guys and how they've aged so well, still looking like the young chaps they used to be. Suggs is the most unchanged when it comes to looks. Great video and story. I'll keep watching it 'till someone tells me who Johnny is hehehe

+tuberobotto Just like Mack the Knife, Johnny the Horse was a stereotype.

Who told u that Jim?

Its about me

Johnny must have been a Blackpool fan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

love it

just great live....

+geoff rix I know !!

dat video clip i do say

Johnny was kicked to death, he didn't pass by!

i think they were only aloud to say pass this way for the vid to be made 

+bill1234bob1 well... actually this is the radio edit... the non-radio version said "kicked to death"

I knew I wasn't a nutcase who'd made that part up

It really changes the meaning of the song. Not like, bad, but very different

Brilliant Video FX & as for the Sounds ....... I'm SKAnking.   ;)

Brilliant !Madness at their best such an underrated song!

+Garry Gibson Not underrated by me !

On all the corners, in all the citys stood characters, begging and entertaining all in the one performance. Madness touch upon alcoholism and homelessness as only they can. A loss of life for the futile amusement of others. R.I.P Johnny the Horse.

Favorite song of all the songs

Oh I do, that's why I said certainly ;)

hahah well you never know... ^_^

The sadly lost 'classic' Madness single. Should have been huge. Brilliant song!

Can you remember ?

It would certainly pass the old gray whistle test :D

Recent material? Wow, they maintained their personality here.

I coudn't have put it better myself

Still classic Madness.

There was so much crap around by this time, no wonder more classic Madness didn't take. It was drowned out by the noise (or in the shit) of the Spice Girls and Eternal. Never mind. They'll always be the real thing. The shit just stinks for a while and then decomposes.

good tune!!