Pogues, The - Johnny Come Lately Lyrics
I'm an American, boys, and I've come a long way,
Born and bred in the USA
So listen up close, I've got something to say
Boys, I'm buying this round
Well it took a little while, but we're in this fight
We're gonna drink Camden Town dry tonight,
If I have to spend my last pound
When I first got to London it was pourin' down rain
Met a little girl in the field canteen
Painted her name on the nose of my plane
Six more missions, I'm gone
Well I asked if I could stay and she said that I might
Then the warden came around yelling "Turn out the lights"
Death rainin' out of the London night
[Chorus:]
But when Johnny Come Lately comes marching home
With a chest full of medals and a G.I. loan
They'll be waitin' at the station down in San Antone
When Johnny comes marching home
My P-47 is a pretty good ship
And she took a round comin' cross the channel last trip
I was thinkin' 'bout my baby and letting her rip
Always got me through so far
Well they can ship me all over this great big world
But I'll never find nothing like my North End girl
I'm taking her home with me one day, sir
Soon as we win this war
[Chorus]
Now my grandaddy sang this song
Told me about London when the Blitz was on
How he married grandma and brought her back home
A hero thoughout his land
Now I'm standing on a runway in San Diego
A couple Purple Hearts and I move a little slow
There's nobody here, maybe nobody knows
About a place called Vietnam
[Chorus]
Other Lyrics by Artist
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Rand Lyrics
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Pogues, The Johnny Come Lately Comments
I like the "really no seriously.....drunk as fuck theme".....but its good
Fn awesome
shocking. .
hahaha! yeah right
I always liked this cover, though Spider kinda reminds me of Orlando Bloom.
James Fearnley can really play that thing. Love Spider's voice too. Great song.
I love Spidef 's version of this song; love all his work.
seen it love when shane pours booze in his coffee
Except, of course, that the grandson would have been too young for Vietnam....
Not necessarily.
@WVMontani yes it doesn't work as the lyrics are written. grandpa met his wife in WWII and had grandkids fighting in vietnam ? i was in Vietnam. my dad was in WWII.
The Pogues were just on this song, not on the whole album. Steve's band the Dukes played on the rest. This was a great collaboration, though. There is a cool video here on the recording session, from a documentary on the Pogues, if folks haven't seen it.
Terry Woods, what are you wearing?
@foxpointlake Substitute one word and this song is as relevant today as it ever was. Change Vietnam to Afganistan
@ChimeraAZ It is a Steve Earle Song form Copperhead Road. If you read the credits in Copperhead Road, you will see that the Pogues was his band for the album. How cool is that?
Zoom in on Jem! I can't see what roll he's using.
i wish they recorded this one
nice job guys but not outlaw enough
Think spiders doing allright here, his voice fits the song well.
true, true. I haven't heard this song in so long I'd forgotten the part about WWII. Amazing combo Steve Earle/Pogues. I wish they'd done more songs together.
The song is a history lesson. The first two verses are about WW II. The narrator is an American fighter pilot based in England - fighting the Germans. The last verse switches to the point of view of the grandson. He compares the fact that when his 'granddaddy' returned from WW II he was a 'hero throughout this land'. But when he himself returns from Vietnam, nobody seems to care.
Pure songwriting genius by Steve Earle, nice work by the Pogues.
Spider Stacy (Pogue) is singing.
Not really. They're Irish, not American, and the song's about the Vietnam War, not WWII.
It's about both wars; that is the point.
Actually, I've seen the Pogues twice in Japan, and they were some of the loudest, most boisterous audiences I've EVER seen. Thousands of Japanese skinheads chanting! I don't know what it was like in 1988, but if you see GOOD music in Japan these days, people go apeshit.
filmed in japan they are very polite and dont shout.
steve earle wrote the song. the recording done with the pogues wouldn't exist without the pogues, the song would.
great video great song great performance !
gets better towards the end
well well shit my sons and dorater can do beter
I bought this bootleg at a second hand record store a number of years ago and I love this song as much as I did then.
Hello everybody, put your hands down from Spider! I got a bootleg of the Pogues 1988 tour and I assure you that he can sing this song great! Moreover, he's my hero, because he managed to stay in a band for 20 years even if he was not able as his mates..Pogues forever!
Mixed feelings on this one.
The band is great...
vocalist is OK (not great)
But this song is tough to sing man.
:)
Thanks for posting though!
I think Spider's biggest mistake here is the headband! lol
Disagree; it's a reminder of a war w/Japan
Just my 2 cents here, but the pogues ARE the band who played the backing music on the 'johnny come lately' track from Steve Earle's Copperhead Road album in the studio - I think they do a fantastic job of putting it back together without Steve and may just feel they have a wee bit of ownership or creative license with the track as well, as they were instrumental(no pun intended) in getting the original down on vinyl.
stuey, yeah, steve is the best...my husband and i are going to see him March 9 when he's in Minneapolis....i can't wait!!!
No not blaming the group ...or wasn't meant to as this band are one of the most talented groups / songwriters to come out of my era (especially when you consider all the dross that about in the last 3 or so decades). Do like the Earle man tho...especially Copperhead Road.
i'd never heard of the Pogues until a friend mentioned this video. don't blame it on the group's effort though, few can touch Steve Earle...
What can i say, the Pogues...one of my fave bands period but my gawd...Spider, you do this song no justice. I'm afraid this is a quality song but alas it does need the Earle man on lead vocals. The Pogues and Shane...simply legendary.