Bye Bye Johnny
Chuck Berry Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

She drew out all her money out of the Southern Trust
And put her little boy aboard a Greyhound bus
Leaving Louisiana for the Golden West
Down came the tears from her happiness
Her own little son name 'o Johnny B. Goode
Was gonna make some motion pictures out in Hollywood

Bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye bye Johnny
Good bye Johnny B. Goode

She remembered taking money out from gathering crop
And buying Johnny's guitar at a broker shop
As long as he would play it by the railroad side
And wouldn't get in trouble he was satisfied
But never thought that there would come a day like this
When she would have to give her son a goodbye kiss

Going, bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye bye Johnny
Bye bye Johnny B. Goode

She finally got the letter she was dreaming of
Johnny wrote and told 'er he had fell in love
As soon as he was married he would bring her back
And build a mansion for 'em by the railroad track
So every time they heard the locomotive roar
They'd be a' standin', a' wavin' in the kitchen door

Howling, bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye




Bye bye Johnny
Good bye Johnny B. Goode

Overall Meaning

In Chuck Berry's "Bye Bye Johnny," the lyrics tell the story of a mother and her son, Johnny, who is leaving their home in Louisiana to pursue his dream of becoming a movie star in Hollywood. The mother takes all of her money out of the Southern Trust to pay for Johnny to travel by Greyhound bus to the Golden West. As the bus departs, she sheds tears of joy and sadness for her son who is embarking on this exciting opportunity.


The song speaks to the sacrifices that this mother has made to help her son achieve his goal. She recalls buying him his first guitar from a broker shop, and encouraging him to play it by the railroad tracks as long as he stayed out of trouble. She never could have imagined that the day would come when she would have to say goodbye to her son and send him off to Hollywood.


Johnny eventually sends a letter back to his mother, telling her that he has fallen in love and plans to marry his sweetheart. He promises to return to Louisiana and build a mansion for them by the railroad tracks where they can always hear the sound of the locomotive. The song ends with the mother and son standing in the kitchen door, waving goodbye as the train roars past.


Overall, "Bye Bye Johnny" is a touching tribute to the dreams and aspirations of young people everywhere, and the sacrifices that their loved ones often make to help them attain their goals.


Line by Line Meaning

She drew out all her money out of the Southern Trust
The woman withdrew all her money from the Southern Trust bank account.


And put her little boy aboard a Greyhound bus
She put her son on a Greyhound bus.


Leaving Louisiana for the Golden West
She was leaving Louisiana to go to the western part of the United States.


Down came the tears from her happiness
She was so happy that tears streamed down her face.


Her own little son name 'o Johnny B. Goode
Her son was named Johnny B. Goode.


Was gonna make some motion pictures out in Hollywood
He was going to make movies in Hollywood.


Bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye bye.


Bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye bye.


Bye bye Johnny
Saying goodbye to Johnny.


Good bye Johnny B. Goode
Saying goodbye specifically to Johnny B. Goode.


She remembered taking money out from gathering crop
She recalled taking money from selling crops.


And buying Johnny's guitar at a broker shop
She used that money to buy Johnny's guitar from a broker shop.


As long as he would play it by the railroad side
As long as he played the guitar by the railroad, she was content.


And wouldn't get in trouble he was satisfied
As long as Johnny didn't get into trouble, he was happy.


But never thought that there would come a day like this
She never thought that there would be a day when she would have to say goodbye to her son.


When she would have to give her son a goodbye kiss
She had to give her son a goodbye kiss.


Going, bye, bye, bye, bye
Saying bye bye again.


Bye, bye, bye, bye
Saying bye bye again.


Bye bye Johnny
Saying bye bye to Johnny.


Bye bye Johnny B. Goode
Saying bye bye specifically to Johnny B. Goode.


She finally got the letter she was dreaming of
She finally received the letter she had been dreaming of.


Johnny wrote and told 'er he had fell in love
Johnny wrote to tell her that he had fallen in love.


As soon as he was married he would bring her back
Once he was married, he promised to bring her back.


And build a mansion for 'em by the railroad track
They would build a mansion by the railroad track.


So every time they heard the locomotive roar
Every time they heard a train, they would remember their promise.


They'd be a' standin', a' wavin' in the kitchen door
They would be standing in the kitchen, waving goodbye.


Howling, bye, bye, bye, bye
Saying bye bye one last time.


Bye, bye, bye, bye
Saying bye bye one last time.


Bye bye Johnny
A final goodbye to Johnny.


Good bye Johnny B. Goode
A final goodbye to Johnny B. Goode.




Lyrics © ENTERTAINMENT ONE U.S. LP
Written by: Chuck Berry

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@UCqkdtMiE5ZquD_lF9prae4Q

Lyrics: 💖🎸💖😀
She drew out all her money out of the Southern Trust
And put her little boy aboard a Greyhound Bus
Leaving Louisiana for the Golden West
Down came the tears from her happiness
Her own little son's name 'o Johnny B. Goode
Was gonna make some motion pictures out in Hollywood

Bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye bye Johnny
Goodbye Johnny B. Goode

She remembered taking money out from gathering crop
And buying Johnny's guitar at a broker shop
As long as he would play it by the railroad side
And wouldn't get in trouble he was satisfied
But never thought that there would come a day like this
When she would have to give her son a goodbye kiss

Going
Bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye bye Johnny
Goodbye Johnny B. Goode

She finally got the letter she was dreaming of
Johnny wrote and told her he had fell in love
As soon as he was married he would bring her back
And build a mansion for 'em by the railroad track
So every time they heard the locomotive roar
They'd be a' standin', a' wavin' by the kitchen door

Howling
Bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye bye Johnny
Goodbye Johnny B. Goode



All comments from YouTube:

@manfredbeuth2921

Chuck is absolut the best Rock'n Roller ever!!!!!!! His songs and his perfomance/ music are amazing and for eternity!!!!!!!!!

@JohnAdams-xc5yk

I was14 years old when this came out, still gets my heart beating at 79

@davidheater

yes, this was primitive rock and roll, which meant ''sex'

@netosousa9484

Esse sim é o rei do rock sensacional

@ivanisemoreira1146

Exc
2:18

@antonhouston-ne2ih

Same year I was born.

@harveyalan788

Some things never get old, like the joy that Chuck Berry gave to us. I'm a couple of years behind you, and this music makes me sing and dance.

5 More Replies...

@02danton

The fact that there are comments in so many languages goes to show Berry’s music is loved by all and all over the world! Hail! Hail! Rock and roll! Hail! Hail! Chuck Berry! An awesome performance here! I’m lucky enough to have seen him in concert 2 times! There will never be another Chuck Berry! His music is universal and speaks to all!!!

@OIJASjidasod18

Счастливчик! Впечатление на всю жизнь!

@nyacoustics8373

This guy was the best. I'm young and no new artist can touch him! A legend!

More Comments

More Versions