Chuck Berry remains an influential figure and one of the pioneers of rock and roll music who first began performing in 1953. Cub Koda wrote, "Of all the early breakthrough rock & roll artists, none is more important to the development of the music than Chuck Berry. He is its greatest songwriter, the main shaper of its instrumental voice, one of its greatest guitarists, and one of its greatest performers." John Lennon was more succinct: "If you tried to give rock and roll another name, you might call it 'Chuck Berry'."
Berry was among the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on its opening in 1986. He received Kennedy Center Honors in 2000 in a "class" with Mikhail Baryshnikov, Plácido Domingo, Angela Lansbury, and Clint Eastwood. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked Chuck Berry #5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. He was also ranked 6th on Rolling Stone's Rolling Stone's 100 greatest guitarists of All Time.
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame included three of Chuck Berry's songs (Johnny B. Goode, Maybellene, Rock & Roll Music), of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.
Chuck Berry held a special place, in terms of sound development, in the formation of, Mersey-Beat at Liverpool.
The finest exponent of Chuck Berry, guitar, sound at Liverpool during 1959 to 1963, was Vincent Tow/Ismail, who in turn passed on many of the learned skills to Lennon & McCartney, his friends and colleagues during that period--1959 to 1962/3.
Chuck Berry also influenced many of the great rock 'n' roll bands that we know today including The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
Bye Bye Johnny
Chuck Berry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
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 goodby kiss
Going
Bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye bye Johnny
Good bye 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
Good bye Johnny B. Goode
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 © MUSIC SERVICES, INC.
Written by: Chuck Berry
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@viewwithice4500
People laugh when i listen to music like this but bro I can't ever stop listening. Chuck Berry is my favourite solo rock artist 😅.
@JackThurston-pu2bk
With ya bro
@JohnDouros
Tell them to kiss something
@jogman262
How can anyone not enjoy this?
@Phillip-y6d
@@jogman262 by being tard
ed
@RobertProfer
profer 🎉
@Shay2312
1 of a kind LEGEND no one could ever duplicate Chuck Berry's originality.
@kevinoconnor5309
He was the man,,and the last of the great rock and rollers died last week,,RIP Gerry Lee...
@LarsSalmonson
Berry - The father of rock 'n' roll.
@foconnor2794
King of the rock!!!! You were more than Elvis,,