John and Elvis Are Dead
George Michael Lyrics

Close friend of mine as a child fell into a slumber
A lifelong friend of mine went into a deep sleep and has not woken up since 1975.

No sign of life since '75
My friend has been unresponsive and not shown any signs of life since 1975.

Then one day he just, what do you know
Unexpectedly, my friend suddenly regained consciousness.

I'm guessing God just called his number
I believe that God must have had a hand in my friend waking up from his deep sleep.

He called me up he called me up and said
My friend contacted me to talk about his recent experiences.

"I've been awake about a week
My friend had been conscious for a week.

I'm thinking about asking the doctor
My friend was considering asking his doctor for something.

If he could put me back to sleep"
He was considering asking the doctor to put him back to sleep.

Then he laughed and said
My friend found some humor in the situation and laughed.

"Hey all the girls they look the same"
My friend noticed that all the girls looked alike.

Don't they know just what their mothers
My friend wondered if the girls knew what their mothers had gone through.

Paid in blood, and tears to change
Their mothers had gone through so much to make a better life for their daughters.

But the words that made me cry
My friend said something that made me emotional.

The thing he softly said
My friend whispered something to me that had a big impact.

It stayed with me, it keeps messing with my head
His words stayed with me and continued to affect me.

"If Jesus Christ is alive and well
My friend asked me a thought-provoking question.

And how come John and Elvis are dead?"
If Jesus Christ is real and alive, then why have other famous people from the past, like John Lennon and Elvis Presley, died?

Youth, beautiful youth
We were young and idealistic back then.

We walked through the walls until we found the truth
We were determined to uncover the truth and wouldn't let obstacles get in our way.

And said "Change it, it's ugly just change it
When we saw something that bothered us, we would try to change it for the better.

Everyone we used to know
All the people we used to hang out with and care about.

Must have given up, so long ago
We assumed that they had given up on their dreams and ambitions a long time ago.

You can see it, it's written on their faces
The look on their faces told us that they had lost hope and given up.

And the inside of their clothes
Their clothes even seemed to reflect their defeated spirit.

But the words that made me cry
My friend said something else that deeply affected me.

'Cause I knew just what they meant
I understood the significance of what he said.

He turned to me and said
My friend said this particular thing directly to me.

"Hey boy, if Jesus Christ is alive and well
He repeated his earlier question, but directed it at me instead.

Then how come John and Elvis are dead?"
If Jesus is real and alive, then why have other famous people like John Lennon and Elvis Presley died?

"Tell me if Jesus Christ is alive and well
My friend asked yet another question.

Then how come Marvin and Elvis are dead?"
If Jesus is real and alive, why have other famous people like Marvin Gaye and Elvis Presley died?

I said, if Jesus Christ is gonna save us from ourselves
I offered my own perspective on the matter.

Then, how come peace, love and Elvis are dead?
If Jesus offers salvation, then why haven't values like peace and love prevailed, and why have people like Elvis Presley died?

How come?
The question remains unanswered.