Let It Rock
Georgia Satellites Lyrics


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Well in the heat of day down in mobile, Alabama
I'm workin' on the railroad with a steel drivin' hammer
I gotta get some money buy some brand new shoes
Gotta find somebody take away my blues
Well she don't love me when I'm singin' in the sun
Payday's comin' when the work is all done

Well now late here in the evening when the sun is sinkin' low
All day I've been waitin' for that whistle to blow
Sitting in a teepee built right on here on the tracks
Rolling them bones until the foreman comes back
Pick up your belongings boys and scattere about
We've got an off schedule train comin' two miles out

Everybody's scrambling and a running around
Picking up their money tearing the teepee down
Foreman wants to panic, bout to go insane
Trying to get the workers out the way of the train
Engineer blows the whistle loud and long
Can't stop the train gotta let it roll on

Bye bye johnny
Well now she drew out all of the money of southern trust
And put her little johnny on a greyhound bus
Leavin' Louisiana for the golden west
Drowned in the tears from her happiness
Her own little son named johnny be goode
Gonna make some motion pictures out in Hollywood

I said bye, bye, bye, bye
I said bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye bye johnny, goodbye johnny be goode

Well she remembers taking money after gathering crops
And buying johnny's guitar at the brokers shop
As long as he would play it by the railroad site
He wouldn't get in trouble she was satisfied
Well she never knew there would come a day like this
When she'd have to give johnny a good bye kiss

I said bye, bye, bye, bye
I said bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye bye johnny, goodbye johnny be goode

Well now she finally got the letter she'd been dreaming of
When johnny wrote and told her he had done fell in love
As soon as he was married he'd bring her back
And build a mansion for her by the railroad track
And every time you heard that locomotive roar
She'd be standing there waiting at the kitchen door

I said bye, bye, bye, bye




I said bye, bye, bye, bye
Bye bye johnny, goodbye johnny be goode

Overall Meaning

The Georgia Satellites' song Let It Rock tells the story of a railroad worker named Johnny and his mother. The song is divided into three parts, with each part representing a different stage in Johnny's life. In the first part, Johnny is working on the railroad in Mobile, Alabama, hoping to earn some money to buy new shoes and find someone to cure his blues. Although he works hard, he knows his girlfriend doesn't love him when he's working in the sun, but he looks forward to payday when the work is done.


In the second part of the song, it's late in the evening, and Johnny is sitting with his fellow workers in a teepee built beside the tracks, rolling dice and waiting for the whistle to blow. When they hear the off schedule train coming, chaos ensues as they scramble to collect their money and tear down the teepee. The foreman is trying to get everyone out of the way of the train, but they can't stop it and have to let it roll on.


The third and final part of the song features Johnny's mother, who remembers buying Johnny his guitar so he could play it while he worked on the railroad. She has a bittersweet goodbye with Johnny as he heads off to Hollywood to make motion pictures. She hopes he finds happiness and tells him that she'll be waiting for him by the kitchen door every time she hears the sound of a locomotive roaring.


Line by Line Meaning

Well in the heat of day down in mobile, Alabama
It's really hot outside where I'm working on the railroad in Mobile, Alabama


I'm workin' on the railroad with a steel drivin' hammer
I'm using a big hammer to work on the railroad tracks


I gotta get some money buy some brand new shoes
I need to earn some cash so I can buy new shoes


Gotta find somebody take away my blues
I'm feeling sad and need to find someone to cheer me up


Well she don't love me when I'm singin' in the sun
I don't feel loved by my girlfriend when I'm working in the sun


Payday's comin' when the work is all done
I'll get paid when the work is finished


Well now late here in the evening when the sun is sinkin' low
It's getting late in the evening and the sun is setting


All day I've been waitin' for that whistle to blow
I've been waiting all day for the work whistle to blow


Sitting in a teepee built right on here on the tracks
I'm sitting in a tent that's set up on the railroad tracks


Rolling them bones until the foreman comes back
I'm playing dice until the supervisor returns


Pick up your belongings boys and scattere about
Everyone needs to grab their things and move away


We've got an off schedule train comin' two miles out
There's an unscheduled train coming our way from a couple of miles away


Everybody's scrambling and a running around
Everyone's running around and scrambling to pack up


Picking up their money tearing the teepee down
People are grabbing their money and tearing down the tent


Foreman wants to panic, bout to go insane
The supervisor is about to go crazy with panic


Trying to get the workers out the way of the train
He's trying to get everyone to move out of the way of the train


Engineer blows the whistle loud and long
The train engineer is blowing the whistle loudly and for a long time


Can't stop the train gotta let it roll on
They can't stop the train, it needs to keep moving


Bye bye johnny
Goodbye Johnny


Well now she drew out all of the money of southern trust
She took all the money from the Southern Trust bank


And put her little johnny on a greyhound bus
She put her son Johnny on a Greyhound bus


Leavin' Louisiana for the golden west
She's leaving Louisiana and heading to the West Coast


Drowned in the tears from her happiness
She's crying tears of happiness


Her own little son named johnny be goode
Her son's name is Johnny B. Goode


Gonna make some motion pictures out in Hollywood
He's going to make movies in Hollywood


I said bye, bye, bye, bye
I said goodbye


Bye bye johnny, goodbye johnny be goode
Goodbye Johnny B. Goode


Well she remembers taking money after gathering crops
She remembers working in the fields and saving money


And buying johnny's guitar at the brokers shop
She used that money to buy Johnny a guitar


As long as he would play it by the railroad site
She allowed him to play the guitar by the railroad


He wouldn't get in trouble she was satisfied
She was happy that he wasn't getting into trouble


Well she never knew there would come a day like this
She never thought she'd have to say goodbye to Johnny


When she'd have to give johnny a good bye kiss
When she'd have to say goodbye to Johnny


Well now she finally got the letter she'd been dreaming of
She finally received the letter she'd been hoping for


When johnny wrote and told her he had done fell in love
Johnny wrote to say he'd fallen in love


As soon as he was married he'd bring her back
As soon as he's married, he'll bring her back home


And build a mansion for her by the railroad track
He'll build her a big house by the railroad tracks


And every time you heard that locomotive roar
Whenever they hear the train, she'll be waiting for him


She'd be standing there waiting at the kitchen door
She'll be waiting for him at the door




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

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

Hugo Alejandro Pinilla Calderón

When I listen to this kind of rock, I feel I wanna drink a beer.

Paul Asmussen

Spark....one up.
.

MrManc55

Me to and I gave up drinking years ago

Brian Bednarek

If one beer is good, imagine a dozen!!!

eddiebrown192

Hugo Alejandro Pinilla Calderón Greatest bar band ever !

Army Master

Georgia Satellites is literally the best Band ever

Rock and Roll

No, that's Status Quo.

ebban jenkins

Just found this band.....I feel like taking myself outside and kicking my own ass for taking so long! EXCELLENT

Leinie

I kinda just rediscovered them and feel the same way

Tony Wilson

HAHAHAHAAA

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