“Tell me what it is we've got to do, wait for our fields to start glistening,
Hey, wait for the bullets to start whistling
Hey, here comes a hydrogen bomb and here comes a guided missile
Here comes a hydrogen bomb, I can almost hear its whistle
I can almost hear its whistle”
Havens wrote this with Louis Gossett Jr., an actor who would go on to win the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for the 1982 movie An Officer and a Gentleman. Gossett was also a folk singer who made the rounds at coffeehouses in Greenwich Village, where Havens was a regular. "He used to sing work songs and chain-gang songs, and he would just smack the guitar," Havens explained in a 1994 DISCoveries interview. "You know, [sings] 'Take this hammer' – smack! 'Carry it to the captain' – smack! He'd sing all these great tunes. That's how I first met him."
Havens sang this during his famous three-hour opening set at Woodstock, and it was one of two songs (the other was "Freedom") featured in the accompanying movie. The singer was quick to point out that he and his fellow performers were pro-peace more than anti-war. "I still tell people to this day is that if it wasn't for the Army, [Woodstock] would never have happened," he said in a 2003 interview. "There wouldn't have been a Woodstock because it was the Army that brought the helicopters to bring the band back and forth... No one knew that. And then they were saying we were anti-soldier and we're anti-war and all this stuff. No, we were pro-peace. The people who were in the war were our brothers and our cousins, uncles and aunts, you know."
Actor Anthony Chisholm sang this in the prison drama Oz in the 2002 episode "Variety."
This was also included on Havens' 1969 double album, Richard P. Havens, 1983.
Handsome Johnny
Richie Havens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Marching to the fields of Concord?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with a musket in his hand,
Marching to the Concord war, hey marching to the Concord war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Gettysburg?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with a flintlock in his hand,
Hey, look yonder, tell me what's that you see
Marching to the fields of Dunkirk?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with a carbine in his hand,
Marching to the Dunkirk war, hey marching to the Dunkirk war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Korea?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with an M1 in his hand,
Marching to the Korean war, hey marching to the Korean war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Vietnam?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with an M15,
Marching to the Vietnam war, hey marching to the Vietnam war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Birmingham?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with his hand rolled in a fist,
Marching to the Birmingham war, hey marching to the Birmingham war.
Hey, it's a long hard road, it's a long hard road,
It's a long hard road, before we'll be free.
Hey, what's the use of singing this song, some of you are not even listening.
Tell me what it is we've got to do: wait for our fields to start glistening,
Wait for the bullets to start whistling.
Here comes a hydrogen bomb, here comes a guided missile,
Here comes a hydrogen bomb: I can almost hear its whistle.
"Handsome Johnny" is a song by Richie Havens that reflects on the impact of war on the human condition. The song's narrator asks the listener to "look yonder" at Handsome Johnny, who is depicted as a soldier marching off to various wars throughout history. The song moves through a chronology of wars, beginning with the battles of the American Revolution in Concord and ending with the protests for civil rights in Birmingham, Alabama. Handsome Johnny is shown with different weapons for each war, representing how the tools of war have evolved over time. Yet, despite this evolution, the march to war is presented as tragic and futile.
The chorus, "hey, it's a long hard road, it's a long hard road, it's a long hard road, before we'll be free," suggests that the struggle for freedom is ongoing and the road to it is filled with violence, loss, and tragedy. The song's final lines are particularly haunting, "Here comes a hydrogen bomb, here comes a guided missile, Here comes a hydrogen bomb: I can almost hear its whistle," evoking the sense of imminent doom that came with the Cold War era. The song's message is clear: war begets more war, and the cost of violence is immeasurable.
Overall, "Handsome Johnny" is a powerful anti-war anthem that uses history to highlight the cyclical nature of violence and its long-lasting impact on humanity.
Line by Line Meaning
Hey, look yonder, tell me what's that you see Marching to the fields of Concord?
Asking the listener to describe the sight of someone marching towards the fields of Concord, potentially Handsome Johnny, holding a musket, getting ready to fight in the Concord war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see Marching to the fields of Gettysburg?
Asking the listener what they see when observing Handsome Johnny, holding a flintlock, marching in preparation for combat in the Gettysburg war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what's that you see Marching to the fields of Dunkirk?
Asking the listener to identify Handsome Johnny as he approaches with a carbine in his hand, ready to go to war in Dunkirk.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see Marching to the fields of Korea?
Asking the listener to notice Handsome Johnny marching towards the Korean war with an M1 in his hand.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see Marching to the fields of Vietnam?
Asking the listener to spy Handsome Johnny on his way to the Vietnam war with an M15.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see Marching to the fields of Birmingham?
Asking the listener to note Handsome Johnny as he approaches, fist raised, preparing for war in Birmingham.
Hey, it's a long hard road, it's a long hard road, It's a long hard road, before we'll be free.
Reminding us all that the road to freedom is hard, long and difficult.
Hey, what's the use of singing this song, some of you are not even listening. Tell me what it is we've got to do: wait for our fields to start glistening, Wait for the bullets to start whistling.
Questioning why he is singing when some people aren't paying attention, and pondering what they need to do, which may be waiting for a sign or something else to happen.
Here comes a hydrogen bomb, here comes a guided missile, Here comes a hydrogen bomb: I can almost hear its whistle.
Asking the listener to notice the looming danger of weapons of mass destruction, including hydrogen bombs and guided missiles, which are whistling their way to destruction.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: LOUIS GOSSETT, RICHARD PIERCE HAVENS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MartyRotten
Hey look yonder and tell me what you see,
Marching through the streets of Minneapolis
Looks like Handsome Johnny with his hand rolled in a fist
Marching through the Minneapolis war
Marching through the Minneapolis war
And it’s a long hard road
It’s a long hard road
It’s a long hard road
Until we’re free
@gymromeutube
For Memorial Day, Every day & Every Veteran
LYRICS BELOW Please listen and follow along with the lyrics, below:
Handsome Johnny
Richie Havens
Hey, look yonder, tell me what's that you see
Marching to the fields of Concord?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with a musket in his hand,
Marching to the Concord war, hey marching to the Concord war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Gettysburg?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with a flintlock in his hand,
Marching to the Gettysburg war, hey marching to the Gettysburg war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what's that you see
Marching to the fields of Dunkirk?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with a carbine in his hand,
Marching to the Dunkirk war, hey marching to the Dunkirk war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Korea?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with an M1 in his hand,
Marching to the Korean war, hey marching to the Korean war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Vietnam?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with an M15,
Marching to the Vietnam war, hey marching to the Vietnam war.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Birmingham?
It looks like Handsome Johnny with his hand rolled in a fist,
Marching to the Birmingham war, hey marching to the Birmingham war.
Hey, it's a long hard road, it's a long hard road,
It's a long hard road, before we'll be free.
Hey, what's the use of singing this song, some of you are not even listening.
Tell me what it is we've got to do: wait for our fields to start glistening,
Wait for the bullets to start whistling.
Here comes a hydrogen bomb, here comes a guided missile,
Here comes a hydrogen bomb: I can almost hear its whistle.
@clivesmith9377
"Handsome Johnny" - Richie Havens, 1967.
Hey, look yonder, tell me what's that you see
Marching to the fields of concord?
It looks like handsome Johnny with a musket in his hand
Marching to the concord war, hey marching to the concord war
Hey, look yonder, tell me what's that you see
Marching to the fields of Gettysburg?
Looks like handsome Johnny with a flintlock in his hand
Marching to the Gettysburg War, hey marching to the Gettysburg War
Hey, look yonder, tell me what's that you see
Marching to the fields of Dunkirk?
Looks like handsome Johnny with a carbine in his hand
Marching to the Dunkirk War, hey marching to the Dunkirk War
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Hey, look yonder, tell me what's that you see
Marching to the fields of korea
Looks like handsome Johnny with an m1 in his hand
Marching to the Korean War, hey marching to the Korean War
Hey, it's a long hard road, it's a long hard road
It's a long, hard road, and before we'll be free
And before we'll be free
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Vietnam?
It looks like handsome Johnny with an m15
Marching to the Vietnam War, hey, marching to the Vietnam War
Hey, look yonder, tell me what you see
Marching to the fields of Birmingham
Looks like handsome Johnny with his hand rolled in a fist
Marching to the Birmingham War, hey, marching to the Birmingham War
Hey, what's the use of singing this song,
some of you are not even listening
Tell me what it is we've got to do
Wait for our fields to start glistening
Wait till the bomb to start bowling
Hey, yeah, hey, here comes a hydrogen bomb
And, here comes a guided missile
Here comes a hydrogen bomb
I can almost hear its whistle
I can almost hear its whistle
Yeah, yeah, yeah!
Songwriters: Richard Pierce Havens, Louis Goussett.
@quentincrisp6933
R.I.P. Lou Gossett Jr.
@HeartoftheDragonColo
This song was co-written by Richie with actor Lou Gossett (Louis Gossett, Jr.); best known as an actor in An Officer and a Gentleman, the Iron Eagle movies, and Enemy Mine.
@JustusAnkka
Yeah, he won an Oscar for An Officer and a Gentleman. A really talented man.
@critter7052
Rest in peace, Richie Havens, and thanks for all the great music!
@sylviahavens2277
RICHIE. ..gone but never FORGOTTEN.
@filmready1
Sylvia Havens If you are related to him I want to say what a kind wonderful man he was. I met him one night at Radio city in NY and he was so warm and kind. I was young kid and meeting him made me love his music even more. RIP Richie!
@Mljpink
Sylvia Havens i agree!!!
@caesarillion
A great friend I never met. RIP Richie.
@ciaobella65
First time I saw this was in the Woodstock movie in about 1979. It was on movies at midnight and I was completely blitzed out on weed. It was one of the greatest songs I've ever heard. This guitar kills fascists
@briancatron1584
Ty, Lou, Jr. And R.H. I lost two uncles in Nam.