Up All Night
Shawn Mullins Lyrics

Well Johnny Mae And William J
Johnny Mae and William J were two people who embarked on a journey together

Hitched a ride from sunny L.A.
They got a ride from Los Angeles, known for its sunny weather

With a soldier who'd gone AWOL Stockade bound
The person giving them a ride was a soldier who left without permission and was headed to prison

And they got off in the Texas rain
They got out of the vehicle in rainy Texas

And they hopped a southern diesel train
They took a diesel train heading south

Headed to Atlanta
Their destination was Atlanta

My hometown
The musician singing the song is from Atlanta

Where she danced all night
A woman whom William J was with danced all night

In a go-go bar
She danced in a bar known for go-go dancing

And he tried his best
William J attempted something with effort

To play bass guitar
He tried to play a bass guitar

In the absolute worst punk bar ever heard
He played in a bar where the music was considered to be the worst of its kind

Yeah, but she got tired of that Georgia clay
The woman got fed up with the red clay soil in Georgia

And a drunk musician
She was involved with a musician who was frequently inebriated

Who couldn't even play
This musician was unable to play his instrument proficiently

So she took a bus to Boston
She left Atlanta and traveled to Boston by bus

Without a word
She left without saying anything to William J

He never got to say goodbye
William J never had the opportunity to say goodbye to her

And he has to wonder why
He still ponders why she left without a word

It keeps him up all night
This incident still causes William J to lose sleep

The way she wore her hair
He remembers the way she styled her hair

It keeps him up all night
This memory continues to keep him awake

Her voice is everywhere
He hears her voice everywhere even though she's not around

It keeps him up all night
These memories continue to interrupt his sleep

She's out there
The woman is elsewhere

Searchin' somewhere
She's looking for something

For somethin' of her own
She's trying to find her place and establish her own identity

Well old Will kept makin' bad music worse
William J continued to make poor music and make the situation worse

But the whiskey and the pills
To cope with his problems, William J turned to drinking and medication

Wouldn't quench his thirst no more
However, those methods no longer helped him feel better

So he stuck a needle in his arm
He began injecting drugs

Then he lost his band
As a result, he lost his musical group

He started liftin' shops
Without his music, he resorted to stealing items from stores

It didn't take long
Soon enough, he was caught

To get cuffed by the cops
The police took him into custody

And right about now
Currently, he's

He's workin' on the county farm
He's serving time by doing hard labor on a farm owned by the government

It's never easier to say goodbye
Saying goodbye is never easy

And she has to wonder why
The woman still thinks about why she left

It keeps her up all night
This memory still affects her sleep

The way he held her hand
She thinks about how he used to hold her hand

It keeps her up all night
Thinking about this keeps her awake

He was her only man
He was the only important man in her life

It keeps her up all night
These memories disrupt her sleep

She's out there
She's somewhere else

Searchin' somewhere
She's looking for something

For somethin' of her own
She's trying to find her place and identity

To get where you need to be
To arrive at your goal

You'll go through anything
You must endure hardships and obstacles to get there

Yes, you will
This is certain

And on your way to be free
On the path to freedom

You know, love is everything
Love is the most important thing

Baby, love is everything
A term of affection emphasizing that love is the most significant thing

It keeps us up all night
Love affects our sleep

We're out there
We are all out there

Searchin' somewhere
We're all looking for something

For somethin' of our own
We're trying to find our place and identity

Yeah, keep on searchin you
Keep searching for what you're looking for