Southside Johnny (real name John Lyon, born December 4, 1948 in Neptune, New Jersey) is an American singer, harmonica player, and songwriter, who usually fronts his band The Asbury Jukes.
Lyon grew up in Ocean Grove, New Jersey and graduated from Neptune High School. As an artist, Southside Johnny first achieved prominence in the mid-1970s as the second act to emerge from the Jersey Shore music scene and be considered part of the Jersey Shore sound, following Bruce Springsteen. Southside's first three albums, I Don't Want to Go Home (1976), This Time It's For Real (1977), and Hearts of Stone (1978), were Stax-influenced R&B arranged and produced by the co-founder of the band and Springsteen confederate Steven Van Zandt and largely featured songs written by Van Zandt and/or Springsteen. The Van Zandt-written "I Don't Want To Go Home" became Southside's signature song, an evocative mixture of horn-based melodic riffs and sentimental lyrics. Other notable songs included "The Fever","Talk to Me," "This Time It's For Real," "Love on the Wrong Side of Town," and the definitive version of Springsteen's " Hearts of Stone."
Southside has long been considered the Grandfather of "the New Jersey Sound." Jon bon Jovi has acknowledged Southside as "his reason for singing."
In 1982 the Rolling Stone Magazine voted the album Hearts of Stone among the top 100 albums of the 70's and 80's.
Cast under Springsteen's long shadow, national commercial success eluded Southside and the Jukes, and in 1979 they were dropped by their record company. Now working without Van Zandt, they released The Jukes in 1979 and Love is a Sacrifice in 1980. Neither of these achieved much success either. The band's first official live release also came out in 1980, the double album Reach Up and Touch the Sky.
During the 1980s Southside Johnny's recording contracts continued to change almost by album, but he continued to release records: Trash It Up (1983), a disco influenced album written by Billy Rush and produced by Nile Rodgers; In the Heat (1984) an album trying to reach out to "Adult Oriented Radio"; and At Least We Got Shoes (1986) where guitarist and Jersey shore fixture Bobby Bandiera, who often plays a custom guitar built by First Act Guitars took over songwriting and guitar work from Billy Rush and led the Asbury Jukes back to their original sound. Songwriting credits on At Least We Got Shoes also contain a song co-written by Bandiera and singer Patti Scialfa, who was known as a Jukes collaborator since the 1980 album Love is a Sacrifice and who became a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band in 1984.
In 1988 Southside Johnny released his first solo record Slow Dance containing ballads and love songs, but also "Little Calcutta" which is still discussed as Southside's most political song of his career, describing the life and environment of the homeless in New York City.
More record label switches, Jukes personnel changes, tours and club dates followed.
Jukes' recording career was re-launched with the album Better Days (1991), which featured production by Van Zandt, songs by Springsteen, and vocal performances from Van Zandt, Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. With Bobby Bandiera driving the band, the Jukes were gaining new energy for a world wide tour supporting the album. But once again, Southside Johnny's bad luck with the industry was shown when the record label went bankrupt while the tour was still rolling.
Southside performed the theme song for the 1990s sitcom Dave's World, a cover of Billy Joel's "You May Be Right."
Southside eventually relocated to Nashville taking a break from the music business. A few members of the Asbury Jukes would end up being part of The Max Weinberg 7 on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien television show, while some others went on tour and into the recording studio with artists like Jon Bon Jovi, Mink DeVille, Graham Parker, Robert Cray.
In 1998 Southside Johnny came back into the spotlight with an independent release titled Spittin' Fire, a live record with a semi-acoustic Jukes lineup released in France containing a 20 song set recorded during a series of 10 shows at the "Chesterfield Café" in Paris, France.
After a decade without a record contract Southside finally founded his own record label in 2001 under the name of Leroy Records, and started releasing and distributing his new records fully under his own control: Messin' with the Blues (2000), Going to Jukesville (2002), Missing Pieces (2004), Into the Harbour (2005).
Southside continues to perform, and maintains substantial audience followings in some regions of the U.S., such as New Jersey, New York, northeast Ohio, and abroad, in the UK and continental Europe, as 2002's Live At The Opera House DVD, filmed at a sell-out performance in Newcastle upon Tyne, demonstrates. As of 2005, he resides on the Delaware Bay. His annual appearances at Springsteen's Asbury Park holiday shows draw as much crowd excitement as Springsteen himself.
This Time Baby's Gone for Good
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've seen that look before but it's different this time
I wonder how long you've been living in this lie
I can't hold on girl
And I can't give up, no, no
I just can't turn and walk away
I know there's nothing left that's gonna change your mind
We played the hard way as long as we could
But this time baby's gone for good
You're running scared, girl
You've lost what you once believed
Do you lie awake at night do you think about me?
Have you found somebody who can give you what you need?
But I can't stay here
It hurts so badly
But I can't just turn and walk away
The night won't make it right, baby, not this time
I know there's nothing left that's gonna change your mind
We played the hard way as long as we could
But this time baby's gone for good
Baby worries, baby bleeds
Baby must have what she sees
Was it so hard, couldn't you see me?
The night won't make it right baby not this time
I know there's nothing left that's gonna change your mind
We played the hard way but it took a little bit too long
But this time baby knows she's wrong
This time baby knows she's wrong
This time baby knows she's wrong
So wrong
Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes's song This Time Baby's Gone for Good is a song about a relationship coming to an end. The lyrics describe a woman who has become restless and lost the spark in her eyes. The singer of the song recognizes that same look from past experiences but this time it feels different. It seems that the woman has been living a lie for a while and the singer can no longer hold onto the relationship. He knows that he can't give up but he can't just walk away either. The night won't solve anything this time and there's nothing that can change her mind. The couple has played the game and fought hard but this time it's over for good.
The second verse focuses on the woman, who is now running scared and has lost her belief, leading her to sleepless nights where she thinks about him. The man wonders if she's found someone else who can give her what she needs, and although it hurts, he knows he can't stay there. The woman must have what she sees and is bleeding and worrying, but the singer couldn't understand why it had to end this way.
The song ultimately ends with the man acknowledging the relationship is over and done with. Despite the fact that he has played the hard way as long as he could, and it took a little longer than it should have, this time baby knows she's wrong because it didn't work out.
Line by Line Meaning
You're restless baby, the good is gone from your eyes
You're feeling uneasy in this relationship and it shows in your eyes.
I've seen that look before but it's different this time
I've seen you upset before, but this time it's something serious.
I wonder how long you've been living in this lie
I'm curious how long you've been pretending everything's okay when it clearly isn't.
I can't hold on girl
I can no longer hold onto this relationship.
And I can't give up, no, no
I can't give up on trying to make things work, but I know it's not possible.
I just can't turn and walk away
I can't just leave without trying to fix things first.
The night won't make it right, baby, not this time
We can't just ignore our problems and pretend everything's fine.
I know there's nothing left that's gonna change your mind
I know there's no convincing you to stay in this relationship.
We played the hard way as long as we could
We tried to make things work, even when it was difficult.
But this time baby's gone for good
This time, we can't save our relationship.
You're running scared, girl
You're afraid of what's going to happen in our relationship.
You've lost what you once believed
You no longer believe in our relationship like you used to.
Do you lie awake at night do you think about me?
Do you stay up at night thinking about our relationship and where it's headed?
Have you found somebody who can give you what you need?
Have you found someone else who can make you happy in the way I can't?
But I can't stay here
I can't continue in a relationship where we're both unhappy.
It hurts so badly
It's painful to let go of our relationship, but it's necessary.
The night won't make it right, baby, not this time
Our problems won't go away just because we ignore them.
I know there's nothing left that's gonna change your mind
I realize that you're not going to change your mind about our relationship.
We played the hard way as long as we could
We tried to make it work, but we've reached our limit.
But this time baby's gone for good
This time, it's really over for us.
Baby worries, baby bleeds
You have concerns and feel hurt in this relationship.
Baby must have what she sees
You need to see the possibility of a better relationship for yourself.
Was it so hard, couldn't you see me?
I thought we had a good relationship, so why did we have to end this way?
But this time baby knows she's wrong
You realize that maybe you made a mistake this time.
So wrong
Our relationship has ended on a bad note.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: STEVEN VAN ZANDT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind