Be Good Johnny
1982 single by Men at Work
"Be Good Johnny" is a song by Australian band Men at Work, released in April 1982 as the third and final single from their debut album, Business as Usual (1981).
01Content
The song is written from the viewpoint of a 9-year-old boy who is constantly being told to be good, but prefers to daydream rather than concentrate in class or play sports. Johnny feels like he understands some of his instructions, but also that he is completely misunderstood by the adult world. The lead singer, Colin Hay, uses his voice in different ways throughout the song to imitate Johnny, Johnny's mother and father, and his teacher. The song also features spoken dialogue by keyboardist Greg Ham as he tries to figure out what Johnny is like. The title of the song is a reference to the Chuck Berry song "Johnny B. Goode".
02Cover versions
Colin Hay covered a solo version on his album Man @ Work, and this version is used as the theme song of the American version of the reality TV program Supernanny.
03Charts
Weekly charts
| Chart (1982-83) | Peak positions |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 8 |
| Canada (RPM) | 18 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ) | 3 |
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company) | 78 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Tracks | 3 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1982) | Positions |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) | 67 |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Be Good Johnny”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Men at work-be good johnny.jpg by Unknown author, Fair use
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