Handsome Johnny

Album: Mixed Bag (1966)
Play Video
  • 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. Writer/s: LOUIS GOSSETT, RICHARD PIERCE HAVENS
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 1

  • Robert 'boda' from AtlantaI had no idea the Army flew the acts into Woodstock. Even more amazing is that Havens wrote this with Louis Gossett Jr.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.

Boz Scaggs

Boz ScaggsSongwriter Interviews

The "Lowdown" and "Lido Shuffle" singer makes a habit of playing with the best in the business.

Producer Ron Nevison

Producer Ron NevisonSong Writing

Ron Nevison explains in very clear terms the Quadrophenia concept and how Heart staged their resurgence after being dropped by their record company.

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")

Barry Dean ("Pontoon," "Diamond Rings And Old Barstools")Songwriter Interviews

A top country songwriter, Barry talks about writing hits for Little Big Town, Tim McGraw and Jason Aldean.

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.