Johnny Come Lately

Annotation

Steve Earle, Americana, country-rock artist, born 17 January 1955 in Fort Monroe, Virginia, USA. He released the song "Copperhead Road" (Uni Records # UNI-7), a post-Vietnam War song concerned with veterans. It starts with the young man, from a moonshine bootlegging family, joining the army: "I volunteered for the Army on my birthday...done two tours of duty in Vietnam". It make a social-economic point about draft inequality: "They draft the white trash first 'round here anyway", suggesting that he would have got drafted if he hadn't have volunteered. Then it looked at the veteran back in the US, starting up a new business, possible selling marijuana, as indicated in the line: "seed from Colombia and Mexico". However, for the veteran, the sounds, smells, and visions of Vietnam still lingering on: "chopper in the air, I wake up screaming like I'm back over there" - a familiar reference to PTSD often seen in post-war songs. It had decent commercial success, reaching # 10 in the US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks, # 45 in UK Singles, # 12 in Canada Top Singles, and # 23 in Australia charts. Less well-known on this album was the song "Johnny Come Lately", featuring the UK group The Pogues. The title, and chorus, was a play on the famous Civil War song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home". The narrator is a Vietnam vet, mentioning the Purple Heart medal and the mistreatment of vets: "couple Purple Hearts...maybe nobody knows...about a place called Vietnam". The song made an interesting comparison to the Second World War: "my grandaddy...told me about London when the Blitz was on".

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Annotation

Johnny Come Lately (Earle, Steve). (MCA Records # MCA 1301) - UK release, also released as single in Germany. On the album Copperhead Road (Uni Records # UNI-7). Post-war, Vietnam vet returned home with medals. Recalled his grandfather telling him about the song "When Johnny Comes Marching Home" after WW2. Country rock. "I'm an American, boys, and I've come a long way

Annotation by Justin A. Brummer

Lyrics

English: I'm an American, boys, I've come a long way / I was born and bred in the USA / So listen up close, I've got something to say / Boys, I'm buying this round / Well it took a little while, but we're in this fight / Ain't going home 'til we've done what's right / We're gonna drink Camden Town dry tonight / If I have to spend my last pound / When I first got to London it was pourin' down rain / Met a little girl in the field canteen / Painted her name on the nose of my plane / Six more missions, I'm gone / Well I asked if I could stay and she said that I might / Then the warden came around yelling "shut out the lights" / Death rainin' out of the London night / We made love 'til dawn / But when Johnny come lately comes marching home / His chest full of medals and a G.I. loan / They'll be waitin' at the station down in San Antone / When Johnny comes marching home / My P-47 is a pretty good ship / And she took a round comin' cross the Channel last trip / I was thinkin' 'bout my baby and letting her rip / Always got me through so far / Well they can ship me all over this great big world / I've never find nothing like my North End girl / I'm taking her home with me one day, sir / Soon as we win this war / But when Johnny come lately comes marching home / Chest full of medals and a G.I. loan / They'll be waitin' at the station down in San Antone / When Johnny comes marching home, Johnny / Now my grandaddy sang this song / Told me about London when the Blitz was on / How he…

About the artist

American singer-songwriter, born 17 January 1955 at Fort Monroe, Virginia, raised in Texas ('Johnny Come Lately', 'Copperhead Road'). [Source: Wikipedia]

Themes

Vet · Medals · WW2