he really had a way
he did his homework on the schoolbus
and always got an A
and the girls like Johnny
more than anyone except maybe Elton John
later on in high school
he couldn't keep his red suspenders on
oh where's Johnny
has he gone away
oh where's Johnny
will he back back someday
He had a room full of trophies
from the track meets and tennis games he'd win
he was a full blown whiz kid
bound to be a Renaissance man
then he went on off to college
got his head stuck in a different state of mind
when they asked him was it alcohol
he told 'em it was nothin' of the kind
just life
just life Mom
oh where's Johnny
has he gone away
oh where's Johnny
will he back back someday
but Johnny's alright
he just turned out his lights
they'd have paid it no mind
had he not been so bright
he opened up his eyes
and snapped out in a groove
he saw both sides of everthing
and found he could not move
Johnny moved back home
now he reads a lot of poetry and plays
he'll sit out in the backyard
and not say a word to anyone for days
and his folks gave up
they no longer even bother gettin' through
he's 30 odd years old
I guess they figured there's just so much you can do
his mother keeps his pictures
in the scrapbook in the drawer with her pearls
and she polishes the trophies
that he won back when they thought he'd save the world
back when the girls liked Johnny
more than anyone except maybe Elton John
she wonders wheres her little boy
with the braces and the red suspenders gone
just life
just life Mom
just life
just life