Bruce Springsteen – Johnny Bye Bye lyrics

She drew out all her money from the Southern Trust
And put her little boy on a Greyhound Bus
Leaving Memphis with a guitar in his hand
On a one-way ticket to the promised land
Hey little girl with the red dress on
There's party tonight down in Memphis down
I'll be going down there if you need a ride
The man on the radio says Elvis Presley's died

We drove down into Memphis, the sky was hard and black
Up over the ridge came a white Cadillac
They'd drawn out all his money and they laid him in the back
A woman cried from the roadside "Ah he's gone, he's gone"
They found him slumped up against the drain
With a whole lot of trouble running through his veins
Bye-bye Johnny
Johnny bye-bye
You didn't have to die
You didn't have to die

Alternate 1981 live version:
She drew out all her money from the Southern Trust
And put her little boy on a Greyhound bus
Leaving Memphis with a guitar in his hand
With a one-way ticket to the promised land.

Now, hey little girl with the red dress on
There's a party tonight down in Memphis town
I'll be going down now if you need a ride
Come on, come on let's go tonight

How many have fallen with a dream denied
Now, tell me baby are you lonesome tonight?
'Cause a man on the radio says Elvis Presley died
Come on, come on, let's go tonight.

He drove down into Memphis, the sky was hard and black
Up over the ridge came a white Cadillac
They're standing by the roadside. In the heat
Bound together, forever, in the promise of an endless sleep

They found him slumped up against the drain
With a whole lot of nothing running through his veins
Bye bye Johnny, Johnny bye bye
You didn't have to die, you didn't have to die.