Johnny Bye Bye

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.