Johnny Bye-Bye

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Disc 2 track 16 of Tracks, 1998, and, in a different version, disc 1 track 4 of Tracks II: The Lost Albums, 2025. Adapted by Springsteen from Chuck Berry's "Bye Bye Johnny". Credited to Springsteen/Chuck Berry.

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Credits

• Tracks (1998)
  • Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar, bass, synthesizer, tambourine, drum machine programming

• Tracks II: The Lost Albums (2025)
  • Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, percussion, drum machine programming

• I'm On Fire (Single, 1984)
  • Bruce Springsteen: vocals, guitar, bass, synthesizer, tambourine
  • Roy Bittan: keyboard
  • Max Weinberg: drums

Performances

Performed live 71 times (not including snippet performances). 1985-04-03 Melbourne Showgrounds, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 1985-03-31 QE II Jubilee Sports Centre, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia 1985-03-27 Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1985-03-23 Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1985-03-21 Sydney Entertainment Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 1985-01-26 Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY 1985-01-24 Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI 1985-01-23 Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI 1985-01-18 Greensboro Coliseum, Greensboro, NC 1985-01-16 Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, NC 1985-01-15 Charlotte Coliseum, Charlotte, NC 1985-01-13 Carolina Coliseum, Columbia, SC 1985-01-10 Freedom Hall, Louisville, KY 1985-01-08 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, IN 1985-01-07 Market Square Arena, Indianapolis, IN 1985-01-05 Hampton Roads Coliseum, Hampton, VA 1985-01-04 Hampton Roads Coliseum, Hampton, VA 1984-12-17 Omni (The), Atlanta, GA 1984-12-16 Omni (The), Atlanta, GA 1984-12-14 Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, TN 1984-12-13 Mid-South Coliseum, Memphis, TN 1984-12-11 Rupp Arena, Lexington, KY 1984-12-09 Murphy Center, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN 1984-12-07 Leon County Civic Center, Tallahassee, FL 1984-12-06 Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center Arena, Birmingham, AL 1984-12-02 LSU Assembly Center, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA 1984-11-30 Summit (The), Houston, TX 1984-11-25 Reunion Arena, Dallas, TX 1984-11-23 Frank Erwin Center, University Of Texas, Austin, TX 1984-11-19 Kemper Arena, Kansas City, MO 1984-11-18 Bob Devaney Sports Center, University Of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 1984-11-16 Hilton Coliseum, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 1984-11-15 St. Louis Arena, St. Louis, MO 1984-11-12 McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, CO 1984-11-11 McNichols Sports Arena, Denver, CO 1984-11-08 ASU Activity Center, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 1984-11-04 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1984-11-02 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1984-08-16 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1981-09-14 Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, OH 1981-09-13 Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, OH 1981-09-08 Rosemont Horizon, Rosemont, IL 1981-09-02 San Diego Sports Arena, San Diego, CA 1981-08-27 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1981-08-24 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1981-08-21 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1981-08-20 Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA 1981-08-16 Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO 1981-08-12 Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI 1981-08-11 Joe Louis Arena, Detroit, MI 1981-08-07 Capital Centre, Largo, MD 1981-08-04 Capital Centre, Largo, MD 1981-07-29 Richfield Coliseum, Richfield, OH 1981-07-18 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 1981-07-16 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 1981-07-13 Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA 1981-07-09 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1981-07-08 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1981-07-06 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1981-07-03 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1981-07-02 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ 1981-06-08 Birmingham International Arena, Birmingham, England 1981-06-05 Wembley Arena, London, England 1981-06-04 Wembley Arena, London, England 1981-06-01 Wembley Arena, London, England 1981-05-30 Wembley Arena, London, England 1981-05-29 Wembley Arena, London, England 1981-05-26 Brighton Centre (The), Brighton, England 1981-05-20 New Bingley Hall, Stafford, England 1981-05-17 Edinburgh Playhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland 1981-05-13 Apollo Theatre, Manchester, England

Performances broken down by tour (not including rehearsals and snippet performances) Performed at 0 show(s) of 130 on the 2023-25 International Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 266 on the Springsteen On Broadway run. Performed at 0 show(s) of 14 on the Summer '17 Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 75 on the The River Tour 2016. Performed at 0 show(s) of 33 on the High Hopes Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 133 on the Wrecking Ball Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 83 on the Working On A Dream Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 99 on the Magic Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 56 on The Seeger Sessions Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 72 on the Devils & Dust Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 7 on the Vote For Change Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 120 on The Rising Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 132 on The Reunion Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 127 on The Ghost Of Tom Joad Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 102 on the World Tour 1992-93. Performed at 0 show(s) of 20 on the Human Rights Now! Tour. Performed at 0 show(s) of 67 on the Tunnel Of Love Express Tour. Performed at 39 show(s) of 156 on the Born In The U.S.A. Tour. Performed at 32 show(s) of 138 on The River Tour. Performed at 0 known other show(s), plus 0 public tour rehearsal(s).

Released on Album

Released on I'm On Fire (Single, 1984), Tracks (1998), and Tracks II: The Lost Albums (2025).

Released as Live Download

Live versions are available on the following 4 official live downloads:

• 1981-07-09 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ
• 1981-07-06 Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ
• 1981-06-05 Wembley Arena, London, England
• 1981-06-04 Wembley Arena, London, England

One of these recordings is also available on the playlist The Live Series: Songs From Around The World (2019).

On The Tracks

COME ON (LET'S GO TONIGHT) - V1	2:32	FFOD / HNWB
JOHNNY BYE-BYE - V2		uncirculating
JOHNNY BYE-BYE - V3a	1:45	LM-16 trk 10 / UH / GS
JOHNNY BYE-BYE - V3b	1:45	LM-18 trk 13
JOHNNY BYE-BYE - V3c	1:39	LM-18 trk 10
JOHNNY BYE-BYE - V3d	1:51	1985 b-side / BACK
JOHNNY BYE-BYE - V3e	1:49	TRACKS
JOHNNY BYE-BYE - V4a	2:55	LM-16 trk 11 / MT2 / ESR
JOHNNY BYE-BYE - V4b	2:43	TRACKSII
JOHNNY BYE-BYE - V5	2:58	LM-17 trk 12 / GS
JOHNNY BYE-BYE - V6	3:41	LM-17 trk 13 / GS

Note: In 1962, Chuck Berry wrote "Bye Bye Johnny", a sequel to "Johnny B. Goode", where a mother sent her musician son off to Hollywood to be a star: "She drew out all her money from the Southern Trust, and put her little boy aboard the Greyhound Bus." Bruce decided to use those lines in 1981 in the opening verse of a new song that used most of the lyrics from Darkness On The Edge Of Town outtake "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)", calling it "Johnny Bye-Bye".

The story begins between legs of the River Tour in March 1981 when Springsteen recorded an acoustic demo (V1) at his home, combining lyrics from "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)" with some newly written lyrics over a new dark and foreboding arrangement. This recording can be found on bootlegs 'Fistfull Of Dollars' and 'How Nebraska Was Born' under the title "Bye Bye Johnny". The Elvis Presley references already contained within "Come On (Let's Go Tonight)" made a perfect match with Berry's classic, keeping the lines about the death of Elvis and adding lines about Memphis. This early arrangement with instrumentation similar to "Preacher's Daughter" (including the Bo Diddley beat) was soundchecked on April 16, 1981 in Munich, West Germany.

After working on the song on the road, Springsteen premiered a re-arranged "Johnny Bye-Bye" on May 13, 1981 in Manchester, UK with a short spoken introduction: "I think everybody remembers where they were when they heard that Elvis died, it is a hard thing to understand." The refrain "come on, come on, let's go tonight" remained in place at the end of the first and second verses, and "bye-bye Johnny, oh Johnny bye-bye" was now added at the close, solidifying the connection to Berry's original. Despite performing the song regularly on the River Tour, Bruce did not record it as part of the January 1982 Nebraska demos at Colts Neck; the legendary Nebraska version of "Johnny Bye-Bye" does not exist. The version on the tape he sent Landau was almost certainly a live July 1981 recording. When the Nebraska tape was backed up in June 1982 in its entirety, alternate takes and all, there was still no "Johnny Bye-Bye".

The first studio take of "Johnny Bye-Bye" was recorded on April 27, 1982, at Power Station, New York. This audio does not circulate, but is listed above as V2. In all likelihood, this is a solo take. An image printed in the Tracks II book indicates that at least six takes (three complete and three false starts) were recorded on May 11, 1982 at the Power Station. These takes could be with the E Street Band, but could also be mixes or overdubs related to the April 27 recordings. Studio documentation shows that Springsteen returned to the song in the winter of 1983, with sessions on January 4, March 9, and March 24 at Bruce's Hollywood Hills converted studio at his home in Los Angeles, now arranged with a bouncy hillbilly blues rhythm and a re-written third verse. According to the Tracks liner notes, the official V3 was recorded in January, and five different mixes circulate. V3d, released February 6, 1985 as the b-side to "I'm On Fire", features new drum and keys overdubs from Max Weinberg and Roy Bittan respectively. The mix chosen for Tracks in 1998 removes Max and Roy and utilizes Springsteen's original drum machine backing, for reasons unknown. V3b and V3c have slight but noticeable variations in their mixes.

V4 and V5 were recorded on March 9 at Thrill Hill West and are different takes of a slower acoustic arrangement with a gentle synthesizer backing, slight lyrical differences and overdubbed with chirping crickets at the start and end. The most obvious difference between the two is V4 placing the short instrumental after the second verse, while V5 has it after the first verse. The official release selected for Tracks II (V4b) appears to be identical to V4a, but removes the crickets over the intro, reducing the run-time by around fifteen seconds. By far the definitive performance is V6, from March 24, 1983, which includes a poignant extra verse at the end not found on the other versions. "Johnny Bye-Bye" was included on the July 1983 sequence for Born In The U.S.A., but did not make the final cut. After the lawyers met, Bruce and Chuck became composing partners, the song now registered as Springsteen-Berry.

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^{Studio Sessions: Nebraska / Born In The U.S.A.}

Lyrics

Johnny Bye-Bye

One, two, three

Well she drew out all her money from the Southern Trust
And put her little boy on the Greyhound Bus
Leaving Memphis with a guitar in his hand
On a one-way ticket to the promised land

Well hey little girl with the red dress on
There's a party tonight down in Memphis town
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, yeah, running through his veins
Bye-bye Johnny, Johnny bye-bye
You didn't have to die, you didn't have to die

Hmm hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
Hmm hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
Hmm hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
Hmm hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
Hmm hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
Hmm hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
Hmm hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm
Hmm hmm hmm hmm, hmm hmm
…

Visit SpringsteenLyrics.com for other versions of this song.

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