Johnny B. Goode (2002 Remaster)
Peter Tosh · Mama Africa
Deep down in Jamaica, close to Mandeville
Back up in the woods, on top of a hill
There stood an old hut made of earth and wood
There lived a country boy named, Johnny B. Goode
He never learned to read and write so well
But he could play his guitar like ringin' a bell, yell
I said go, go Johnny!
Johnny be good tonight! Yeah ah
I said go, go Johnny!
Johnny B. Goode...
He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
Sitting in a tree in the railroad track
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
Old engineer in the train sittin' in the shade
Choo-chooooo
Strummin' with the rhythm that the drivers made
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
People passing by would stop and say:
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
"Oh my, oh my, oh what a boy can play"
I said go, go Johnny!
Johnny be good tonight!
Said go, go Johnny!
Johnny B. Goode...
Mama said: "Son, you gotta be a man
Go, be a man
You got to be the leader of a reggae band"
Skengay skengay, skengay skengay
People comin' in from miles around
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
To hear you play until the sun goes down
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
Boy, someday your name will be in the lights
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
Sayin' "JOHNNY - JOHNNY B. GOODE TONITE"
I said go, go Johnny!
Johnny be good tonight! Yeah ah
Said go, go Johnny!
Johnny you better be good
Said go, go Johnny!
Johnny be good tonight!
Play! Go Johnny!
Johnny B. Goode...
I said go go, go, go go Johnny!
Johnny be good tonight!
Back up in the woods, on top of a hill
There stood an old hut made of earth and wood
There lived a country boy named, Johnny B. Goode
He never learned to read and write so well
But he could play his guitar like ringin' a bell, yell
I said go, go Johnny!
Johnny be good tonight! Yeah ah
I said go, go Johnny!
Johnny B. Goode...
He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
Sitting in a tree in the railroad track
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
Old engineer in the train sittin' in the shade
Choo-chooooo
Strummin' with the rhythm that the drivers made
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
People passing by would stop and say:
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
"Oh my, oh my, oh what a boy can play"
I said go, go Johnny!
Johnny be good tonight!
Said go, go Johnny!
Johnny B. Goode...
Mama said: "Son, you gotta be a man
Go, be a man
You got to be the leader of a reggae band"
Skengay skengay, skengay skengay
People comin' in from miles around
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
To hear you play until the sun goes down
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
Boy, someday your name will be in the lights
Dee-oo-doo, dee-oo-doo
Sayin' "JOHNNY - JOHNNY B. GOODE TONITE"
I said go, go Johnny!
Johnny be good tonight! Yeah ah
Said go, go Johnny!
Johnny you better be good
Said go, go Johnny!
Johnny be good tonight!
Play! Go Johnny!
Johnny B. Goode...
I said go go, go, go go Johnny!
Johnny be good tonight!
About Johnny B. Goode
Peter Tosh's version of "Johnny B. Goode" transforms Chuck Berry's rock and roll standard into reggae without losing the song's celebration of guitar-driven ambition. Tosh keeps the familiar story of a gifted musician, but the rhythm, phrasing, and instrumental feel move it into his own world. The cover works because it treats Berry's song as flexible material rather than a museum piece. Tosh's vocal authority and the reggae arrangement reveal how rock and Jamaican music could speak to each other across decades. The remastered edition highlights the groove and makes clear that this is both tribute and reinterpretation.