Fred Darian - Johnny Willow lyrics

Johnny Willow was a soldier In the you. S. Infantry And they sent him Off to battle in 1943 Now Johnny had a girl back home Her name was Jenny May And he made a solemn promise That he'd write to her each day Was early Monday morning And the sun began to shine And Johnny thought he'd rest a while And drop his girl a line He took his pen and began to write My dearest darling, May And a shot rang out and he turned around And he heard somebody say The enemy's coming up the hill There's a thousand if there's one A meaner bunch you've never seen Come on, we better run But Johnny jumped out to his feet He held the letter tight Come on, you dog faced soldiers We're gonna stay and fight Well, he dropped his pen And he grabbed his gun And he said, I'll show you How to get them on the run Then he started in a-running And a-shooting down the hill Come on, you men, just fire at will I'm gonna keep the promise That I made to Jenny May You can bet I'll finish this letter And I'll finish it today Well, the bullets were a-coming From as far as you could see The hill was alive with the charging But Johnny kept a-shooting A a-yelling just the same The more he kept a-shooting Well, the more and more they came Then he looked down at the letter Still held in his hand And he said, we won't move back an inch We're gonna make a stand Well, he looked around And his heart did pound When he saw his regiment holding ground Old Glory was a-flying And a-waving in the breeze Ain't never been an enemy To bring her to her knees And we ain't gonna let it happen Not now or ever more Besides, I got a letter to write And mail it out by four Well, the cannon was a-booming And the mortars were a-zooming And it looked the 4th of July And the hillwas a-burning But the battle was turning Cause I heard Johnny yell It's do or die Now the regiment stepped forward Some hung their heads to pray Then Johnny held his gun up high And the charge was on it's way Well, they ran down the hill Just a-shooting and a-yelling And mowing down the enemy As fast as I'm a-telling Like a river over rapids Just a-flowing and a-going While a drummer was a-drumming And a bugle was a-blowing Til the enemy was defeated And they ran with all their might From the brave young men With a letter in his hand And a carbine in his right Well, Johnny is a hero Johnny is a hero The regiment did claim Cause he led the way And he saved the day And he won for him, this fame Of a soldier without equal In the you. S. Infantry And it's men like Johnny Willow That keep our country free