Official studio version 3
Well she drew out all her money from the Southern Trust
And put her little boy yeah on a Greyhound bus
Leaving Memphis with a guitar in his hand
On a one-way ticket to the promised land
Hey now little girlie with the red dress on
There's a party tonight way down in Memphis town
I'll be going down there if you need a ride
The man on the radio says Elvis Presley died
As we drove down into Memphis, the sky turned hard and black
Up over the hill came a white Cadillac
They'd drawn out all his money and laid him in the back
A woman cried from the roadside, "Johnny, Johnny, please come back"
Well they found him slumped back against the drain
With a whole lotta trouble, yeah, running through his veins
Bye bye Johnny, oh Johnny bye bye
You didn't have to die, you didn't have to die
The above lyrics are for a studio version of JOHNNY BYE BYE (referred to on this website as "official studio version 3") that was released on the Tracks II: The Lost Albums box set in 2025.
This version was recorded in early 1983 at Thrill Hill West, Springsteen's home studio in Beverly Hills, CA. See official studio version 1 for more details.
Track credits:
Bruce Springsteen: vocals, drum programming, all instruments
Mike Batlan: drum programming
Bruce Springsteen: producer
Ron Aniello: producer
Mike Batlan: recording engineer, mixing engineer
Bob Ludwig: mastering engineer
Rob Lebret: mastering engineer, additional engineering
Tracks II: The Lost Albums is Bruce Springsteen's follow-up to his 1998 box set Tracks, released on 27 Jun 2025. The box set consists of seven "lost albums" recoded between 1983 and 2018, totaling 83 songs, of which 74 have never been officially released in any form. The seven albums are: L.A. Garage Sessions '83, Streets Of Philadelphia Sessions, Faithless, Somewhere North Of Nashville, Inyo, Twilight Hours, and Perfect World.
Tracks II: The Lost Albums, along with its companion Lost And Found: Selections From The Lost Albums, was officially announced on 03 Apr 2025 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Time (1:00 p.m. GMT). The announcement was accompanied by a "trailer" for the upcoming set, posted on Bruce Springsteen's YouTube channel and other online services. The previous day, Springsteen released a teaser on his social media accounts, linking to a new website, lostalbums.net, created for the two upcoming releases.
The box set is available in limited edition as a seven-disc CD set and a nine-disc LP set, as well as digital download and streaming. The physical releases will include original packaging for each of the previously unreleased records, with a 100-page cloth-bound, hardcover book featuring rare archival photos, liner notes on each lost album from essayist Erik Flannigan and a personal introduction on the project from Springsteen himself.
Disc 1: (LA Garage Sessions '83)
Disc 2: (Streets Of Philadelphia Sessions)
Disc 3: (Faithless)
Disc 4: (Somewhere North Of Nashville)
Disc 5: (Inyo)
Disc 6: (Twilight Hours)
Disc 7: (Perfect World)
Side 1: (LA Garage Sessions '83)
Side 2: (LA Garage Sessions '83)
Side 3: (LA Garage Sessions '83)
Side 4: (LA Garage Sessions '83)
Side 5: (Streets Of Philadelphia Sessions)
Side 6: (Streets Of Philadelphia Sessions)
Side 7: (Faithless)
Side 8: (Faithless)
Side 9: (Somewhere North Of Nashville)
Side 10: (Somewhere North Of Nashville)
Side 11: (Inyo)
Side 12: (Inyo)
Side 13: (Twilight Hours)
Side 14: (Twilight Hours)
Side 15: (Twilight Hours)
Side 16: (Twilight Hours)
Side 17: (Perfect World)
Side 18: (Perfect World)
List of available versions of JOHNNY BYE BYE on this website:
JOHNNY BYE BYE [Official studio version 1]