The runway rushed up at him
as he felt the wheels touch down
He stood out on the blacktop
and took a taxi into town
He got out down on Main Street
and went into a local bar
He bought a drink and found a seat
in a corner off the dark
Well she called up her mama
to make sure the kids were out of the house
She checked herself out
in the dining room mirror
And undid an extra button on her blouse
He felt her lying next to him,
the clock said 4:00 am
He was staring at the ceiling
He couldn't move his hands
Oh mama mama mama come quick
I've got the shakes and I'm gonna be sick
Throw your arms around me in the cold dark night
Hey now mama don't shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Well on his porch they stretched a banner
that said "Johnny Welcome Home"
Bobby pulled his Ford out of the garage
and they polished up the chrome
His mama said "Johnny oh Johnny,
I'm so glad to have you back with me"
His pa said he was sure they'd give him his job back
down at the factory
[Now every evening,
well just after supper time
He'd go into the back bedroom
and he'd lock the door behind
He'd lie watching a telephone wire
stretched out across a chair
Just him and a few habits
he'd brought back from over there]
Oh mama mama mama come quick
I've got the shakes and I'm gonna be sick
Throw your arms around me in the cold dark night
Hey now mama don't shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Well deep in a dark forest,
a forest filled with rain
Beyond a stretch of Maryland pines
there's a river without a name
In the cold black water
Johnson Leneir stands
He stares across the lights of the city
and dreams of where he's been
[As the grey moon disappears
beyond that ??? sign
Stars rise, grow brighter then gone gone gone
in the black and endless sky
Like the others before him,
he'd gone and done his best
Now he watches the water of that nameless river
rise above his chest]
Oh mama mama mama come quick
I've got the shakes and I'm gonna be sick
Throw your arms around me in the cold dark night
Hey now mama don't shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
as he felt the wheels touch down
He stood out on the blacktop
and took a taxi into town
He got out down on Main Street
and went into a local bar
He bought a drink and found a seat
in a corner off the dark
Well she called up her mama
to make sure the kids were out of the house
She checked herself out
in the dining room mirror
And undid an extra button on her blouse
He felt her lying next to him,
the clock said 4:00 am
He was staring at the ceiling
He couldn't move his hands
Oh mama mama mama come quick
I've got the shakes and I'm gonna be sick
Throw your arms around me in the cold dark night
Hey now mama don't shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Well on his porch they stretched a banner
that said "Johnny Welcome Home"
Bobby pulled his Ford out of the garage
and they polished up the chrome
His mama said "Johnny oh Johnny,
I'm so glad to have you back with me"
His pa said he was sure they'd give him his job back
down at the factory
[Now every evening,
well just after supper time
He'd go into the back bedroom
and he'd lock the door behind
He'd lie watching a telephone wire
stretched out across a chair
Just him and a few habits
he'd brought back from over there]
Oh mama mama mama come quick
I've got the shakes and I'm gonna be sick
Throw your arms around me in the cold dark night
Hey now mama don't shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Well deep in a dark forest,
a forest filled with rain
Beyond a stretch of Maryland pines
there's a river without a name
In the cold black water
Johnson Leneir stands
He stares across the lights of the city
and dreams of where he's been
[As the grey moon disappears
beyond that ??? sign
Stars rise, grow brighter then gone gone gone
in the black and endless sky
Like the others before him,
he'd gone and done his best
Now he watches the water of that nameless river
rise above his chest]
Oh mama mama mama come quick
I've got the shakes and I'm gonna be sick
Throw your arms around me in the cold dark night
Hey now mama don't shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
Don't you shut out the light
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