Be Good Johnny

This article is about the Men at Work Song. For the harness racing horse, see Be Good Johnny (horse).

"Be Good Johnny"
Single by Men at Work
from the album Business as Usual
Released	1982
Format	7"
Recorded	Autumn, 1981
Genre	Pop, New Wave
Label	Epic
Writer(s)	Colin Hay
Producer	Peter McIan
Men at Work singles chronology
"Down Under" (1982) "Be Good Johnny" (1982) "Underground" (1983)

"Be Good Johnny" is the title of a song recorded by Australian band, Men at Work, from their first album, Business as Usual.

Although the song was played moderately on US radio stations, it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100 as it was not released in the states as a physical single, a criterion that was still used by the Hot 100 at the time. The song did chart and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in the US.

Content

The song is written from the viewpoint of a 9-year-old boy who is constantly being told to be good, but prefers to daydream rather than concentrate in class or play sports. Johnny feels like he understands some of his instructions, but also that he is completely misunderstood by the adult world. The lead singer, Colin Hay, uses his voice in different ways throughout the song to imitate Johnny, Johnny's mother and father, and his teacher. The song also features spoken dialog by keyboardist Greg Ham as he tries to figure out what Johnny is like. The title of the song is a reference to Johnny B. Goode.

Cover versions

Colin Hay covered a solo version on his album Man @ Work, and this version is used as the theme song of the British and American versions of the reality TV program Supernanny.