Johnny Come-A-Long

Oh, Johnny, Johnny, John,
Come along, come along,
Oh, Johnny, Johnny, John, come along,
Dont stand there like a silly ol’ fool,
don’t stand there a lookin’ so cool,
Dont be shy of the ladies,
an’ the teeth in his mouth want bang-bang!

– Down by the sea, Where the watermelon(1) grow,
– Back to my home, I shall not go,
– And shall I dream of love’s sweet song,
– Who can be happier than a sailor tonight?
2. Oh, Johnny, Johnny, John,
Was a sailorman,
He’d bin around all day,
Jokin’ with the ladies, playin’ hide’n’seek,
Not a penny to pay for to have a little peek,
Happy as the day went high-diddle-dee,
An’ the girls all shouted bang-bang!(2)
3. Oh, Johnny, Johnny, John,
In the garden with his gun,(3)
Monkey’s been a-playin’ all the day,
Johnny takes his gun and the gun was loaded,
Johnny took his gun and the gun exploded,
High-diddle-dee, high-diddle-bum,
An’ he never let it go bang-bang!
4. Oh, Johnny, Johnny, John,
Git along, git along,
Leave little ladies on the shore,
Keep off, John, leave the girls alone,
Say goodbye an’ sail away for home,
Don’t hang round any more,
An’ his ol’ knees went bang-bang!

Oh, marinaio, marinaio
Vieni, vieni,
Oh, marinaio, marinaio, vieni,
Non stare lì come un vecchio sciocco,
non stare lì così bello,
Non essere timido con le donne,
-e i denti nella sua bocca vogliono bang-bang!

Giù in riva al mare, dove crescono i cocomeri,
Torna a casa mia, non me ne andrò,
E sognerò la dolce canzone d’amore,
Chi può essere più felice di un marinaio stasera?
Oh, Johnny, Johnny, John,
era un marinaio,
Andava in giro tutto il giorno,
a darci dentro con le signore e giocare a nascondino,
Non un centesimo da pagare per dare una sbirciatina,
Felice mentre il giorno andava high-diddle-dee,
E tutte le ragazze gridavano bang-bang!
Oh, Johnny, Johnny, John,
In giardino con la sua pistola,
La scimmia si è divertita tutto il giorno,
Johnny prende la pistola e la pistola è stata caricata,
Johnny prendeva la sua pistola e la pistola è esplosa,
High-diddle-dee, high-diddle-bum,
E non l’ha mai lasciato andare bang-bang!
Oh, Johnny, Johnny, John,
vai avanti, vai avanti
Lascia le signorinelle sulla riva,
Stai lontano, John, lascia stare le ragazze,
Dì addio e salpa verso casa,
Non restare più in giro,
E le sue vecchie ginocchia hanno fatto bang-bang!

Il coro è ripreso nella canzone per bambini diventata popolare negli anni 1970 tramite la TV inglese

Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow,
Back to my home, I dare not go,
For if I do, my mother will say:
[seguono versi strampalati in rima come ad es.
Did you ever see a goose, kissing a moose?
Down by the bay!]

Si ravvisano inoltre delle somiglianze melodice e -parzialmente testuali- nella canzone cornica Jan Knuckey

Così sulla falsariga di questo tormentone per bambini una bambina di allora la trasforma oggi in canzoncina gotica (warning song)

Down by the bay where the watermelon rot
If you go home, just don’t get caught
But if you do your, mother will say
Never trust a man under the sand.. down by the bay
When I go to sleep, book in my hand
I know in my dream, I’ll see here there
she isn’t real my parents lie
I know the truth but I can never tell you
Or they all will cry..
Down by the bay where the watermelon rot
If you go home just don’t get caught
But if you do our mother will say
Don’t run away I’ll keep you safe down by the bay
My fathers home, got me some shoes
Out with the old, in with the news
He isn’t real my parents lie
I know the truth but I can never tell you or they will all die
Down by the bay where the watermelon rot
If you go home just don’t get caught
But if you do my mother will say
You don’t wanna know what’s outside the window
down by the bay