Johhny B. Goode

One of the most famous riffs in guitar history is on Johnny B. Goode. You know it, during the chorus..

Go! Go,
(Ning, Ning, Ning, Ning, Ning!) Go! Johnny, go! Go! Go!-
(Ning, Ning, Ning, Ning, Ning!) Go! Johnny, go! Go! Go!-
(Ning, Ning, Ning, Ning, Ning!) Go! Johnny, go! Go! Go!-
(Ning, Ning, Ning, Ning, Ning!) Go! Johnny, go! Go! Go!-
Johnny B. Goode.

When I was young I thought being able to play that riff would be the coolest thing ever. But, as the more musical among you will already know, that riff is 1 note hammered out 5 times - not even very fast. You put a finger on the string, wait for your solo and 1,2,3,4,5. That's it. This realisation has made me see the song in a completely different light.

"Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned to read or write so well,
But he could play the guitar just like a ringin' a bell."

I always thought 'like ringing a bell' implied easily. Now I know it means he could only produce one monotonous note. Possibly it means he put a rock in his guitar and shook it to make a noise. It's not really surprising he 'never ever learned to read or write so well'. I'm starting to imagine Johnny as an inbred simpleton, perhaps one of his many brothers, saying 'Go, Johhny, go go -show the nice man what you can do with that there gee-tar.' Remember this is 'Deep down in Louisiana, close to New Orleans,' where you have to make your own entertainment. The second verse includes...

"He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack,
Go sit beneath the tree by the railroad track.
Old engineers would see him sittin' in the shade,
Strummin' with the rhythm that the drivers made."

He sits watching trains and copies the noise.
'Choo-choo!'
'Yes, Johnny it's a choo choo.'

"When people passed him by they would stop and say,
'oh, my but that little country boy could play'"

-Yup, and the doctors said he would never walk.

If you wan to see me do something based on this and a few other music based laughs, then come to our gig tonight.

NEXT GIG:

TUESDAY 21ST OF MARCH. 8.00.
THE SECOND NIGHT OF 'LONG LIVE COMEDY'
THE DOG AND PARROT (UPSTAIRS)
-OPPOSITE THE CENTRE FOR LIFE, 2 MINS FROM CENTRAL STATION.
ONLY £2.