Cover art for Johnny Don’t Do It by 10cc

Johnny Don’t Do It

10cc
Track 1 on 10cc 

Produced by

Dec. 1, 19721 viewer

Johnny Don’t Do It Lyrics

[Intro: Group]
Johnny, don't do it
Johnny, don't do it
Johnny, don't do it
Johnny, don't do it

[Verse 1: Lol Creme]
Johnny was an angel
An angel dressed in black
He used to hang around the guys
Down at the local track
He tried so hard to join them
But they always turned him back

[Chorus: Group & (Lol Creme)]
Johnny don't do it (He was an angel)
Johnny don't do it (Such an angel)

[Verse 2: Lol Creme]
He was only seventeen
Just got out of school
He stole a bike from Joe's garage
To prove that he was cool
He didn't know that the brakes were worn
Oh, fate can be so cruel
[Chorus: Group & (Lol Creme)]
Johnny don't do it (He was an angel)
Johnny don't do it (Such an angel)
Johnny don't do it (Johnny don't do it)
Johnny don't do it (Johnny don't do it)

[Bridge 1: Kevin Godley]
Well, Johnny went a-riding
With his girlfriend on the back seat
Looking for some action
And they found it down a backstreet
Suddenly, a truck pulled out
He tried to step on the brake

[Interlude: Lol Creme & (Kevin Godley)]
Johnny, don't do it (Here is a news flash)
Johnny, don't do it (Today, Johnny Kowalski)
(Otherwise known as Johnny Angel)
Johnny, don't do it (And his young fiancé, Francine)
(Were tragically killed in a motorcycle accident)
Johnny, don't do it, don't do it
Don't do it, don't do it (Any witnesses, please contact)
Don't do it, don't do it, don't do it (The police at Precinct 29)

[Bridge 2: Group]
Oh, yeah, uh-huh
Whoa, oh
[Verse 3: Lol Creme & Kevin Godley]
Now Johnny's with the angels
The angels in the sky

I wonder if he thinks of us
As he goes riding by?
If only he had listened
Oh, the number of times we tried
To tell him

[Chorus: Group & (Lol Creme)]
Johnny, don't do it (He was an angel)
Johnny, don't do it (Such an angel)
Johnny, don't do it (He was an angel)
Johnny, don't do it (Such an angel)

[Outro: Group]
Johnny, don't do it
Johnny, don't do it
Johnny, don't do it
Johnny, don't do it
Johnny, don't do it
Johnny, don't do it
Johnny, don't do it
Johnny, don't do it...

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About

This song bio is unreviewed
Genius Annotation

“Johnny Don’t Do It” is the first track on 10cc’s self-titled album. It tells the story of Johnny Angel and his tragic attempt to join a motorcycle gang.

The band was inspired by doo wop music and the clichés used in biker films for the song. The album’s seventh track, “Rubber Bullets”, was produced in a similar style, taking inspiration from James Cagney’s gangster films.

“Johnny Don’t Do It” was released as the album’s second single, but was considered a poor follow-up to the first single, “Donna”, which reached No 2 in the UK charts in 1972.

In 2006, the song was sampled by J Dilla on his second and final album, Donuts. The sample can be heard on the track, “Waves”.

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Credits
Produced By
Recorded At
Strawberry Studios, Stockport, England
Release Date
December 1, 1972
Songs That Sample Johnny Don’t Do It
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