I had just turned sixteen that season When you came up from Burma to stay And you told me I ought to travel with you You were sure it would be OK When I asked how you earned your living I can still hear what you said to me You had some kind of job on the railway And had nothing to do with the sea
You said a lot, Johnny All one big lie, Johnny You cheated me blind, Johnny From the minute we met I hate you so, Johnny When you stand there grinning, Johnny Take that damn pipe out of your mouth, you rat
Surabaya Johnny No one’s meaner than you Surabaya Johnny My God – and I still love you so Surabaya Johnny Why am I feeling so blue? You have no heart, Johnny And I still love you so
At the start, every day was Sunday Till we went on our way one fine night And before two more weeks were over You thought nothing I did was right So we trekked up and down through the Punjab From the source of the river to the sea When I look at my face in the mirror There’s an old woman staring back at me
You didn’t want love, Johnny You wanted cash, Johnny But I sewed your lips, Johnny And that was that You wanted it all, Johnny I gave you more, Johnny Take that damn pipe out of your mouth, you rat
Surabaya Johnny No one’s meaner than you Surabaya Johnny My God – and I still love you so Surabaya Johnny Why am I feeling so blue? You have no heart, Johnny And I still love you so
I would never have thought of asking How you’d got that peculiar name But from one end of the coast to the other You were known everywhere we came And one day in a two-bit flophouse I’ll wake up to the roar of the sea And you’ll leave without one word of warning On a ship waiting down at the quay
You have no heart, Johnny You’re just a louse, Johnny How could you go, Johnny And leave me flat? You’re still my love, Johnny Like the day we met, Johnny Take that damn pipe out of your mouth, you rat
Surabaya Johnny No one’s meaner than you Surabaya Johnny My God – and I still love you so Surabaya Johnny Why am I feeling so blue? You have no heart, Johnny And I still love you so