# Be Good Johnny

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This article is about the Men at Work song. For the harness racing horse, see [Be Good Johnny (horse)](/source/Be_Good_Johnny_(horse)).

Not to be confused with [Johnny B. Goode](/source/Johnny_B._Goode).

"**Be Good Johnny**" is a song by Australian band [Men at Work](/source/Men_at_Work), released in April 1982 as the third and final single from their debut album, *[Business as Usual](/source/Business_as_Usual_(Men_at_Work_album))* (1981).

## 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.[3] The lead singer, [Colin Hay](/source/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 dialogue by keyboardist [Greg Ham](/source/Greg_Ham) as he tries to figure out what Johnny is like. The title of the song is a reference to the [Chuck Berry](/source/Chuck_Berry) song "[Johnny B. Goode](/source/Johnny_B._Goode)".

## Cover versions

Colin Hay covered a solo version on his album *[Man @ Work](/source/Man_@_Work)*, and this version is used as the theme song of the American version of the reality TV program *[Supernanny](/source/Supernanny_(American_TV_series))*.

## Personnel

- [Colin Hay](/source/Colin_Hay) – [guitar](/source/Guitar), lead vocals
- [Greg Ham](/source/Greg_Ham) – [keyboards](/source/Keyboard_instrument), background vocals
- [Ron Strykert](/source/Ron_Strykert) – guitar, background vocals
- John Rees – [bass](/source/Bass_guitar), background vocals
- [Jerry Speiser](/source/Jerry_Speiser) – [drums](/source/Drum_kit), background vocals

## Charts

### Weekly charts

Chart (1982–83) Peak positions Australia (Kent Music Report)[4][5] 8 Canada (RPM) 18 New Zealand (RIANZ)[6] 3 UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 78 U.S. Billboard Top Tracks[7] 3

### Year-end charts

Chart (1982) Positions Australia (Kent Music Report)[5] 67

## References

1. ["Men At Work - Business As Usual (Vinyl, LP, Album)"](https://www.discogs.com/Men-At-Work-Business-As-Usual/release/587059). *Discogs.com*. 2015-01-18. Retrieved 2016-10-26.

1. [Be Good Johnny Song Facts](http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=2965) *SongFacts*. Retrieved on January 7, 2007.

1. Kent, David (1993). *Australian Chart Book 1970–1992*. illustrated ed. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 198. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.

1. ["National Top 100 Singles for 1982"](https://i.imgur.com/iP7HHqt.jpg). No. 445. [Kent Music Report](/source/Kent_Music_Report). 3 January 1983. Retrieved 22 January 2023. – via [Imgur](/source/Imgur)

1. Steffen Hung. ["Men At Work - Be Good Johnny"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160409181826/http://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Men+At+Work&titel=Be+Good+Johnny&cat=s). *Australian-charts.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Men+At+Work&titel=Be+Good+Johnny&cat=s) on 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2016-10-26.

1. "Rock Albums & Top Tracks". *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))*. 19 February 1983. p. 24.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Be Good Johnny](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be_Good_Johnny) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Be_Good_Johnny?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.