When Johnny goes marching with a roll of quarters in his hand
He’s got his khakis on and he’s prepared to make a stand
The ladies all with gather round
To hear exploding guns resound
And we’ll all be glad to see another new video game
Johnny goes to church each Sunday with his family
It’s up and down and kneel and pray he does it faithfully
When Johnny’s through reciting prayers
It’s time to go play Space Invaders (when the preacher’s read the final psalm
It’s such a good time (it’s Johnny’s time to strafe and bomb
Enacting World War III (he’s killed more today than we killed in Vietnam)
He used to look at baseball cards while lying in the sand
Popsicles and comic books and movies at the Strand
But those were in the bygone days
Long before the video craze
Now it’s nuke nuke nuke with the push of his tiny hand
Johnny’s mother gives him cash to buy his lunch at school
He changes all his dollar bills to quarters at the Jewel
He plays 3 hours more or less, his mama knows but says I guess
It’s better than all that violence on TV
I’m not so old or wise so I won’t tell you of my fears
But there are those who warn us that some awful judgement nears
John just wants to have his fun
By the time he’s 21
He’ll have been in basic training for over 18 years
When Johnny goes marching with a roll of quarters in his hand
He’s got his khakis on and he’s prepared to make a stand
The ladies all with gather round
To hear exploding guns resound
And we’ll all be glad to see another new video game
(lyrics: Dan Bern)