One soul in and one soul out for which his momma cried.
Johnny’s dad died that night at the wrong end of a gun
And no one ever came to know exactly what he had done.
But he had done one thing for sure, and that’s fathered himself a child
Who would grow to like his odds yey high, and his women wild.
Johnny’s momma, though young and dumb, knew what the odds were too
She’d heard ‘nuff stories ‘bout other girls with no men to see them through.
So if she couldn’t have two, she didn’t want one, and she made up her mind
To find another momma for Johnny if they were so inclined.
Well, she had no luck even after a talk with her mighty lord,
So Johnny’s momma left him in the backseat of a ford.
But before she closed that back seat door she sat down beside her son
And said “You can’t understand me now, but try to listen to me John,
I’m not proud of what I do, but son you gotta believe
That whatever’s you set your mind onto you can surely achieve.
And this world in which we live is nasty and it’s mean
And the love I have for you, well, that love is ever green.
So the sin I do here and now in this wicked parking lot
Is not one I do for fear and will not soon be forgot.
But I do this thing I do to you because I love you so
And want you to have a life like we could never know.
But please Johnny, remember this, there are men in this town
Who’ll try their damnedest to break your stride and pull your spirit down.”
The wind picked up outside the doors of that shiny ride
And Johnny’s momma thought to herself as she glared outside:
‘Maybe the couple who owns this car are rich and they won’t mind
If they come out to head home and an empty spot they find.
Maybe he will say to her “They must need it more than us.”
And she will say “Your right, babe, no need to make a fuss.”
By this time Johnny and his mom would be upon the freeway
Doin’ one fifteen, windows down, towards a brighter day.
Johnny’s momma was then startled back into the coldness of real life
By the husband who walked towards the ford with his lovely wife.
“Well, Johnny Mark, the time has come to say farewell
And to free you not of a mother, but from a diving bell.”
And as his momma slid towards that shiny backseat door
Johnny Mark’s passive wheeze gave way to a mighty roar.
When that couple got to their car they were met with surprise
And found that what they heard were a baby’s lonesome cries.
Johnny’s momma look upon the scene from a damp, dark knoll
And as that car pulled away she wept beyond all control.
A man who was near that night swears he heard her cry:
“To all my life and to all my love, to all my reason; goodbye!”