Johnny What
Johnny What is a song by Bob Marley & The Wailers . It appeared in the album Rastaman Vibration , released on April 30, 1976 . The lyrics were officially attributed to Bob's wife Rita Marley on the cover .
The song is about the suffering of a mother whose son Johnny was killed in a shootout by a ricochet . It starts with the words:
- Woman hold her head and cry,
- 'Cause her son had been shot down in the street and died
- (From a stray bullet.)
This part of the text is also used as a sample in the track Hold Ya Head by The Notorious BIG , which was released as a single in 2006 . As a result, the song gained renown again.
The title comes from the frequently recurring statement Johnny was a good man .
The Irish punk band Stiff Little Fingers released a cover version of the Marley song on their LP Inflammable material (1979) .