johnson johnson johnson was a soldier, the pride of battery 'b' in all the whole bbattalion, there's no better man than he; a ranking duty first sergeant, he knew his duty well; but since he fell off the wagon, johnson's gone to hell. chorus yeah, johnson's gone to hell, but before the sergeant fell he drank up all the bug juice, the whiskey man would sell. they ran him in the mill, they've got him in there still; they' re bringin johnson back in chains, yes, johnsons gone to hell. johnson hit the bottle, after 6 years running straight; he blew himself in saigon, and stayed till hours late; he drank with lots of soldiers, and fought with them as well; now half the outifts on the lamb, and I have gone to hell. johnson swiped a blanket, and sold it so I hear; he sold it for a dollar, and invested it in beer; he drank a cup of coffee, and said that 'i an tell; that after 10 days without leave, that I have gone to hell.' theyu' ll try him by court martial; he' ll never have a achance; to tell them how his mother died, or some such song and dance; he' ll soon be in a stockade, sleeping in a cell; a big 'p' on his back, johnsons gone to hell. ----------------------------------- a soldiers moralistc tale set in humourous terms, as many are. this song was recovered in a tape of an american paratrooper singing, by ray chapman of brisbane who served with aust 105 battery, with the 173rd abn bde. thsi song, originally entitled' o' reilly', was sung in the us army in the 1870' s, but the 'mill', as a form of punishment was only used in england, in civil court, until the 1830' s/40' s. /this song was obviously known in the australian army during the vietnam war, but whether it was held within the us army up until the vietnam war is unknown. although the name of the american soldier singing this song and others is unknown, versions of a number of the songs he sings are to be found in edward dolphs book 'sound off', which though published in 1941, I had read, if not learned the songs, prior to my enlistment.