John Parr

Songwriter: John Parr

Producer: John Parr

Sixty four
Every pretty girl was knockin' at your door
Do you remember
Do you remember

My baby on the open road
Elvis on the radio
Do you remember
Do you remember

I remember the day my papers came
Son you're goin' to Vietnam
Time to chase the boy away
Time to be a man

For you
The boy I left behind
For you
A thousand tears these eyes have cried
Sometimes it's like a memory
Sometimes it's just a dream
I'm staring' in the mirror
I don't recognize who I see
For you
The boy I left behind
For you
For you

Drive-in movie picture shows
Skinny dipping' rock n' roll
Do you remember
Do you remember

Parked down at Inspiration Point
We shared our dreams
And shared a joint
Do you remember
Do you remember

I dream of me and Mary
Makin' sweet love on the sand
Then a voice comes on the radio
Said good mornin' Vietnam

For you
The boy I left behind
For you
A thousand tears these eyes have cried
Ashamed to wear this uniform
They spat in our face
What's the use in comin' home
With no comin' home parade

For you
The boy we left behind

We're finally comin' home
Soldiers done our time
Nobody there to shake our hand
No autograph to sign

For you
The boys we left behind
For you
A thousand tears these eyes have cried

Age shall never weary them
Nor the years condemn
At sunset and at daybreak
We will remember them

For you
The boys we left behind
For you
A thousand tears these eyes have cried
For you

The boys we left behind

John Parr (born 18 November 1952) is a Grammy-nominated English musician, best known for his 1985 US #1 single “St. Elmo’s Fire (Man in Motion)” and for his 1984 single “Naughty Naughty” (US Rock #1). Parr was nominated for a Grammy award for “St Elmo’s Fire” in 1985.

Parr first entered the music scene when he was 12 years old and formed a band with two fellow schoolmates, which they named The Silence. The band had achieved some success. They eventually became professional and started to tour Europe. He then joined a band named Bitter Suite who were a huge success in the working men’s clubs in Yorkshire, he then formed a “Super Band” with musicians from other working men’s club bands, and named the band Ponders End , a band that set a new precedent for the bands in the north.

Parr secured a publishing deal with Carlin America in 1983 and in the same year Meat Loaf asked him to write some songs for his new album. It led to a fateful meeting with John Wolff, who was tour manager for The Who. Foreseeing the initial demise of The Who, Wolff was looking for a new venture and considered Parr to be a suitable partner. Parr first visited America in 1984 and worked with Meat Loaf on Bad Attitude. Meanwhile, Wolff secured Parr’s solo Atlantic recording deal in New York.

more tracks from the album

The Mission

From the album

The Mission (2012)

John Parr popular songs

The Boy I Left BehindJohn Parr

John Parr

The Mission