Men at Work

Released: April 1, 1981

Songwriter: Greg Ham Colin Hay

Producer: Peter McIan

[Verse 1]

Skip de skip, up the road
Off to school you go
"Don't you be a bad boy Johnny
Don't you slip up
Or play the fool"
"Oh no Ma, Oh no Da
I'll be your golden boy
I will obey ev'ry golden rule"
Get told by the teacher
Not to day-dream
Told by my mother

[Hook]

Be good, be good
Be good, be good, be good
Be good, be good, be good, be good (johnny)
Be good, be good
Be good, be good, be good
Be good, be good, be good
Be good, be good, be good
Be good (johnny)
Be good, be good

[Verse 2]

"Are you going to play football this year, John?"
"Nah!"
"Oh, well you must be going to play cricket this year then
Are you Johnny?"
"Nah! nah! nah!"
"Boy, you sure are a funny kid, Johnny, but I like you! So tell me
What kind of a boy are you, John?"

I only like dreaming
All the day long
Where no one is screaming

[Hook]

Formed in 1978 with Colin Hay, Jerry Speiser, and Ron Strykert (Greg Ham and John Rees later joined the band in the early 1980s)

Had their biggest hit in 1981 with “Down Under”

Performed at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia

more tracks from the album

Business as Usual

From the albums

Business as Usual (1981)
Contraband: The Best of Men at Work (1996)

Men at Work popular songs

Be Good JohnnyMen at Work

Men at Work

Business as Usual