Chorus:
Johnny put down your gun oh Johnny
Johnny put down your gun ole son
Grab a girl and get yerself a-married
Cuz life ainât worth living on the run
Johnny was born in old Kentucky
High in the hills of northern Boone
Folks been saying since heâs a baby
Johnny was born to break the rules
Chorus:
Johnny was raised by the barrel
But shooting bottles and cans just wouldnât do
He took his first bank at age eleven
The Pennsylvania Trust at twenty-two
Chorus:
It was a cold November down in Preston
And things went quiet on the plains
When Johnny walked into the barroom
He met a little girl of his dreams
Chorus:
But you know that Johnny would never settle
He high tailed it out by the first of spring
He hooked up a 42o out of Boise
But the sheriff took him down near Aberdeen