DISCLAIMER! Not to be confused with Johnny Get Angry or Johnny Quest.
Johnny in the Middle of the Park, formerly known as "The Grass is Green" or “Johnny”, is a formerly unidentified yacht rock song by Italian musician Piero Cotto, recorded in 1983.
Search History
1983: Origin
On June 5th, 1983, the song was used as an outro for "La Domenica Sportiva," an Italian sports show. It wasn’t credited anywhere.
December 15th, 2020 - March 14th, 2024: The Search
On December 15th, 2020, a sample of the song was uploaded to watzatsong[1] by user MrZSAC. They had found the song in a video titled "La Domenica Sportiva - 5 Giugno 1983 - Sigla di chiusura" uploaded to Dailymotion[2] in 2013. The song was reposted to YouTube that same day,
February 25th, 2024 - April 12th, 2024: Identification
On February 25th, 2024, Reddit user MJIgaz4 posted a comparison between the singer's vocals and those of Italian musician Piero Cotto, who sounded identical. But in the post, Piero was kept anonymous to prevent him from being spammed with messages.[3]
On March 15th, 2024, Piero Cotto's son, Saumele Cotto, was contacted and confirmed that both his parents sang vocals on the song[4].
The following day after Piero himself was contacted and that the song’s name was “Johnny In The Middle Of The Park”, and that it was made in 1983. A copyright entry crediting Piero's producer was also found.
On April 12th, 2024, Discord user Nel discovered that the copyright listing for the song was updated to include Cotto's name, as many of Cotto's songs were not directly attributed to him, but rather to his producers Aldo Pagani and Logan Michael, further confirming the song's identification [5]
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Johnny in the middle of the park
Waiting for tomorrow
Hasn't got a penny or a mark
Or a road to follow
[Verse 2]
Doesn't have a realistic mind
Or a word to say
No, we don't know where he's going to
Or from where he came
[Verse 3]
Johnny in the middle of a dream
Papers in his pocket (Johnny)
Oh yeah (Johnny, Johnny)
Hasn't got a brother or a queen
Johnny is a rocket
[Pre-chorus]
He's been moving on a one night stand
He's a one man show
And he's looking for some warm place he can go
'Til night is over
[Chorus]
Johnny had a little dream (Johnny had a little dream)
That things are not as bad as they seem (Not as bad as)
Or there's something blowing in the air (Blowing in the air)
Living without a care
The grass is green
[Guitar solo]
[Pre-chorus]
He's been moving on a one night stand (one night stand)
He's a one man show
And he's looking for some warm place he can go
'Til night is over
[Chorus]
Johnny had a little dream (Johnny had a little dream)
That things are not as bad as they seem (Not as bad as)
Or there's something blowing in the air (Blowing in the air)
Living without a care
The grass is green, whoah-oh-oh, yeah
Leads
There is a theory that states this was a piece of music that Rai (the Italian TV channel that broadcasted La Domenica Sportiva) bought the rights to for a cheap price.
Recently, a new theory had shown up in the Fond My Mind Discord server that a semi-famous singer named Massimo Vita was the artist behind this song. The theory was due to Vita having an incredibly similar vocal tone to that of the singer in Johnny. This lead was later debunked.
Gallery
Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piero_Cotto
References
- ↑ Watzatsong Forum
- ↑ Dailymotion video
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Johnnyuknownsong/comments/1azx27s/really_strong_new_lead_awaiting_confirmation_so_i/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Johnnyuknownsong/comments/1bfmx6a/piero_cotto_and_his_son_have_confirmed_that/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Lostwave/comments/1c2i5h9/johnny_is_officially_identified/