A girl called Johnny

I remember Johnny, hey
Johnny come lately
I remember her shoes like a ballerina

A girl called Johnny
Who changed her name when she
Discovered her choice was
To change or to be changed

I remember a girl called Johnny
Black as hell, white as a ghost
"Don't talk about life and death"
She said, "I've had enough of both"

A girl called Johnny
Who was not scared
They'd have torn her to pieces but
Who would dare?

I remember a girl called Johnny
The train came to town, boy, she got on it
Without looking back, there was barely a word
If she said goodbye, well I never heard

But the noise goes on, the noise, the jazz
Truth is in somebody else's hands
And the house that a girl called Johnny built
Is now just so much ashes and sand

Ashes and sand
Ashes and sand
Ashes and sand