Madness - Johnny The Horse

"Johnny The Horse" was the second single off Madness' excellent 1999 comeback album Wonderful. Although clowning about, the trademark Madness melancholy is there in droves, in a song that writer Carl Smyth says was inspired by a story told to him by a couple of tramps about a friend of theirs who'd been beaten to death, whilst trying to sleep in an abondoned building. It's a tragic modern-day story about one of the lost souls we see in cities across the world every day. It's also a homage to them all and a reminder to all of us that we should acknowledge our fellow man or woman and their destinies. A fabulous song, and THAT melody!

Watch and listen