When you arrived in Canada you walked the streets
Out of the work, out of money, prospects bleak
The plane comes down in the morning sky
And you touch the land where the fire won't die
Oh Johnny, you're home, man
It's a long road
You drove us down
It's only a moment
Since the diesels turned
And now the blade cuts clean through the island soil
The years roll back and the world grows small
You stand on the banks in the wind and the rain
And all of your money now can't hide the pain
Oh Johnny, you're home, man
It's a long road
You drove us down
It's only a moment
Since the diesels turned
Heath flame is burning bright
Burning every night, it's winter in Ontario
The wheels that turned us village kids
Carry through the heaths
They no longer turn for you
So you hold your mother and you bless the air
With the tears of the emigrant, tongue of the Gael
The plane takes off in a clear blue sky
Life's a long lost list of last goodbyes
Oh Johnny, you're home, man
That's a long road
You drove us down
It's only a moment
Since the diesels turned
Johnny, you're home, man
That's a long road
You drove us down
It's only a moment
Since the diesels turned (Oh yeah)