Even though Joanie Summers' single was released in 1962 (now on YouTube), do the lyrics still reflect the thinking of today's women? I'm thinking of mens' complaints I've read stating that women SAY they want a kind, sensitive, caring, etc., guy, but the guys they PICK are often the more bad-boy macho types. Seems that the kind, sensitive, caring guys may not necessarily be also cool, and consequently risk being put into the dreaded "friend" category. Here are some of the verses and the chorus:

Johnny, I said we were through
Just to see what you would do
You stood there and hung your head
Made me wish that I were dead

Every time you dance with me
You let Freddy cut in constantly
When he asks, you never speak
Must you always be so meek?

Chorus:

Oh, Johnny get angry, Johnny get mad
Give me the biggest lecture I ever had
I want a brave man, I want a cave man
Johnny, show me that you care, really care for me

In the song it seems like he has confidence issues, not so much anything else.

Hi Mike Reading the lyrics you posted .. I think they are more about being meek and lacking confidence ., than being a nice /bad boy . I certainly find it appealing when a man has the confidence to stand up for what he wants , and knows when to offer protection /care .

“Meek “ is not a trait I would generally seek in a man ... I am attracted to confidence, which is a trait both nice men and bad boys can have .. just how they express it may be different . Certainly not all nice men are meek .

As for being brave or a caveman ...I think both are just contrasts ..highlighting the opposite of meek behaviour . I would want a man to show his passion for me .. that does not have to equate to macho throw me over his shoulder behaviour .(unless he wants too lol) .. but he does need to be confident of expressing his attraction for me, in a way that excites us both .

Traits alone do not friend zone a man but they may act as a catalyst .. ..attraction is complicated .

I agree with Blondey.
The men who complain about this think they're the prototype of nice, caring etc. While in actual fact they lack self-confidence, have nothing much going for themselves, and are quite boring.
So they think they are what we say we seek, but they aren't.

Why couldn't the guy's name be Todd?
Or, something like that?

I agree. When we think of "Johnny", stereotypically we picture someone like The Fonz. Harder to think singing along with a lyric like "Cecil Get Angry".

All the Johnny's I have ever known were great. Even my Dad was a John...
oh toilets and 'clients' are John's too.

It is an old name, probably why.

Never cross a meek man. He just might have a wicked left hook.

Johnny had the right idea whether intended or not, giving her space and freedom, which probably would agree with most modern women today, so the lyrics no longer apply in my opinion. Perhaps back in the day, most women preferred to feel a sense of belonging to a guy, whereas today it's not so much, it's more of equal partnerships with equal freedoms to go or stay, less possessiveness than there once was.

Yes. They always will.

They're ultimately saying "communicate your internal feelings in a way I understand."


Pick for what?

There's a ton of stuff that can be unraveled in that.

1. People saying one thing and doing another.
2. That third person observers are unbiased of others relationships.
2a. Readers of profiles that read/hear "want a kind, sensitive, caring, etc. guy" know what that means to the author and aren't biased in the interpretation by the reader/listener.
3. Hypergamy.
4. Absolutes. Such as "bad-boy macho types" are incapable of being "kind, sensitive, caring, etc." at any time.
5. "niceguys," those that adopt a facade of munificent geniality as a means of "paying" for selfish expectation fulfillment.

That's not even close to a comprehensive list but it's getting boring.

I'm just trying to figure out exactly what you're asking.

Are you trying to actually figure out what all women are thinking and not only that determine if all women have changed their thinking, and to what degree, over the past 50 years?

Or are you focused on men's complaints? All men, complaining men, specific men?

Either way, seems the spirit of the lyrics hold true.
Communication between men and women is still a struggle.