The Ramones were no frills and to the point. No long solos or instrumental breaks. Just 2-minute rock songs full of energy. This was the song that helped launch the Ramones.
The song never charted but is probably their best-known song because of the many movies, tv shows, and commercials it’s been in. The song was mainly written by drummer Tommy Ramone, while bassist Dee Dee Ramone came up with the title (the song was originally called “Animal Hop”). Dee Dee also changed one line: the original third verse had the line “shouting in the back now”, but Dee Dee changed it to “shoot ’em in the back now”.
From Songfacts
The Ramones had a very sparse budget at the time: The entire album cost just $6,400 to make.
This song has been used in a number of movies and TV series, including The Simpsons (the 2007 “Treehouse of Horror” episode), and the 2006 Entourage episode “I Wanna Be Sedated,” revolving around a Ramones documentary.
In the 2001 movie Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, it was used in a scene where Jimmy and his friends go on a rampage of fun. Some other uses:
Fear No Evil (1981)
National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)
Sugar & Spice (2001)
Shattered Glass (2003)
The King of Queens (2004)
Date Night (2010)
The Crazy Ones (2013)
Parenthood (2014)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
The New York Yankees baseball team often plays this when one of their big hitters is coming to the plate. Johnny Ramone was a huge fan of the Yankees.
Green Day performed this at the 2002 ceremonies when The Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 1991, this song piqued the interest of Budweiser, which used it in a commercial for their beer (without the “Shoot ’em in the back” line). There was no debate in the Ramones camp over whether to authorize it: they were all happy to get the money and exposure. In 2003, the song found its way into another commercial, this time for AT&T Wireless. It was later used in commercials for Diet Pepsi, Coppertone and Taco Bell.
Rob Zombie covered this song on the album A Tribute To Ramones (We’re A Happy Family).
Fellow first-wave punk band The Clash covered this song live on tour in 1978, often as a medley with their own song “Police and Thieves.”
Blitzkrieg Bop
Hey ho, let’s go! Hey ho, let’s go!
Hey ho, let’s go! Hey ho, let’s go!
They’re forming in straight line
They’re going through a tight wind
The kids are losing their minds
The Blitzkrieg Bop
They’re piling in the back seat
They’re generating steam heat
Pulsating to the back beat
The Blitzkrieg Bop
Hey ho, let’s go
Shoot ’em in the back now
What they want, I don’t know
They’re all revved up and ready to go
They’re forming in straight line
They’re going through a tight wind
The kids are losing their minds
The Blitzkrieg Bop
They’re piling in the back seat
They’re generating steam heat
Pulsating to the back beat
The Blitzkrieg Bop
Hey ho, let’s go
Shoot’em in the back now
What they want, I don’t know
They’re all revved up and ready to go
They’re forming in straight line
They’re going through a tight wind
The kids are losing their minds
The Blitzkrieg Bop
They’re piling in the back seat
They’re generating steam heat
Pulsating to the back beat
The Blitzkrieg Bop
Hey ho, let’s go! Hey ho, let’s go!
Hey ho, let’s go! Hey ho, let’s go!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blitzkrieg_Bop
I have a deep appreciation for The Ramones. Dee Dee wrote A LOT of their stuff!
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2 minute bursts of joy.
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I have fond memories of this from the Lampoons Vacation movie which is a comedy classic IMHO.
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They were on the front end of a groundbreaking era in music.
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They were like hard pop band…which is a compliment…pop music was one of their influences.
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I always considered the Ramones to be punk.
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They were classified as that…their songs have good melodies and one of their big influences was bubblegum rock of the sixties.
Them and the Clash to me were different than the other punk bands like The Damned and Black Flag….whatever they are I really like them… They had simple straightforward songs.
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This really is another great example of a song that didn’t get radio play, but the song found its way to the mainstream through other channels. It’s such a pure fun one.
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They were so good at these short bursts of joy.
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Great song.
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