Blitzkrieg Bop is a song by American punk rock band, Ramones, released in February 1976 as their debut single in the United States. It appeared as the opening track on the band's debut album, '' Ramones'', released two months later. The song, whose composition was credited to the band as a whole, was written by drummer

Tommy Ramone Thomas Erdelyi (born Tamás Erdélyi; January 29, 1949 – July 11, 2014), known professionally as Tommy Ramone, was a Hungarian American record producer and musician. He was the drummer for the influential punk rock band the Ramones for ...

(music and lyrics) and bassist

Dee Dee Ramone Douglas Glenn Colvin (September 18, 1951 – June 5, 2002), better known by his stage name Dee Dee Ramone, was an American musician. He was the bassist and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. Throughout the band's existence, he wa ...

(lyrics). The song is popular at some sporting events where its' iconic chant of "Hey! Ho! Let's go!" is sometimes used as a rallying cry. Blitzkrieg Bop was number 92 on the 2004 ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' list of

The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

. In March 2005, ''Q'' magazine placed it at number 31 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks, and in 2008 ''Rolling Stone'' placed it number 18 of the top 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time. In 2009 it was named the 25th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.

Origin and meaning

The song was mainly written by drummer

, while bassist

came up with the title (the song was originally called "Animal Hop"). The precise meaning and subject matter of the song is, unlike many of The Ramones' other early compositions, somewhat vague and obscure. Tommy Ramone said it was the story of the young audience attending a rock concert ("they're forming in a straight line", "are losing their minds", "are shouting in the back now"). Blitzkrieg is a reference to the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

tactic '' blitzkrieg'', which means "lightning war" (fast attack). Dee Dee also changed one other 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". The idea for a chant at the beginning of the song came from the 1975 Bay City Rollers hit song " Saturday Night", which begins with the chant "S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y night"; Tommy Ramone wanted the Ramones to have a similarly catchy chant. The lyrics "Hey ho, let's go" were inspired by the line "High, low, tipsy toe" from the 1963 song "

Walking the Dog "Walking the Dog" (or "Walkin' the Dog") is a song written and performed by Rufus Thomas. It was released on his 1963 album '' Walking the Dog''. It was his signature hit and also his biggest, reaching number 10 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in ...

" by Rufus Thomas, and specifically the Rolling Stones' cover of the song; the band had enjoyed mocking

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

's pronunciation of the line, which they thought sounded more like "hey ho". Tommy stated later that he "came up with the chant walking home from the grocery store carrying a bag of groceries."

Reception

'' Cash Box'' said the song had "a hard rock style, crudely fashioned, yet infectious in its energy" and said that "the tune is powerful, and the band's street punk stance is all part of the music."

In popular culture

* A cover of the song appears in the 2015 film '' Pan'', performed by

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...

and the cast of that film. * The song is featured in the 2017 film '' Spider-Man: Homecoming'', including in the end credits.

Bibliography

* Bessman, Jim (1993). ''Ramones: An American Band'' (New York: St. Martin's).

References

{{authority control 1976 debut singles 1976 songs ABC Records singles Ramones songs Sire Records singles Song recordings produced by Craig Leon Songs about World War II Songs written by Dee Dee Ramone Songs written by Tommy Ramone