Blitzkrieg Bop is a song by American punk rock band,

Ramones The Ramones were an American punk rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first true punk rock group. Despite achieving a limited commercial appeal in the United St ...

, released in February 1976 as their debut single in the United States. It appeared as the opening track on the band's debut album, ''

'', released two months later. The song, whose composition was credited to the band as a whole, was written by drummer Tommy Ramone (music and lyrics) and bassist Dee Dee Ramone (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 ''

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'' 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 Tommy Ramone, while bassist Dee Dee Ramone 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

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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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

tactic ''

blitzkrieg Blitzkrieg ( , ; from 'lightning' + 'war') is a word used to describe a surprise attack using a rapid, overwhelming force concentration that may consist of armored and motorized or mechanized infantry formations, together with close air ...

'', 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 The Bay City Rollers are a Scottish pop rock band known for their worldwide teen idol popularity in the 1970s. They have been called the " tartan teen sensations from Edinburgh" and one of many acts heralded as the "biggest group since the B ...

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" by

Rufus Thomas Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess R ...

, and specifically the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

' 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 ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' 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