‘Cherry Bomb’ is the debut single by the all-female band the Runaways from their self-titled debut album. ‘Cherry Bomb’ was ranked 52nd on VH1's 100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs and peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart. The song is featured in the films Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) and Wreck-It Ralph (2012).
Rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist Joan Jett composed the song with Kim Fowley, the band's then-manager. In the documentary Edgeplay: A Film About the Runaways (2005), Fowley and former Runaways lead singer Cherie Currie claimed that ‘Cherry Bomb’ was quickly written just for Currie to audition for the band, because the band members could not perform the song she originally chose to sing.
The title is a play on the name of their lead singer Cherie Currie, who was just 16 when this song was released. A "Cherry Bomb" is a small explosive device popular with kids, but in the context of this song, it means an underage girl who is lots of trouble - in this case taunting her parents and other adults with suggestions of promiscuity and bad behavior. This was all by design, as Fowley was out to shock with The Runaways and generate a great deal of hype. The band earned a lot of press and a fair amount of rock credibility, since they played their own instruments and for the most part were genuinely talented.
Label – MercurySongwriters – Joan Jett, Kim Fowley
Producer – Kim Fowley
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]Can't stay at home, can't stay in school
Old folks say, "You poor little fool"
Down the street, I'm the girl next door
I'm the fox you've been waiting for
[Chorus]
Hello, Daddy, hello, Mom
I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch, cherry bomb
Hello, world, I'm your wild girl
I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch, cherry bomb
[Verse 2]
Stone Age love and strange sounds too
Come on, baby, let me get to you
Bad nights causin' teenage blues
Get down, ladies, you got nothin' to lose
[Chorus]
Hello, Daddy, hello, Mom
I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch, cherry bomb
Hello, world, I'm your wild girl
I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch, cherry bomb
[Guitar Solo]
Oh, oh-oh, oh, oh!
[Chorus]
Hello, Daddy, hello, Mom
I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch, cherry bomb
Hello, world, I'm your wild girl
I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch, cherry bomb
Oh-ah
[Verse 3]
Hey, street boy, want some style?
Your dead-end dreams don't make you smile
I'll give you somethin' to live for
Have you and grab you 'til you're sore
[Chorus]
Hello, Daddy, hello, Mom
I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch, cherry bomb
Hello, world, I'm your wild girl
I'm your ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch, cherry bomb
[Outro]
Cherry bomb
Cherry bomb
Cherry bomb
Cherry bomb
Cherry bomb