‘Blitzkrieg Bop’, titled ‘The Blitzkrieg Bop!!’ on its single release, is a song by American punk rock band Ramones, released in February 1976 as their debut single in the United States. It was the opening track on the band's debut album, Ramones.
Although its composition was credited to the band as a whole, the song was written by drummer Tommy Ramone (music and lyrics) and bassist Dee Dee Ramone (lyrics). The song's "big dumb chant" ("Hey! Ho! Let's go!") became a global rallying cry at sporting events. ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ was number 92 on the 2004 Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. 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.
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 German World War II 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. Joey Ramone explained: "I hate to blow the mystique, but at the time we really liked bubblegum music, and we really liked the Bay City Rollers. Their song 'Saturday Night' had a great chant in it, so we wanted a song with a chant in it: 'Hey! Ho! Let's Go!'. 'Blitzkrieg Bop' was our 'Saturday Night'." 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, and specifically the Rolling Stones' cover of the song; the band had enjoyed mocking Mick Jagger'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."
This was the Ramones' first single, and also the first song on their first album. It was never a hit, but it became a punk anthem and a defining song of the genre, which was just about to enter its late '70s heyday. The Ramones made liberal use of the stereo spectrum on this one. Johnny Ramone's guitar, which was highly distorted, is panned mostly to the right, while Dee Dee's bass is mostly on the left. The Ramones had a very sparse budget at the time: The entire album cost just $6,400 to make. 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.
Label – Sire/ABC
Songwriters – Tommy Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone
Producer - Craig Leon
SONG LYRICS
[Intro]Hey, ho, let's go
Hey, ho, let's go
Hey, ho, let's go
Hey, ho, let's go
[Verse]
They're formin' in a straight line
They're goin' through a tight wind
The kids are losin' their minds
The Blitzkrieg Bop
They're pilin' in the back seat
They're generatin' steam heat
Pulsatin' to the back beat
The Blitzkrieg Bop
[Chorus]
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
[Verse]
They're formin' in a straight line
They're goin' through a tight wind
The kids are losin' their minds
The Blitzkrieg Bop
They're pilin' in the back seat
They're generatin' steam heat
Pulsatin' to the back beat
The Blitzkrieg Bop
See upcoming rock shows
[Chorus]
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
[Verse]
They're formin' in a straight line
They're goin' through a tight wind
The kids are losin' their minds
The Blitzkrieg Bop
They're pilin' in the back seat
They're generatin' steam heat
Pulsatin' to the back beat
The Blitzkrieg Bop
[Outro]
Hey, ho, let's go
Hey, ho, let's go
Hey, ho, let's go
Hey, ho, let's go