Janie's Got a Gun
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Janie's Got a Gun" | ||
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| Single by Aerosmith | ||
| from the album Pump | ||
| Released | 1989 | |
| Format | Cassette, CD | |
| Recorded | 1989 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 05:33 | |
| Label | Geffen | |
| Writer(s) | Steven Tyler, Tom Hamilton | |
| Producer(s) | Bruce Fairbairn | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Aerosmith singles chronology | ||
| "Love in an Elevator" (1989) | "Janie's Got a Gun" (1989) | "What it Takes" (1990) |
"Janie's Got a Gun" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith and written by Steven Tyler and Tom Hamilton. It was released as the second single from Pump in 1989. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990, and also made it to #2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. On the album, it is preceded by a 10-second instrumental called "Water Song".
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[edit] Lyrical Interpretation
The song is about a girl named Janie who takes out revenge on her father after being abused; it is one of the few Aerosmith songs to deal with a heavy social issue. Aerosmith vocalist Steven Tyler says that he came up with the title and melody before he knew what direction he wanted the song to take. It had taken nine months to finish the lyrics; after Tyler read a Newsweek article on gunshot victims, he was able to connect the song with the theme of child abuse/incest. The line "He jacked a little bitty baby" was originally "He raped a little bitty baby," but was changed for commercial purposes. In addition, the line "...and put a bullet in his brain" was sometimes changed to "...and left him in the pouring rain" for the radio airplay version.
[edit] Video
The video, released in 1990, was directed by noted video director and later film director David Fincher.
The video was very groundbreaking at the time, featuring gruesome realistic scenes that would later be the basis for many videos of the 1990s. It is available for viewing at YouTube [1].
[edit] Parodies
The song title was parodied on The Daily Show on February 13, 2006; at one point, while Jon Stewart and his "correspondents" were mocking the Dick Cheney hunting incident, a placard displayed the caption "Cheney's Got a Gun." The audience broke into hysterical laughter, and even Stewart himself had to pause for a few seconds to compose himself. A parody song of that same name was written by Bob Rivers and is featured on the website atomfilms.com. Three other "Cheney's Got a Gun" parodies were submitted to the popular music parody website Amiright, along with the Bob Rivers version of the parody.[1]
Another parody was "Elmo's Got A Gun" by Tommy & Rumble. It was about Sesame Street character Elmo going on a killing spree. It is often misattributed to "Weird Al" Yankovic.
In Not Another Teen Movie, the main character Jake tries to serenade a girl named Janie, but very imprudently chooses this song and gets her arrested by campus police.
[edit] Awards
- The song won the band a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1991.
- The song's video won the band an MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video as well as MTV Video Music Award - Viewer's Choice in 1990.
[edit] Rankings on Lists
- "Janie's Got a Gun" ranked #37 on VH1's 100 Greatest 80's Songs.
- In 1993, "Rolling Stone: The Top 100 Music Videos" included "Janie" at #95.
- In 1999, "MTV: 100 Greatest Videos Ever Made" included it at #48.
- In 2001, "VH1: 100 Greatest Videos" included it at #48.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Am I Right - Song Parody Lyrics, Search. Amiright.com (2006). Retrieved on July 20, 2006.
