The KKK Took My Baby Away

"The KKK Took My Baby Away" is a song written by Joey Ramone. It appears on the Ramones' 1981 album Pleasant Dreams.

Lyrics

The protagonist sings that his girlfriend has been kidnapped by the Ku Klux Klan on her way to Los Angeles for the holidays and pleads with the listener to call federal authorities to find out where she is and whether she is still alive.

In a documentary film about the Ramones, it was claimed by an interviewee close to the band that it seemed clear to him that Joey must have been obliquely referring to Johnny Ramone (who used to tease Joey for being Jewish) "stealing" away his girlfriend, Linda.^[1][2]

Joey's brother Mickey Leigh has disagreed, saying that the song had been written before Joey learned of their affair. Leigh explains that the song was in response to Joey's relationship with a black woman, whose parents disapproved of the interracial relationship. Leigh asked Joey what happened to the girl and Joey responded by saying "the KKK took my baby away."^[3]

Music

Like almost all Ramones songs, the time signature is 4/4. It alternates two verses with a chorus; the second chorus is followed by a bridge, after which the first verse and the chorus are repeated with a change of key.

In the documentary End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones, Johnny Ramone states that the guitar riff of "The KKK Took My Baby Away" was inspired by the riff of Cheap Trick's "He's a Whore"

Cover versions

• Alkaline Trio performed the song live on Australian radio station Triple J's Like a Version.
• German band Die Ärzte covered the song in German under the title "Die Wiking-Jugend hat mein Mädchen entführt" for a Ramones tribute album entitled "Todos Somos Ramones".

References