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"Blitzkrieg Bop" is a song by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released as the band's debut single in April 1976 in the United States. It appeared as the opening track on the band's debut album, Ramones, also released that month.

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).[2]Based on a simple three-chord pattern, "Blitzkrieg Bop" opens with the chant "Hey! Ho! Let's go!" The song is popular at sporting events where "Hey! Ho! Let's go!" is sometimes shouted as a rallying cry, particularly in the city of Glasgow where fans chant "Hey! Ho! Glasgow!"

"Blitzkrieg Bop" is number 92 on the 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 on top 100 of Best Guitar Songs of All Time. In 2009 it was named the 25th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.[3]

Contents[]

 [hide*1 Origin and meaning

Origin and meaning[edit][]

"Blitzkrieg Bop" was named after the German World War II tactic blitzkrieg, which means "lightning war". 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"). Dee Dee also changed one 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 precise meaning and subject matter of the song are, unlike many of The Ramones' other early compositions, somewhat vague and obscure.

Composition[edit][]

The time signature for this song is 4/4. The first chordal pattern in the intro goes as follows: A, D, E, until the lyrical motif of "Hey! Ho! Let's go!" occurs. The chorus contains a slight variation of the first chord progression (introduced in the intro) with a B three bars before the end of the chorus (D, A, D, A, D, B, D, E).

Dedications[edit][]

  • The punk rock band Blitzkrieg Bop took their name after the song title.
  • A monthly club night at the Arches in Glasgow is named after the song.

Notable covers[edit][]

Uses in popular culture[edit][]

  • The song appeared in the 1983 movie National Lampoon's Vacation.
  • "Blitzkrieg Bop" has been heard in TV commercials. CBS used the song to promote a new season of The Amazing Race, and is heard in a 2013 ad for Coppertone, and ao.com used it for their advertising campaign in 2013.
  • The song was also used in a 2010 campaign for Cartoon Network and Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius.
  • A remastered version of "Blitzkrieg Bop" is on the soundtrack of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 (PlayStation version).
  • The song is featured on the soundtrack of the video game MLB 08: The Show.
  • The song was used on the original Rock Band video game that was released on November 20, 2007 in the US.
  • The song was used in the game Rocksmith 2014.
  • The song was used for advertising campaign BIGBON in 2014.
  • Green Day regularly play the song over the loud speakers before going on stage.
  • The song is regularly played before home games at St. James' Park, home of Newcastle United.
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