Shortly after that, with Kenny's assistance, Joan formed the backing group "The Blackhearts" with three obscure New York area musicians: Gary Ryan on bass, Eric Ambel (replaced shortly thereafter by Rick Byrd) on guitar and Lee Crystal on drums. After almost a year of touring, Joan's first album with The Blackhearts, entitled I Love Rock'N'Roll came out in December of 1981. The album included a version of "Little Drummer Boy" on the pre-Christmas editions. The album's impact on the music scene was immediate with the LP reaching the Top Five, while the single "I Love Rock'n'Roll" hit the very top of the Billboard's Charts on March 20, 1982 and stayed #1 for 7 weeks. Joan Jett had come back from nowhere.
A string of Top 40 hits followed, as well as sellout tours with The Police, Queen, and Aerosmith, among others. Jett was the second American act of any kind to perform behind the Iron Curtain, the first one being Blood, Sweat & Tears in Romania in 1969. She was among the first English-speaking rock acts to appear in Panama and the Dominican Republic.
Forced label changes in the 80's led to a decline in popularity. Despite the follow-up albums "Album" and "Glorious Results of a Misspent Youth" being praised by her devout fans, neither got the attention or radio play the first two albums received.
After receiving her own MTV New Year's Eve special, Jett beat out a number of contenders to appear in the movie Light of Day with Michael J. Fox. It was about this time that Ryan and Crystal left the Blackhearts. They were soon replaced by the powerful rhythm section of Thommy Price and Kasim Sulton. Later that year, Jett released "Good Music", which featured appearances by The Beach Boys, The Sugarhill Gang and singer Darlene Love. The album only spawned two minor singles which received little airplay. This label decided the band had to either take in outside help or they would lose their contract.
And so they did. Her next release, Up Your Alley, went multi-platinum and was followed by "The Hit List", which was an international hit. Popular songwriter/producer Desmond Child was brought in, resulting in the release of album "Up Your Alley". This album brought the band a resurgence in popularity, with top 10 singles "I Hate Myself for Loving You" and "Little Liar".
This return to the spotlight would be short-lived, however. Follow-up album "The Hit List", an all-cover songs release, spawned only a minor hit with Jett's version of AC/DC's "Dirty Deeds".
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts became the first rock band to perform a series of shows at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway, breaking the record at the time for the fastest ticket sell-out ever.
1991 and 1994 had two more releases, "Notorious" and "Pure & Simple". But radio had started looking to grunge by this time, and neither album got the attention they deserved.
In the 1990s, Jett and Laguna released "Flashback", a compilation of her career so far on their own Blackheart Records. Her next release, "Notorious" (which featured The Replacements' Paul Westerberg) was the last with Sony/CBS as Jett switched to Warner Brothers.
In 1994, the Blackhearts released the well received Pure and Simple, which featured tracks written with Kat Bjelland (Babes in Toyland), Donita Sparks (L7) and Kathleen Hanna (Bikini Kill).
While a slew of hits packages, some with an occasional new or previously unreleased track were released following this, it would be 10 years before a new studio album would appear.
This would be 2004's "Naked", and thus far has been a Japan-only release. The album sees Jett returning to a more raw and experimental sound, closer to that of her first 4 releases than the polished material that began with "Good Music".
Failing to get "Naked" released in other markets, Jett released on a more international level "Sinner" in June 2006, on Blackheart Records, her own label.. This album featured many remixed tracks from "Naked", and a complete rewrite of "Stuck in the Middle" to new version "Riddles". Lead-off single and video was a cover of "A.C.D.C." by Sweet.
To support the album, the band appeared on the 2006 Warped Tour, and embarked on a Fall 2006 tour with Eagles of Death Metal.
After a long break from recording, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts released a 6-song EP of new material, "Mindsets," in June 2023.
Wynnewood
Hide and Seek
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let's get together tonight an' play some hide & go seek
Whatcha say
Yeah Well c'mon
Well I love you love you love you
Tickle tickle hug me hug me hug me
You all hid yeah
Are you ready I'm not ready
Aw man let's hide this time
I went down the road the road was muddy
I stubbed my toe my toe was hurtin'
You all hid yeah
If you ain't hid you better holler billy goat bah
Two bars of washin' powder two bars of soap
Already hid you better holler billy goat
I went down the road the road was muddy
I stubbed my toe my toe was hurtin'
Walk don't jump to the bottom of the well
Swam by the devil n' he
Wha'd he say, wha'd he say
I'm not gonna say that
You all hid yeah
If you ain't hid you better holler billy goat bah
look what I go look what I go
Aw man will you put down that thing you got
In your hand an' find your hole an' get it it
I'm gonna say this just one more time yep
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
You all hid yeah
If you ain't hid you better holla billy goat bah
One potato two potato three potato four
All ain't ready better let me go
If you hid, behind my pie
I'm gonna hit you right in the eye
You all hid yeah
If you ain't hid you better holla billy goat bah
Now are you ready I'm still not ready
Aw man looky here I want you to find yourself
The tallest tree an' I want you to climb up in it
An' walk out on the limb an' jump
An' I hope that you fall in the deepest hole
I mean listen, cause I'm gonna say this
Just one more time
Say I went down the road, the road was muddy
I stubbed my toe my toe was hurtin'
Two bars a' washin' powder two bars a' sop
All ain't hid you better holla billy goat (bah)
now I know you're ready this time man
I'm ready I'm ready
The lyrics to Joan Jett and the Blackhearts' "Hide and Seek" showcase a playful and carefree attitude. The song starts with the suggestion of playing hide and seek and invites the listener to join in. The lyrics then take a turn and become nonsensical and random in nature. The chorus of the song tells the listener to hide and holler like a billy goat, indicating that this song is a fun and lighthearted game. The lyrics continue with mentions of stubbing toes, bars of soap, and jumping from tall trees. The song creates a whimsical and imaginative atmosphere calling on listeners to indulge in childlike sentiments through the lyrics and act of playing games.
While the lyrics of "Hide and Seek" may seem nonsensical, they convey an important message of embracing one's inner-child and not taking life too seriously. Joan Jett and the Blackhearts use the game of hide and seek as a metaphor for letting go of adult responsibilities for a while and having some fun. Overall, the song's lyrics showcase the humor and carefree nature of childhood through an upbeat rock and roll sound.
Line by Line Meaning
Say man looky here
Hey, listen up!
Let's get together tonight an' play some hide & go seek
Let's spend some fun time together and play hide and seek
Whatcha say
What do you think about that?
Well I love you love you love you
I love you so much
Tickle tickle hug me hug me hug me
Let's share love and affection
You all hid yeah
Everyone is hiding, right?
If you ain't hid ya better holler billy goat bah
If you're not hiding, you better call out 'billy goat bah'
Are you ready I'm not ready
Are you ready to play? I'm not ready yet
Aw man let's hide this time
Let's play another round of hide and seek
I went down the road the road was muddy
I walked down the muddy road
I stubbed my toe my toe was hurtin'
I accidentally hit my toe and it was painful
Two bars of washin' powder two bars of soap
I have some soap and washing powder
Already hid you better holler billy goat
I'm already hiding, so you better call out 'billy goat'
Walk don't jump to the bottom of the well
Be careful and walk to the bottom of the well
Swam by the devil n' he
I met the devil while swimming in the water
Wha'd he say, wha'd he say
What did he say?
I'm not gonna say that
I can't repeat what he said
If you ain't hid you better holler billy goat bah
If you're not hiding, you better call out 'billy goat bah'
look what I go look what I go
Look where I am, look where I am
Aw man will you put down that thing you got
Hey, can you put down whatever you're holding?
In your hand an' find your hole an' get it it
Go find your hiding spot and stay there
I'm gonna say this just one more time yep
I'm repeating this one last time
5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Counting to 50
One potato two potato three potato four
Playing a traditional counting rhyme
All ain't ready better let me go
Not everyone is ready, so let me start
If you hid, behind my pie
If you're hiding behind my pie,
I'm gonna hit you right in the eye
I'm going to catch you right away
Now are you ready I'm still not ready
Are you ready to play now? I'm still not ready.
Aw man looky here I want you to find yourself
Hey, listen to me carefully, I want you to find the tallest tree and climb it
The tallest tree an' I want you to climb up in it
I mean the highest tree and you should climb up and walk on the limb and jump
An' walk out on the limb an' jump
Go out on a limb and jump
An' I hope that you fall in the deepest hole
And I hope you fall into the deepest hole
now I know you're ready this time man
I know you're finally ready to play
I'm ready I'm ready
I'm ready to start playing now
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: B. HILL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind