All of the band members adopted pseudonyms ending with the surname "Ramone", though none of them were related. They performed 2,263 concerts, touring virtually nonstop for 22 years. In 1996, after a tour with the Lollapalooza music festival, the band played a farewell concert and disbanded. By a little more than eight years after the breakup, the band's three founding members—lead singer Joey Ramone, guitarist Johnny Ramone, and bassist Dee Dee Ramone—had died. Drummer Tommy Ramone, the last surviving original member, died in 2014.
Their only record with enough U.S. sales to be certified gold was the compilation album Ramones Mania. However, recognition of the band's importance built over the years, and they are now cited in many assessments of all-time great rock music, such as the Rolling Stone list of the 50 Greatest Artists of All Time and VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. In 2002, the Ramones were ranked the second-greatest band of all time by Spin magazine, trailing only The Beatles. On March 18, 2002, the Ramones—including the three founders and drummers Marky and Tommy Ramone—were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2011, the group was awarded a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Formation: 1974–1975
Forest Hills High School, attended by the four original members of the Ramones
The original members of the band met in and around the middle-class neighborhood of Forest Hills in the New York City borough of Queens. John Cummings and Tamás Erdélyi had both been in a high-school garage band from 1966 to 1967 known as the Tangerine Puppets. They became friends with Douglas Colvin, who had recently moved to the area from Germany, and Jeffry Hyman, who was the initial lead singer of the glam rock band Sniper, founded in 1972.
The Ramones began taking shape in early 1974, when Cummings and Colvin invited Hyman to join them in a band. The initial lineup featured Colvin on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Cummings on lead guitar, and Hyman on drums. Colvin, who soon switched from rhythm guitar to bass, was the first to adopt the name "Ramone", calling himself Dee Dee Ramone. He was inspired by Paul McCartney's use of the pseudonym Paul Ramon during his Silver Beatles days. Dee Dee convinced the other members to take on the name and came up with the idea of calling the band the Ramones. Hyman and Cummings became Joey Ramone and Johnny Ramone, respectively.
A friend of the band, Monte A. Melnick (later their tour manager), helped to arrange rehearsal time for them at Manhattan's Performance Studios, where he worked. Johnny's former bandmate Erdélyi was set to become their manager. Soon after the band was formed, Dee Dee realized that he could not sing and play his bass guitar simultaneously; with Erdélyi's encouragement, Joey became the band's new lead singer.
Dee Dee would continue, however, to count off each song's tempo with his signature rapid-fire shout of "1-2-3-4!" Joey soon similarly realized that he could not sing and play drums simultaneously and left the position of drummer. While auditioning prospective replacements, Erdélyi would often take to the drums and demonstrate how to play the songs. It became apparent that he was able to perform the group's music better than anyone else, and he joined the band as Tommy Ramone.
The Ramones played before an audience for the first time on March 30, 1974, at Performance Studios. The songs they played were very fast and very short; most clocked in at under two minutes. Around this time, a new music scene was emerging in New York centered around two clubs in downtown Manhattan—Max's Kansas City and, more famously, CBGB (usually referred to as CBGB's). The Ramones made their CBGB debut on August 16. Legs McNeil, who cofounded Punk magazine the following year, later described the impact of that performance: "They were all wearing these black leather jackets. And they counted off this song...and it was just this wall of noise.... They looked so striking. These guys were not hippies. This was something completely new."
The band swiftly became regulars at the club, playing there seventy-four times by the end of the year. After garnering considerable attention for their performances—which averaged about seventeen minutes from beginning to end—the group was signed to a recording contract in late 1975 by Seymour Stein of Sire Records. Stein's wife, Linda Stein, had seen the band play at CBGB; she would later co-manage them along with Danny Fields. By this time, the Ramones were recognized as leaders of the new scene that was increasingly being referred to as "punk". The group's unusual frontman had a lot to do with their impact. As Dee Dee explained, "All the other singers [in New York] were copying David Johansen [of The New York Dolls], who was copying Mick Jagger.... But Joey was unique, totally unique."
Born To Die In Berlin
Ramones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Demanding morphine curse my soul is burning
Stranded in the sweet wonderings
breathing the pale moon silver
Torn painted lips tasting the last drops of life
Sometimes I feel like screaming
Sometimes I feel I just can't win
Maybe I was born to die in Berlin
I sprinkled cocaine on the floor
when no one was watching
I closed my eyes and I let myself sleep
Creeps and dirty bastards,
demons waitin' by my bed
There's no choice or difference
no one seems to notice
Sometimes I feel like screamin
Sometimes I feel I just can't win
Sometimes I feelin' my soul is as restless as the wind
Maybe I was born to die in Berlin
Küss mich jetzt Mädchen, es ist alles wahr
Du kannst es lesen in der Morgenpost okay
der Winte rwird wieder kalt werden, Berliner wollen Amerika
von Menschen die sterben, Unter den weißen Blüten
Sometimes I feel like screamin
Sometimes I feel I just can't win
Sometimes I feelin' my soul is as restless as the wind
Maybe I was born to die in Berlin
Maybe I was born to die in Berlin
The lyrics to the Ramones' song "Born To Die In Berlin" depict a dark and despairing feeling of being trapped in a situation where death feels almost inevitable. The first verse sets the tone, describing the feeling of being intoxicated by the abandoned orchids in a garden, while also facing the curse of morphine burning in the soul. The second verse implies that the singer took cocaine to escape the harsh reality around them, only to find themselves alone with demons by their bed. The lyrics end with the recurring theme of feeling like the singer was born to die in Berlin. This final phrase could be interpreted in different ways. It could mean that the singer feels trapped in a city where there is no escape from death or a place where death is somehow easier to face.
The song's lyrics capture a sense of detachment from reality and a feeling of fatalism. The words convey the sense of being lost in thought, both in the beauty of the garden and in the desperate desire to escape the pain of reality. The lyrics also contain references to Berlin, the city's cold winter, and its desire for America, hinting at the context in which the song was written.
Line by Line Meaning
Intoxicated by the orchids abandoned in the garden
I am overwhelmed by the beauty of the forsaken flowers in the garden
Demanding morphine curse my soul is burning
My soul is aching and I desperately seek the relief of morphine
Stranded in the sweet wonderings
Lost and captivated by the peacefulness and beauty of my surroundings
breathing the pale moon silver
Inhaling the serene and calming atmosphere of the moonlit night
Torn painted lips tasting the last drops of life
My withered lips symbolize my mortality as I savour the fleeting moments of life
Sometimes I feel like screaming
Occasionally I am so overwhelmed by my thoughts that I feel the need to scream
Sometimes I feel I just can't win
At times, I feel frustrated and like a failure, unable to emerge victorious
Sometimes I feelin' my soul is as restless as the wind
I experience an inner turmoil, my soul feels as unsettled as the gusting wind
Maybe I was born to die in Berlin
Perhaps my fate is to perish in this enchanting city of Berlin
I sprinkled cocaine on the floor when no one was watching
In secret, I indulged in the powerful drug cocaine
I closed my eyes and I let myself sleep
I gave in to my exhaustion and allowed myself to drift into slumber
Creeps and dirty bastards, demons waitin' by my bed
Scary figures haunt me, they are waiting to torment me in my sleep
There's no choice or difference no one seems to notice
I feel trapped with no options; no one around me seems to care or notice
Küss mich jetzt Mädchen, es ist alles wahr
Kiss me now, girl, it's all true
Du kannst es lesen in der Morgenpost okay
You can read about it in the morning paper, okay?
der Winte rwird wieder kalt werden, Berliner wollen Amerika von Menschen die sterben
Winter will be cold again, Berliners want America, but lives are being claimed by war
Unter den weißen Blüten
Beneath the white blooms
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DEE DEE RAMONE, JOHN CARCO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@wildchild01ok
What a song to end a succesful career!! Long live Ramones.
@edersantos3226
Perfect!
@artis1969
Very Stooges-esque. What a way to go out.
@waylonjenninz
Amen!
@alessandrodelpoeta2237
@@artis1969so true, never thought about that before
@bobross4449
Started with Blitzkrieg Bop ended with Born To Die In Berlin
@grimreaper6060
The fact that Joey was a Jewish only gives this music an even more deep meaning...
@RK_peace
Another brilliant piece by Dee Dee RAMONE.
@bigmclargehuge3832
I love the guitar work here, probably my favorite Ramones song. Wish I had been old enough to see them live before they broke up.
@MerafilmSE
Last song on last album ever.