Ramones were a punk rock band that formed in Queens, New York, United State… Read Full Bio ↴Ramones were a punk rock band that formed in Queens, New York, United States, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk group. Despite achieving only limited commercial success, the band was a major influence on the punk rock movement both in the United States and the United Kingdom.

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."

Indian Giver
Ramones Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I can still remember
It wasn't long ago
Things you used to tell me
You said I had to know
Told me that you loved me
And that you always would
Then I said I loved you
You told me that was good

Girl, you made a promise, said you'd never want me to go
Oh no

Indian giver, Indian giver
You took your love away from me
Indian giver, Indian giver
Took back the love you gave to me

Baby, I was feeling
The way I want to feel
You had me believing
The love we had was real
Things we did together
And that we'd never end
"Now until forever," oh yeah, tha's what you said
Girl, when I was down, you said that you'd always be there
Oh, yeah, oh

Indian giver, Indian giver
You took your love away from me
Indian giver, Indian giver
Took back the love you gave to me, yeah

Indian giver, Indian giver
You took your love away from me
Indian giver, Indian giver
Took back the love you gave to me, yeah

You're an Indian giver, Indian giver
You took your love away from me
Indian giver, Indian giver
Took back the love you gave to me, yeah

Indian giver, Indian giver
You took your love away from me

You're an Indian giver, Indian giver
Took back the love you gave to me, yeah

Overall Meaning

The Ramones’s Indian Giver is a song about a broken promise. The singer deeply trusted the person they were with, who promised to love and stay by their side forever. They believed and invested their emotions and time, only to realize one day that their partner took away the love they had freely given to them. The phrase “Indian giver” is used to describe someone who gives a gift, but then takes it back. It is a derogatory and offensive term that perpetuates Native American stereotypes. However, in the context of the song, the term emphasizes the painful betrayal the singer feels because the love that was freely given was suddenly taken away.

As the song progresses, it is clear that the singer feels hurt and frustrated with their partner. The promises made were broken, and they were left heartbroken. The line “Baby, I was feeling the way I want to feel” shows that the singer was hopeful that they had finally found the love they were looking for. However, the phrase “You had me believing the love we had was real” suggests that the singer now doubts the genuineness of their partner's feelings.

In conclusion, Indian Giver is a powerful song about the pain of broken promises and the heartache of a love taken away cruelly.

Line by Line Meaning

I can still remember
The songwriter recalls a recent memory in the past.

It wasn't long ago
The memory is not from a distant past but a time not so far away.

Things you used to tell me
The songwriter was in a relationship and the memory involves the things his partner told him.

You said I had to know
The partner emphasized the importance of the things she told him.

Told me that you loved me
The partner expressed her love for the songwriter.

And that you always would
She promised that her love for him would always remain.

Then I said I loved you
The songwriter reciprocated the love for his partner.

You told me that was good
The partner was happy to hear that the songwriter loved her too.

Girl, you made a promise, said you'd never want me to go
The partner promised that she would never end the relationship and that she would never leave him.

Oh no
The songwriter expresses his realization that the promise has been broken.

Indian giver, Indian giver
The songwriter labels his partner as an Indian Giver- one who takes back what was given.

You took your love away from me
The partner betrayed the promise of staying in the relationship and took away her love from him.

Took back the love you gave to me
The partner had given her love to the songwriter but then took it back.

Baby, I was feeling
The songwriter describes his emotional state before the betrayal.

The way I want to feel
He felt happy and content before the betrayal.

You had me believing
The partner was able to convince him that their love was real and permanent.

The love we had was real
The songwriter believed that the love he shared with his partner was genuine.

Things we did together
The partner and the songwriter shared many experiences together.

And that we'd never end
The songwriter believed that their love would go on forever.

"Now until forever," oh yeah, tha's what you said
The partner promised that their relationship would continue until forever.

Girl, when I was down, you said that you'd always be there
The partner had promised to always support the songwriter and be there for him in times of need.

You're an Indian giver, Indian giver
The songwriter repeats the label he has given his partner.

You took your love away from me
The partner broke the promise of staying in the relationship and took away her love from the songwriter.

Took back the love you gave to me, yeah
The partner had given her love to the songwriter but then took it back.

You're an Indian giver, Indian giver
The songwriter repeats the label he has given his partner.

Took back the love you gave to me, yeah
The partner had given her love to the songwriter but then took it back.

Indian giver, Indian giver
The songwriter repeats the label he has given his partner.

You took your love away from me
The partner broke the promise of staying in the relationship and took away her love from the songwriter.

You're an Indian giver, Indian giver
The songwriter repeats the label he has given his partner.

Took back the love you gave to me, yeah
The partner had given her love to the songwriter but then took it back.

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Spirit Music Group
Written by: BO GENTRY, BOBBY BLOOM, RITCHIE CORDELL

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS

No Related Genres

More Genres

No Artists Found

More Artists Load All

No Albums Found

More Albums Load All

No Tracks Found

Genre not found

Artist not found

Album not found

Search results not found

Song not found

Most interesting comment from YouTube:

brenda strummercuenta vieja

3y↑3

Verse 1]
I can still remember, it wasn't long ago
Things you used to tell me
You said I had to know
Told me that you love me
And that you always would
Then I said I loved you
You said told that was good
Girl you made a promise
Said you'd never want me to go
Oh no, oh

[Chorus]
Indian giver
Indian giver
You took your love away from me
Indian giver
Indian giver
Took back the love you gave to me

[Verse 2]
Baby, I was feeling the way I wanna feel
You had me believing the love we had was real
Said we'd be together
And that we'd never end
Now and till forever
Oh yeah, that's what you said
Girl when I was down you said that you would always be there
Oh, yeah, oh

[Chorus]
Indian giver
Indian giver
You took your love away from me
Indian giver
Indian giver
Took back the love you gave to me (Yeah!)

[Guitar Solo]

[Chorus]
Indian giver
Indian giver
You took your love away from me
Indian giver
Indian giver
Took back the love you gave to me
You're an Indian giver
Indian giver
You took your love away from me
You're an Indian giver
Indian giver
Took back the love you gave to me
You're an Indian giver
Indian giver
You took your love away from me
You're an Indian giver
Indian giver
Took back the love you gave to me
You're a Indian giver
Indian giver
You took your love away from me
Indian giver
Indian giver
Took back the love you gave to me