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."
You're Gonna Kill That Girl
Ramones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He knocked her off her feet and then I knew it was the end of her
He's gonna kill that girl He's gonna kill that girl
He's gonna kill that girl tonight
When I saw her walking down the street my heart stood still and skipped
A beat then he knocked her on the floor but he wanted just a little bit more
He's gonna kill that girl He's gonna kill that girl
He's gonna kill that girl tonight
When I saw her walking down the street my heart stood still and skipped
A beat then he knocked her on the floor but he wanted just a little bit more
I saw her lying on the street he jumped down, he knocked
Her off her feet that's when I knew it was the end of her
He's gonna kill that girl He's gonna kill that girl
He's gonna kill that girl tonight
When I saw her walking down the street my heart stood still and skipped
A beat then he knocked her on the floor but he wanted just a little bit more
At first glance, the lyrics to Ramones' song "You're Gonna Kill That Girl" speak of a violent act committed by an unnamed protagonist. The opening lines depict the singer witnessing a woman walking down the street when suddenly someone jumps down and knocks her off her feet. The singer then becomes convinced that this person intends to kill her. The chorus reinforces this conviction, with the repeated line, "He's gonna kill that girl tonight." The second verse repeats these same events but adds the detail that the singer actually knocks the woman onto the floor before continuing on his path of violence.
One interpretation of the song is that it's a commentary on the prevalence of violence towards women in our society, especially considering that the lyrics never actually say who the violent protagonist is or what his motivations may be. The song could be read as a warning against ignoring or trivializing the signs of potential violent behavior towards women.
Another interpretation could be that the song is a reflection of the anxiety and paranoia that can come from living in a big city, where seemingly random acts of violence can happen. The opening line of the song, "I saw her walking down the street," suggests that this is a chance encounter that could happen to anyone.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw her walking down the street he jumped down
The singer sees a girl walking down the street and suddenly an attacker jumps down from somewhere.
He knocked her off her feet and then I knew it was the end of her
The attacker violently knocks the girl to the ground and the singer realizes that she is in grave danger.
He's gonna kill that girl He's gonna kill that girl
The singer knows that the attacker intends to seriously harm or murder the girl.
He's gonna kill that girl tonight
The artist believes that the attack will happen very soon, possibly that same night.
When I saw her walking down the street my heart stood still and skipped
A beat then he knocked her on the floor but he wanted just a little bit more
The sight of the girl fills the artist with fear, and the attacker continues to assault her despite already knocking her down.
I saw her lying on the street he jumped down, he knocked
Her off her feet that's when I knew it was the end of her
The singer finds the girl on the ground after the attack, and knows that she is beyond help.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Douglas Colvin, Jeff Hyman, John Cummings, Thomas Erdelyi
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@sawerach4841
[Intro]
I saw her walking down the street
He jumped down, he knocked her off her feet
And then I knew, it was the end of her
One, two, three, four!
[Chorus 1]
He’s gonna kill that girl
He’s gonna kill that girl
He’s gonna kill that girl
Tonight, tonight
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Tonight, tonight
[Verse 1]
When I saw her walking down the street
My heart stood still and skipped a beat
Then he knocked her on the floor
But he wanted just a little bit more
[Chorus 2]
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Tonight, tonight
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Tonight, tonight
[Verse 2]
When I saw her walking down the street
My heart stood still and skipped a beat
Then he knocked her on the floor
But he wanted just a little bit more
[Bridge]
I saw her walking down the street
He jumped down, he knocked her off her feet
And then I knew, it was the end of her
One, two, three, four!
[Chorus 2]
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Tonight, tonight
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Hey, he’s gonna kill that girl
Tonight, tonight
[Verse 2]
When I saw her walking down the street
My heart stood still and skipped a beat
Then he knocked her on the floor
But he wanted just a little bit more
[Outro]
Kill, kill, kill, kill kill that girl
You’re gonna kill, kill, kill, kill, kill that girl
You’re gonna kill, kill, kill, kill, kill that girl
You’re gonna kill, kill, kill, kill, kill that girl
You’re gonna kill, kill, kill, kill, kill that girl
You’re gonna kill, kill, kill, kill, kill that girl
You’re gonna kill, kill, kill, kill, kill that girl
You’re gonna kill
@punkisinthedetails1470
Thumbs up if Ramones fans are the awesomest people in human history.
@heedthemasterscall
This is timeless
@punkisinthedetails1470
Fuck yeah. Along with I love her so this might just be there best.
@RichardSpin
@@punkisinthedetails1470 indeed
@TranzparentMethods
It's Doo Wop with guitar and bass with the volume to 11. Ramones were the best band ever!
@monsieurbeefeur2270
Deedee Ramone taught me how to count
@johnny-r
No shit. Four is as high as anybody needs to go. God bless DeeDee.
@atlasking6110
onetwothreefawhr!
@robertbutts9835
The greatest band ever
@RichardSpin
agreed. for me its them and Skynyrd