Hey Joe
Robert Plant & Band Of Joy Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?
Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?
Goin' out to shoot my lady
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man
Goin' out to shoot my lady
You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man

Hey Joe, you know I heard you shot your woman down
Hey Joe, you know I heard you shot your woman down
Yes, I did, I shot her, you know I caught her messin' 'round
Yes, I did, I shot her, you know I caught her messin' 'round

Hey Joe, where you gonna run to now?
Hey Joe, where you gonna run to now?
I'm gonna run, gonna run, gonna run,
To the gallows pole




I'm gonna run, gonna run, gonna run,
The hangman can't put a rope around me anyhow...

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to "Hey Joe" by Robert Plant & Band of Joy tell the story of a man named Joe who caught his lady cheating on him with another man. In a fit of anger and jealousy, he grabs a gun and sets out to shoot her. The chorus has a running dialogue between two characters, Joe and an unknown person, who asks Joe where he's going with a gun in his hand, and later where he plans to run to after he's committed the crime. In the end, Joe claims he's going to run to the gallows pole and that even the hangman can't rope him in.


The song's storyline is dark and macabre, focusing on themes of jealousy, murder, and running from the consequences of one's actions. An interesting interpretation of the song is that Joe represents the human desire to control and own the people we love, and the violence that can come when that control is threatened. Another interpretation is that Joe represents a larger societal issue of toxic masculinity and violence against women.


Line by Line Meaning

Hey Joe, where you goin' with that gun in your hand?
Addressing Joe who is carrying a gun, asking him about his next plan


Goin' out to shoot my lady
Joe is going to shoot his girlfriend


You know I caught her messin' 'round with another man
Joe saw his girlfriend cheating on him with another guy


Hey Joe, you know I heard you shot your woman down
The artist heard that Joe has already shot his girlfriend


Yes, I did, I shot her, you know I caught her messin' 'round
Joe confirms that he shot his girlfriend because he caught her cheating


Hey Joe, where you gonna run to now?
Asking Joe about his next move because he has committed a crime


I'm gonna run, gonna run, gonna run,
Joe plans to run away and escape from the law


To the gallows pole
Joe intends to run towards the gallows pole, a place where criminals are hanged


The hangman can't put a rope around me anyhow...
Joe believes that he can avoid getting caught by the hangman and evade the punishment




Lyrics ยฉ DistroKid
Written by: Billy Roberts

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Comments from YouTube:

Cobb the Drummer

Young Robert Plant had a voice like no other, love hearing John Bonham play Mitch Mitchellโ€™s licks too

Joe

You just know..... the very first time Jimmy heard this kid live that he had heard about before first hearing himself..... he knew with this kid''s voice and along with his drummer...... his ideas for the new Yardbirds would blow the world up like never before. Then he gets this guy who's a fantastic composer and arranger and a studio musician who could play any instrument in Jonesey in to the mix on that thick bass, and they all get into a room for the first time and play Train Kept a Rollin...... to be in that room, for the first time, wow. When people ask if I could go back in time to witness something where and when would I go? 08/12/1968. That room. The first time John Paul Jones, Jimmy Page, John Henry Bonham, and Robert Plant plug in and crank up and hit that first chord together for the very first time.

Paddy Forlenza

listen to the bootleg live at fillmore 1969, i believe that's the first track

Joe

@Paddy Forlenza Right but they had to get together and meet to rehearse. That very first time was obviously not in front of any audience. It was just in a room. The four of them, and only the four of them. On August 12, 1968. 8 years and 357 days to the day before I was born. That was the date in which Plan, Page, JHB, and JPJ got together for the very first time with their instruments, in one room, plugged in, turned up, and hit their very first chord together as a band.

As Jonesy once put it: "on that very first chord you could feel the room just explode and a whooosh came over me! We knew from the very first moment we had something!"

THAT'S the moment I would have loved to have been there!!!!

5Piecekit

@Joe A little room on Gerrard St in London. With amps piled up all around...

Anthony Cavallo

He heard Plant first from a suggestion from Terry Reed. Plant told him about Bonham ,saying that the drummer Page had in mind for Zep ,was no good ,I've got to get my old drummer back ! Then they went to see Bonham and ,of course Page was sold !!! Jonsey had done studio work with Jimmy before and answered an add ,saying Jimmy was putting a band together . Jonesy's wife said ,call him ! The rest is history ! JPJ said when they figured out a tune to play ,train kept rolling ,the room just exploded ! It was the greatest thing EVER !

Stravo Lukos

@Joe Sorry, but Jimmi Hendrix was made for this song. Plant was in the wrong room. He had/has his own domain over which he is king.

5 More Replies...

ะกะขะะ ะ˜ะš

ะŸะพั‚ั€ััะฐัŽั‰ะตะต ะธัะฟะพะปะฝะตะฝะธะต ัั‚ะพะน ะบะพะผะฟะพะทะธั†ะธะธ !!!
ะ ะพะฑะตั€ั‚ ะŸะปะฐะฝั‚ - ะฒะตะปะธะบะธะน ะฒะพะบะฐะปะธัั‚ !!!

Nicholas Pansini

He has such a powerful voice, Robert Plant.

dpf

Imagine if Robert Plant was the Singer of the Jimi Hendrix experience and later of Led Zeppelin! Then he would be considered to be the best Singer of all time ๐Ÿ˜Œ I like Plant more than mercury

More Comments

More Versions