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"Blitzkrieg Bop" is a song by the American punk rock band Ramones. It was released as the band's debut single in February 1976 in the United States. It appeared as the opening track on the band's debut album "Ramones", that was released April 23, 1976.
The song, whose composition was credited to the band as a whole, was written by drummer Tommy Ramone (music and lyrics) and bassist Dee Dee Ramone (lyrics). The song is based on a simple three-chord pattern. The song is popular at sporting events where the iconic chant "Hey! Ho! Let's go!" is sometimes shouted as a rallying cry.
"Blitzkrieg Bop" was number 92 on the 2004 Rolling Stone list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 31 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks, and in 2008 Rolling Stone placed it number 18 of the top 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time. In 2009 it was named the 25th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.
The Ramones wrote this as a salute to their fans - it's about having a good time at a show.
Some fans interpret the song differently, however, as "Blitzkrieg" is a German term meaning "Lighting War." The Blitzkrieg was Hitler's army and in this interpretation, the Bop in the song is the march that the soldiers do.The Ramones' famous chant, "Hey, Ho, Let's Go!" is a big part of this song. They wanted their own chant after hearing "Saturday Night" by the Bay City Rollers, which had the chant "S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y, Night."
Joey Ramone explained: "I hate to blow the mystique, but at the time we really liked bubblegum music, and we really liked the Bay City Rollers. Their song 'Saturday Night' had a great chant in it, so we wanted a song with a chant in it: 'Hey! Ho! Let's Go!'. 'Blitzkrieg Bop' was our 'Saturday Night'."
This was the Ramones' first single, and also the first song on their first album. It was never a hit, but it became a punk anthem and a defining song of the genre, which was just about to enter its late '70s heyday.
Johnny Ramone's guitar, which was highly distorted, is on the left channel, while the rest of the band is on the right.
The Ramones had a very sparse budget at the time: The entire album cost just $6,400 to make.
This song has been used in a number of movies and TV series, including The Simpsons (the 2007 "Treehouse of Horror" episode), and the 2006 Entourage episode "I Wanna Be Sedated," revolving around a Ramones documentary.
In the 2001 movie Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, it was used in a scene where Jimmy and his friends go on a rampage of fun. Some other uses:
Fear No Evil (1981)
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
Sugar & Spice (2001)
Shattered Glass (2003)
The King of Queens (2004)
Date Night (2010)
The Crazy Ones (2013)
Parenthood (2014)
Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
The New York Yankees baseball team often plays this when one of their big hitters is coming to the plate. Johnny Ramone was a huge fan of the Yankees.
Green Day performed this at the 2002 ceremonies when The Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 1991, this song piqued the interest of Budweiser, which used it in a commercial for their beer (without the "Shoot 'em in the back" line). There was no debate in the Ramones camp over whether to authorize it: they were all happy to get the money and exposure. In 2003, the song found its way into another commercial, this time for AT&T Wireless. It was later used in commercials for Diet Pepsi, Coppertone and Taco Bell.
Rob Zombie covered this song on the album "A Tribute To Ramones (We're A Happy Family)".
Fellow first-wave punk band The Clash covered this song live on tour in 1978, often as a medley with their own song "Police and Thieves."
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