![]() The same goes for the backing vocals that go “ah, nah nah nah.†Also, Johnny Ramone’s guitar work is slightly different from his typical “down stroke style.†He playing was much more calculated because at each chord change he let's the chord ring a bit. Musically, this track was where we heard Joey Ramone’s vocal range widen a bit, especially in the anthemic chorus. Arguably, “Bonzo Goes To Bitburg†(also known as "My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down") is one of their most famous songs and one of the few times they got political with their lyrics. For some reason it is a bit overlooked especially when you look at the Ramones’ later discography. It was in fact a UK release that acted as sort of buffer in between 1984’s Too Tough To Die and 1986’s Animal Boy where the title track also appears. This EP interestingly enough was actually not pressed in the US. The Dead Kennedys made the same allusion with the title of their 1986 classic Bedtime For Democracy. It was not just the cover art of the president at Berlin Wall that was the main attack on him, but also the song title itself, which is a reference to a movie he starred in with a monkey called Bedtime For Bonzo in 1951 before he ever moved into politics. Even though the band was closing in on being ten years old at this point in their history, The Ramones did partake in taking some shots at The Gipper as well most notably in their three-track Bonzo Goes To Bitburg EP. ![]() Though he was portrayed in a negative fashion, it can’t be denied that he had quite the “negative†influence on punk rock. (It’s recommended that you listen to this on Spotify as their embed only has 200 songs.Whether or not you think that Ronald Reagan’s presidency was successful or not, there is one thing that is true when it comes to the him and 80’s punk rock – his face was a major part of the art work back then be it show flyers, album covers, songs, etc. While the Ramones had always flirted with politics in the subtext - and shit, there was ironic Nazi imagery on their debut - and on songs like “The KKK Took My Baby Away” and “ Howling at The Moon (Sha-La-La)“, the text, this was most explicit political song they would ever write.ĭid you miss a Certain Song? Follow me on Twitter: Certain Songs DatabaseĪ filterable, searchable & sortable somewhat up to date database with links to every “Certain Song” post I’ve ever written. Why is this song different from all other Ramones songs? Only on college radio, full of the target audience for this kind of bile, did it find any purchase. in June, 1985 - Sire didn’t release it here as a single - and as much as I’d like to report that it was a massive hit single there, of course it wasn’t. “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg” came out in the U.K. It’s when someone tries to hide behind politics But it didn’t to Joey, and after a thrilling modulation, Joey has one last thing to say. In an era where the President does and says incredibly shitty things at a dizzying rate - whoops, there goes another one - the inciting incident of “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg” probably seems hilariously trivial. With producer Jean Beauvoir polishing Johnny’s guitar to diamond hard, and then adding glockenspiels on top, “Bonzo Goes To Bitburg” was as angry as any hardcore song, while still soaring sky-high, riding tough on its ongoing contradictions, like Dee Dee’s gorgeous backing vocasl conflicting with a pissed-off Joey. Joey was Jewish, of course, and he had some opinions on the whole thing:īonzo goes to Bitburg then goes out for a cup of teaĪs I watched it on TV somehow it really bothered meĭrank in all the bars in town for an extended foreign policy You’re a politician, don’t become one of Hitler’s childrenĭuring a visit to West Germany, Reagan went to Bitburg, and then defended his actions by basically both-sidesing the Nazis, saying that the ones buried there were “were victims, just as surely as the victims in the concentration camps.” Erp. ![]() You’ve got to pick up the pieces, come on, sort your trashīetter pull yourself back together, maybe you’ve got too much cashīetter call, call the law, when are you gonna turn yourself in? Yeah “Bitburg” was a West German cemetery where Nazis were buried. on 1986’s Animal Boy album, it was rebranded as “My Brain is Hanging Upside Down” in order to appease Johnny who was, of course, a staunch conservative - but still chose to play on it, so kudos to him - the version that made the impact on me was the import single.įor you kids, “Bonzo” was a derogatory term for Ronald Reagan, who was the President of the United States at the time, but - as an entertainer who decided not to “stay in his lane” - had previous starred in a film called Bedtime for Bonzo, though he did not play the titular character. And yeah, while I know that “Bonzo Goes to Bitburg” eventually got released in the U.S.
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