THE BOWERY ELECTRIC
The competition at www.officialramones.com was to write a song in tribute to Joey or the Ramones
This is one entry
Shot - Oh Yeah !
Listening to the radio in nineteen seventy seven
Two hours later, I couldn't get Sheena outta my head
Here I am, a quarter of a century older
Watch the brothers march into the hall of fame
They never gotten anything easy
Had to fight for every inch of success
But through the hassles and the aggravation
If you got it, they got you the best
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Every tune was a shiny pop single
And every chord was a statement of intent
And every time they hit the stage
They changed the lives of the audience
Listen to the song in fairly high quality mp3
Listen to the song in pretty low quality mp3
Shot
Murray Shot - Bass, Vocals
Chris Shot - Guitar, Backing Vocals
Johnny Shot - Drums
Recorded in ThrobSound studios, Edinburgh, April 2002
Check out their website
What makes a great Ramones song ?
Minimal directly to the point lyrics (probably too many in this song)
Short catchy chorus (too many words in this one, but it does have a bit of a chanting thing going on)
Snappy guitar break (yup, this ones got it, complete with Walter Lure type in the studio only guitar solo)
All bar chords and no minor chords (of course)
No point in writing another similar verse when you've already said it all in the first one (always)
Change key at the end (the classic Ramones song writing trick, everyone thinks Ramones songs are 3 chords, they practically never are)
The vocals arent like Joey Ramone, but it’s a homage not 'Stars in their eyes' (and nobody sings like Joey)