| "Janie's Got a Gun" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byAerosmith | ||||
| from the albumPump | ||||
| B-side | "Voodoo Medicine Man" | |||
| Released | November 8, 1989 (1989-11-08)[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
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| Label | Geffen | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Bruce Fairbairn | |||
| Aerosmith singles chronology | ||||
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| Audio sample | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Janie's Got a Gun" onYouTube | ||||
"Janie's Got a Gun" is a song by Americanrock bandAerosmith and written bySteven Tyler andTom Hamilton. The song was released as the second single fromPump in 1989, peaking at number four on the USBillboard Hot 100 and number two on theBillboardAlbum Rock Tracks chart in 1990. In Australia, the song reached number one, becoming Aerosmith's first of two number-one singles there. It also reached number two in Canada, number 12 in Sweden, and number 13 in New Zealand.
The song describes a young woman killing hersexually abusive father. It won the band a 1990Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.[5]
On the album, "Janie's Got a Gun" is preceded by a 10-second instrumental called "Water Song", which features the work of instrumentalistRandy Raine-Reusch, who uses aglass harmonica,wind gong, andbullroarers to produce the special effects heard at the start of the song.[6]
Tyler came up with the main riff using a low-tone setting on his keyboard.[citation needed] Hamilton created the bassline.[7] The guitars and drum parts were configured later and Tyler wrote the lyrics.[7] Theguitar solo, byJoe Perry, is accompanied by the main riff and rhythmic clapping. The song also uses the Slap Bass instrument patch from theKorg M1. In a 1994 interview withRolling Stone, Tyler described the origin of the song:
I wrote the song in my basement, just fucking around. "Oh, Janie's got a gun." I got goose pimples. I sat for months, waiting for the oracle door to open. Then I looked over at aTime magazine and saw this article on 48 hours, minute by minute, of handgun deaths in the United States. Then I got off on the child abuse angle. I'd heard this woman speaking about how many children are attacked by their mothers and fathers. It was fucking scary. I felt, man, I gotta sing about this.[8]
Tyler took nine months to complete the lyrics, which were also inspired by stories he heard while undergoingdrug rehabilitation from another addict who turned to drugs after being abused by her father. He explains, "In the 1980s I was in a recovery program where I met so many women who had experienced incredibly painful and debilitating sexual, mental and physical abuse. Those events put them on a path of suffering that led to anything from abusing drugs toself-harm to many other self-destructive behaviors to mask the pain. It was also around that time that I wrote the song "Janie's Got a Gun," which tells the story of a young girl who is abused by her father."[9] The singer declared, "I got really angry that nobody was paying homage to those who were abused by mom and dad."[10] The line "He jacked a little bitty baby" was originally "Heraped a little bitty baby," butGeffen Records A&R executiveJohn Kalodner argued that the band should change it, explaining that he felt the song had the potential to be a hit and was certain it would not get played on commercial radio with the word "rape" in it.[7] Tyler often sings the original line when performing live. In addition, the line "...and put a bullet in his brain" was changed to "...she left him in the pouring rain" for the radio version, making the song's sound less graphic than it actually was.[citation needed]
The music video was directed byDavid Fincher.[11] Janie is portrayed by actressKristin Dattilo. Her parents are played byNicholas Guest andLesley Ann Warren.
In 2015, Tyler started a charity, Janie's Fund, which raises funds to provide counseling, trauma care, housing and medical care to troubled young women. Tyler explains, "Over the 30 years since that song was released, I've often thought about what could be done to prevent this kind of abuse."[12]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[25] | Platinum | 70,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. | ||
