Janie's Got a Gun

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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 a Time 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 undergoing drug 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 to self-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 "He raped a little bitty baby," but Geffen Records A&R executive John 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 ]

Music video

The music video was directed by David Fincher. [11] Janie is portrayed by actress Kristin Dattilo. Her parents are played by Nicholas Guest and Lesley Ann Warren.

Janie's Fund

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]

Charts

"Janie's Got a Gun"
JaniesGotaGun.jpg
Single by Aerosmith
from the album Pump
B-side "Voodoo Medicine Man"
ReleasedNovember 8, 1989 (1989-11-08) [1]
Genre
Length
  • 5:38 (album version with "Water Song" instrumental intro)
  • 5:28 (single edit)
  • 4:16 (clean radio version)
Label Geffen
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Bruce Fairbairn
Aerosmith singles chronology
"F.I.N.E.*"
(1989)		"Janie's Got a Gun"
(1989)		"What It Takes"
(1989)
Audio sample

Certifications

RegionCertification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA) [25] Platinum70,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

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References

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  2. ↑ Rivadavia, Eduardo (February 28, 2017). "Aerosmith Albums Ranked". Loudwire . Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Goldsmith, Melissa Ursula Dawn (2019). Listen to Classic Rock! Exploring a Musical Genre. ABC-CLIO. p. 26. ISBN   978-1-4408-6579-4.
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  5. ↑ "Winners: Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal". Grammy.com. Retrieved November 21, 2018.
  6. ↑ Raine-Reusch, Randy. "Aeromsith, Yes, Cranberries". asza.com. Retrieved May 2, 2016.
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  9. ↑ Graff, Gary (January 11, 2020). "Aerosmith Is MusiCares' 2020 Person Of The Year". Billboard . Vol. 132, no. 1.
  10. ↑ "Billboard Salutes Aerosmith's 25th Anniversary". Billboard . August 15, 1998. p. A-26.
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