My
Brain is Hanging Upside Down- The Ramones
“You’ve got to pick up all the pieces.
C’mon sort your trash…you’re a politician. Don’t become one of Hitler’s
children (The Ramones).” In 1985, President Ronald Reagan traveled to Bitburg,
Germany and placed a wreath on the graves of those who lost their lives in
World War II in an attempt to show respect to the German people as a U.S. ally.
President Ronald Reagan’s actions invoked anger in the Jewish population,
considering it as an act of anti-Semitism. Many punk bands of 70’s consisted of members
of the Jewish religion including bands such as KISS, Richard Hell, and The
Ramones. “Punk is usually thought of as a radical reaction to local
circumstances (Stratton 79).” However, after the holocaust when the President
of the United States showed respect to a country that killed millions of Jews,
The Ramones, upset by the Presidents actions, used their punk music as an
expression of justified public anger.
“My Brain is Hanging Upside Down,” formerly know as, “Bonzo goes to Bitburg,” written by The Ramones in 1985 was a punk song written to express the anger Joey Ramone, a member of The Ramones and of the Jewish religion, felt towards the President of the United States. When asked about why he wrote the song and why he was angry he was quoted saying, “We had watched Reagan going to visit the SS cemetery on TV and were disgusted. We're all good Americans, but Reagan's thing was like forgive and forget. How can you forget six million people being gassed and roasted? (McNeil 78)” Most members of the band were avid Reagan supports, including Joey Ramone, until his actions at the Bitburg Cemetery. The song was renamed to “My Brain is Hanging Upside Down” because although Joey was no longer a Reagan fan, Johnny Ramone was still a supporter of Reagan. The name was changed to keep Johnny Ramone from being upset at the title.
The songs powerful lyrics and
uncensored anger is a reality check and reminder to everyone of what really
happened in Germany during WWII. The Ramones wrote the song to invoke a
reaction from the president and to show their support for the Jewish population.
Works
Cited
McNeil,
Legs, and John Holmstrom (August 1986). "We're a Happy Family". Spin:
p. 78.
ElCastilloPlondar.
"The Ramones - My Brain Is Hanging Upside Down." YouTube. YouTube, 10 May 2008. Web. 19 Nov.
2012. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7H2nVgja2s>.
Stratton,
Jon. "Jews, Punk and the Holocaust: From the Velvet Underground to the Ramones: The Jewish-American
Story." JSTOR Home, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.jstor.org.argo/stable/3877595?seq=6>.
