Janie's Got A Gun

"Janie's Got a Gun" was written by Steven Tyler and Tom Hamilton. It was released as the second single from Pump in 1989. The song is about a girl named Janie who takes revenge on her father after being sexually abused. According to Songfacts, Tyler wrote the lyrics after reading an article about children who had been killed by guns in Time magazine. It is one of the few Aerosmith songs to deal with a heavy social issue. On the album, "Janie's Got a Gun" is preceded by a 10-second instrumental called "Water Song", which features the work of professional instrumentalist Randy Raine-Reusch, who uses a glass harmonica, wind gong, and bullroarers to produce the special effects heard at the start of the song. It was originally titled "Danny's got a Gun" after a close friend of Steven Tyler, but was later changed. It peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990, and also made it to #2 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The song also reached #1 in Australia, their first single #1 there, and one of two #1 singles for the band in that country. It reached #12 in Sweden.

[Verse 1] Dum, dum, dum, honey, what have you done? Dum, dum, dum, it's the sound of my gun Dum, dum, dum, honey, what have you done? Dum, dum, dum, it's the sound [Chorus 1] Janie got a gun Janie got a gun Whole world's come undone From lookin' straight at the sun What did her daddy do? What did he put you through? [Verse 2] They said when Janie was arrested They found him underneath a train But, man, he had it comin' Now that Janie's got a gun She ain't never gonna be the same [Chorus 2] Janie got a gun Janie got a gun Her dog day's just begun Now everybody is on the run Tell me now it's untrue What did her daddy do? He jacked a little bitty baby The man has got to be insane They say the spell that he was under The lightning and the thunder Knew that someone had to stop the rain [Chorus 3] Run away, run away from the pain, yeah, yeah yeah yeah Run away, run away from the pain, yeah yeah Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Run away, run away, run, run away [Guitar Solo] [Chorus 2] Janie got a gun Janie's got a gun Her dog day's just begun Now everybody is on the run [Verse 2] What did her daddy do? It's Janie's last I.O.U She had to take him down easy and put a bullet in his brain She said, "'Cause nobody believes me. The man was such a sleeze He ain't never gonna be the same" [Chorus 3] Run away, run away from the pain, yeah, yeah Yeah yeah yeah Run away, run away from the pain, yeah yeah Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Run away, run away, run, run away [Chorus 2] Janie's got a gun Janie got a gun Janie's got a gun Now everybody is on the run [Outro] Janie got a gun Her dog day's just begun Now everybody is on the run (Honey, honey, what's the problem?) Because Janie got a gun (Tell me it ain't right) Janie got a gun (Was it Daddy's cradle robbing that) Her dog day's just begun (Made you scream at night?) Now everybody is on the run Janie got a gun Janie got a gun Her dog day's just begun Now everybody is on the run