‘Janie’s Got a Gun’: the one word Aerosmith needed to be in their 1989 hit
Lyrics are certainly one of the most important factors of a song, especially if you’re a rock or pop outfit trying to convey meaning through storytelling and prose, and if one line is out of place, it could ultimately change the entire context of a song.
Some bands and artists appear to value this more, taking direct inspiration from literature and poetry, and wanting to have the lyrics stand out as more of an art form. Examples of this might include the likes of Bob Dylan or Bruce Springsteen, whose storytelling abilities were second to none and whose lyrics stand out on record just as much as the musical elements do, regardless of how good they were at writing these parts as well.
Others consider it to be important in terms of helping them to express the exact emotions that one might be going through at any given time, and speaking from direct personal experience. Plenty of writers stand out in this area as well, and can also utilise poetic elements for good measure, with Joni Mitchell standing out as a masterful example of someone who speaks from this perspective in her songwriting to great effect.
But for others, it might not seem like lyricism serves much more of a purpose other than to be a decorative placeholder that carries a melody, with little to no thought having gone into a story or any deeper meaning.
While you might not think of Aerosmith or Steven Tyler as being the sort who would fuss over this sort of fine detail, if the words weren’t fitting to the song in the precise manner that the exacting frontman was after, all hell would break loose behind the scenes.
The worst instance of this becoming a point of contention arose in 1989 when the band were in the midst of writing and recording for their tenth album, Pump, and had laid down a recording of ‘Janie’s Got A Gun’ which featured a controversial line.
In the band’s official biography, Walk This Way, the band’s A&R representative from Geffen, John Kalodner, noted how he was impressed with what he heard, but that he instantly took umbrage with the inclusion of the line: “He raped a little bitty baby,” insisting that they change the lyric.
“I heard the rough cut of ‘Janie’ just after they’d recorded it… I knew it was a big hit, certainly one of Tyler’s best moments as a songwriter. It was a work of art, a masterpiece, and so bizarre.”
John Kalodner
However, Tyler reportedly hit the roof at the suggestion that the lyrics were altered to remove the word “raped” and replace it with “jacked”, even if it were to soften the impact of the themes of abuse that the song explored.
“He went berserk when I told him it wouldn’t get played on commercial radio with the word ‘rape’ in it,” Kalodner continued. “He didn’t want to take it out, and there was a fight.”
While it may have been wise to tone it down, it’s clear that delivering the line as Tyler had initially intended would have hit harder, even if it means sacrificing a potential hit single as a result.
