Aerosmith – Janie's Got A Gun Lyrics - Genius

2025, In ReviewFeaturedChartsVideosPromote Your MusicSign Up8Janie’s Got a GunAerosmithProducerBruce FairbairnTrack 29 onGreatest Hits Sep. 12, 19891 viewer115.2K views47 Contributors

Janie’s Got a Gun Lyrics

“Janie’s Got A Gun” is the second single from the 1989 Aerosmith album Pump. It was the album’s second of three top 10 hits, reaching #4 in early 1990. It also went to #1 in Australia and charted well in New… Read More [Water Song][Intro]Dum, dum, dum, honey, what have you done?Dum, dum, dum, it's the sound of my gunDum, dum, dum, honey, what have you done?Dum, dum, dum, it's the soundNah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nahNah, nah, nah, nah, nah, nah[Verse 1]Janie got a gunJanie got a gunWhole world's come undoneFrom lookin' straight at the sun[Pre-Chorus 1]What did her daddy do?What did he put you through?[Chorus 1]They said when Janie was arrestedThey found him underneath a trainBut, man, he had it comin'Now that Janie's got a gunShe ain't never gonna be the sameYou might also like[Verse 2]Janie got a gunJanie got a gunHer dog day's just begunNow everybody is on the run[Pre-Chorus 2]Tell me now it's untrueWhat did her daddy do?[Chorus 2]He jacked a little bitty babyThe man has got to be insaneThey say the spell that he was underThe lightning and the thunderKnew that someone had to stop the rain[Post-Chorus]Run away, run away from the pain, yeah, yeah yeah yeahRun away, run away from the pain, yeah yeahYeah yeah yeah yeah yeahRun away, run away, run, run away[Guitar Solo][Verse 2]Janie got a gunJanie's got a gunHer dog day's just begunNow everybody is on the run[Pre-Chorus 3]What did her daddy do?It's Janie's last I.O.U[Chorus 3]She had to take him down easy and put a bullet in his brainShe said, "'Cause nobody believes me. The man was such a sleezeHe ain't never gonna be the same"[Post-Chorus]Run away, run away from the pain, yeah, yeahYeah yeah yeahRun away, run away from the pain, yeah yeahYeah yeah yeah yeah yeahRun away, run away, run, run away[Outro]Janie's got a gunJanie got a gunJanie's got a gunNow everybody is on the runJanie got a gunHer dog day's just begunNow 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 runJanie got a gunJanie got a gunHer dog day's just begunNow everybody is on the run8EmbedCancel

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AboutSong Bio3 contributors

“Janie’s Got A Gun” is the second single from the 1989 Aerosmith album Pump. It was the album’s second of three top 10 hits, reaching #4 in early 1990. It also went to #1 in Australia and charted well in New Zealand and Sweden.

After thinking up the title (which was originally “Danny’s Got A Gun”), four months later Steven Tyler wrote the lyrics inspired by two different stories he read in Time and Newsweek: one involving gun violence within the US towards the end of the 1980s and the other involving sexual abuse of children in well-off suburban communities. The latter story (a young teenager being sexually abused by her father) became a motive for the former (Janie killing someone, in this case her father).

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Ask a questionWhat did Aerosmith say about "Janie's Got a Gun"?Genius Answer1 contributor

In his autobiography Walk This Way, Tyler shared:

That song is about a girl getting raped and pillaged by her father. It’s about incest, something that happens to a lot of kids who don’t even find out about it until they find themselves trying to work through some major f–king neuroses.

He told Rolling Stone that after sitting on the song’s title for four months without writing any lyrics:

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 f—ing scary. I felt, man, I gotta sing about this. And that was it. That was my toe in the door.

He also explained to Rolling Stone:

How can a father not be attracted to his daughter, especially when she’s a cross between the girl he married and himself? All a man has to do is be totally honest with himself and he can see it. However, the real man knows that’s just a place to never go. Instead he celebrates it by telling his daughter how beautiful she is and what a precious child of God she is. There’s ways to love it without making love to it – I wrote ‘Janie’s Got A Gun’ about fathers who don’t know the difference.

+4What certifications has "Janie's Got a Gun" received?Genius Answer1 contributor

The single went Platinum in Australia, shipping over 70,000 units.

+7How did "Janie's Got a Gun" chart?Genius Answer1 contributor

The single was #1 in Australia, #2 in Canada, #13 in New Zealand and peaked at #4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.

+9Is there a live performance of "Janie's Got a Gun" by Aerosmith?Who produced “Janie's Got a Gun” by Aerosmith?When did Aerosmith release “Janie's Got a Gun”?Who wrote “Janie's Got a Gun” by Aerosmith?Greatest Hits (2023)Aerosmith

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2. 2. Dream On
3. 3. Lord of the Thighs
4. 4. Same Old Song and Dance
5. 5. Train Kept A-Rollin’
6. 6. S.O.S. (Too Bad)
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20. 20. Kings and Queens (Single Edit)
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22. 22. Walk This Way
23. 23. Hangman Jury
24. 24. Dude (Looks Like a Lady)
25. 25. Rag Doll
26. 26. Angel
27. 27. Monkey on My Back
28. 28. What It Takes
29. 29. Janie’s Got a Gun
30. 30. Love in an Elevator
31. 31. The Other Side
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34. 34. Get a Grip
35. 35. Cryin’
36. 36. Falling in Love (Is Hard on the Knees)
37. 37. Pink
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39. 39. I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing
40. 40. Jaded
41. 41. We All Fall Down
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Big Ones (1994)AerosmithPump (1989)AerosmithO, Yeah! Ultimate Aerosmith Hits (2002)AerosmithTough Love: Best of the Ballads (2011)AerosmithYoung Lust: The Aerosmith Anthology (2001)Aerosmith20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Aerosmith (2007)AerosmithTough Love: Best of the Ballads (International Version) (2011)AerosmithDevil’s Got A New Disguise: The Very Best Of Aerosmith (2006)AerosmithClassic Aerosmith: The Universal Masters Collection (2000)AerosmithExpand CreditsReleased onSeptember 12, 1989ProducerBruce FairbairnWritersTom Hamilton & Steven TylerVideo DirectorDavid FincherBassTom HamiltonLead VocalsSteven TylerLabelGeffen RecordsGuitarBrad Whitford & Joe PerryDrumsJoey KramerRecorded AtLittle Mountain Sound Studios, VA, CanadaSongs That Sample Janie’s Got a Gun1989 by The Hood Internet & Sound of My Gun by NabihaSongs That Interpolate Janie’s Got a GunBod ZLOmu by Řezník & Alla Xul Elu, Mary's Got a Son (Parody of "Janie's Got a Gun") by ApologetiX & The One by Slaughterhouse (Ft. The New Royales)Janie’s Got a Gun CoversJanie's Got a Gun by Vitamin String Quartet, Janie's Got a Gun by Steven Tyler, Cheney's Got A Gun by Bob Rivers, Janie's Got A Gun by Cornbread Red, Janie's Got A Gun by Lexington Lab Band & Janie's Got a Gun by P!nkJanie’s Got a Gun Live PerformancesJanie’s Got a Gun [A Little South of Sanity] by AerosmithView Janie’s Got a Gun samplesTagsRockHard RockMurder BalladBalladExpand CommentsAdd a commentSign Up And Drop Knowledge 🤓Genius is the ultimate source of music knowledge, created by scholars like you who share facts and insight about the songs and artists they love.Sign Up