My Top 2000 Songs #1190: Bonzo Goes To Bitburg

Despite their mantle as arguably the single most important band in the history of US punk music, the Ramones were almost invariably apolitical (in marked contrast to many early UK punk bands, as well as some later US hardcore bands). The rare exception was the 1985 single "Bonzo Goes To Bitburg," inspired by Ronald Reagan's ill-considered visit to a German cemetery where SS soldiers were buried. (It's actually the second song on this list to emanate from that event.) It's nice to see (Jewish) singer Joey Ramone, who co-wrote the number with Dee Dee and producer Jean Beauvoir, asserting himself somewhat (though, when the song was included on 1986's Animal Boy LP, the right-wing Johnny Ramone changed the title to "My Brain Is Hanging Upside-Down" to tamper down the anti-Reagan vibe).

As a protest song, it's not terribly pointed, more an expression of generalized discomfort, and the song's strength lies more in its buoyant pop hooks, the chorus harmonies providing one of the most obvious indicators of the band's love of 60s pop music in their extensive repertoire. Thirty years later, the context is largely forgotten, and the underlying event downright quaint in the age of Trump's daily mockeries of human decency; but as a rollicking punk-pop track with just a pinch of cultural bite, it holds up as one of their most enduring songs.

Live in the studio:

Live 1992:

Covid-era remake by members of various contemporary punk acts:

As seen in the School of Rock film: