We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song)
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| "We're Not Gonna Take It" | ||||
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| Single by Twisted Sister | ||||
| from the album Stay Hungry & Still Hungry | ||||
| B-side | "You Can't Stop Rock & Roll" | |||
| Released | April 27, 1984 | |||
| Format | 7" Single | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Genre | Heavy metal[1] | |||
| Length | 3:38 | |||
| Label | Atlantic | |||
| Writer(s) | Dee Snider | |||
| Producer | Tom Werman | |||
| Certification | 8x Platinum (CRIA)[2] | |||
| Twisted Sister singles chronology | ||||
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"We're Not Gonna Take It" is a 1984 hit song by the American heavy metal band Twisted Sister from their album Stay Hungry. The song was first released as a single (with "You Can't Stop Rock & Roll" as the B-side) on April 27, 1984. The Stay Hungry album was released two weeks later, on May 10, 1984. The single reached number 21 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, making it Twisted Sister's only Top 40 single. The song was ranked number 47 on 100 Greatest 80's Songs and number 21 on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s.
The song premiered in San Bernardino in 1984, along with many other songs from Stay Hungry.
The song was written by vocalist Dee Snider. As influences for the song, he cites the glam rock band Slade, the punk band Sex Pistols, and the Christmas carol, "O Come, All Ye Faithful".[citation needed]
The song is notable for its popular music video directed by Marty Callner, with its emphasis on slapstick comedy, where a parent gets the worst of the band's mischief. Controversy arose when the depiction of the family in the video caused a public outcry long before the "explicit lyrics" warning was placed on records, cassettes, and CDs. This led to the formation of the Parents Music Resource Center, co-founded by Tipper Gore (who later became Second Lady of the United States). Mark Metcalf, the actor portraying the father in the video, had previously played Neidermeyer, the ROTC student commander in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). In a reference to his role in the film, Metcalf says "A Twisted Sister pin? On your uniform?!" in the video which also features excessive bowel movements. Snider himself can also be heard cursing and swearing the question "A pledge pin? On your uniform?" at the end of the song.
In 1999, the US rock band Lit parodied the opening scene in their video for "Zip Lock".
The song is the theme song of the American reality comedy television series Betty White's Off Their Rockers.
2012 Republican vice-presidential candidate Paul Ryan's camp used the song in their campaign, until Dee Snider asked Ryan not to play it anymore; Snider stated that he does not support Ryan.[3][4]
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Cover versions[edit]
The song has been covered by various artists including:
- Canadian vegan straight edge band Chokehold_(band) for the 1994 album Prison Of Hope CD version.
- American ska punk band Less Than Jake for the 1997 punk rock compilation Where's the Beef (later compiled on their album Goodbye Blue & White).
- American band The Huntingtons for their 1998 album All the Stuff (And More)-Vol 1.
- American hardcore punk band A Global Threat on their 1999 album What the Fuck Will Change?
- Canadian rock singer Bif Naked for the Ready to Rumble soundtrack in 2000.
- American singer Joan Jett for a 2001 tribute album Twisted Forever - A Tribute to the Legendary Twisted Sister.
- All-female Finnish rock band Thee Ultra Bimboos on their 2003 single "Sleeping Dogs".
- German pop punk band Donots in 2002 (which became a minor hit in Germany, reaching 33 in the Singles Chart).
- Chilean band Los Mox! covered the song in Spanish for their album Los Mox Con Cover (Mox's title for the song in Spanish is "No Lo Aceptaremox").
- Mexican pop rock band Moderatto in Spanish ("No Lo Aceptaremos") which was released in 2007 for the Mexican Consejo de la Comunicación, the organization connected to the Ad Council, anti-corruption advertising campaign.
- Australian pop duo The Veronicas, which was available for download and also used in a 2008 birth control pill commercial called Yaz.
- Swedish trio Hellsongs on their 2008 album Hymns in the Key of 666 (used in Damages Season 3 Episode 3).
- Dutch rock band Mooi Wark for the album Wrieven, Pappen & Nat Hollen as "De Eerste Keer Dut Zeer".
- Holland rock and roll band Discipline on their 2008 album Old Pride, New Glory.
- Spanish Oi! band Oi! The Arrase for the album Anarkoi in 1997 with other lyrics but same music (the title of the song is "Somos de Mallorca").
- Swedish dansband Larz-Kristerz at Dansbandskampen 2008 and on the 2009 album Hem till dig.[5]
- Kidz Bop Kids on Kidz Bop 80s Gold (this is their first heavy metal cover).
- The classic rock musical Rock of Ages, which premiered on Broadway in 2009, and the 2012 film version. In the musical, the song is sung in counterpoint with We Built This City.[6] (Dee Snider appeared in the Broadway production, but did not sing this number.[7])
- Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish.
- American powerviolence band Charles Bronson primarily used this song on their track "Can't Take This".
- American street punk band Total Chaos on their 2001 album Punk Invasion.
- The song was featured in episode 1.02 of the reality show The Glee Project ("Theatricality") on Oxygen. Contestants filmed a music video of the song.
- American industrial metal band Powerman 5000 in the 2011 cover album Copies, Clones & Replicants.
- Billie Joe Armstrong of American punk rock band Green Day sang the start of the song during the band's infamous Woodstock '94 performance.
- Jimmy Fallon and the cast of Parks and Recreation sang the song in April 2010 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon in the Glee inspired series, 6-Bee.
- In the Regular Show episode "Karaoke Video", Mordecai and Rigby sing the song in a music video while insulting their friends in between breaks.
- Serbian rock musician Toni Montano used the melody for his song Obilić [8]
- Galician band Heredeiros da Crus, changing lyrics (this version is titled "Juele a cona, beibe").
Parodies[edit]
- American singer "Weird Al" Yankovic included a short stylized version of the song in his "Hooked on Polkas" medley from Dare to Be Stupid.
- American ska punk band Reel Big Fish used the melody to the song as part of their song "Everybody's Drunk" with lyrics altered to be: "We're all gonna get drunk! We're all gonna get drunk! Oh wait we're already drunk!".
- In a Primavera commercial in Spanish, there was a parody named "Huevos con Aceite". With this lyrics: Huevos con aceite, oh no, ya no queremos, ahora con Primavera, desayunarán. Twister Sister has sung "Huevos con Aceite" when giving concerts in Spanish-speaking regions [9]
- This song is used for a hotel chain called Extended StayAmerica as a TV commercial.
Legacy[edit]
VH-1's series True Spin explains the song as simply an anthem of teen rebellion, but Snider appeared saying that he was happy that long after he's gone, "any time that the team is down by two, or somebody had a bad day at the office, they're gonna stand up and sing We're Not Gonna Take It".
References[edit]
- ^ "Twisted Sister: Biography". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2009-04-28. Retrieved 2012-01-21.
- ^ "Gold & Platinum Certification – July 2009". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-04-03.
- ^ "DEE SNIDER TO PAUL RYAN: STOP PLAYING MY SONG". AP. Retrieved 23 August 2012.
- ^ Dee Snider äußert seinen Unmut gegenüber Paul Ryan.
- ^ "Svensk mediedatabas". Retrieved 2011-05-26.
- ^ Minow, Nell (2012-06-15). "Rock of Ages". Beliefnet. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
- ^ "Dee Snider (performer)-". Internet Broadway Database -. Retrieved 2012-06-20.
- ^ "YouTube - Milos Obilic (Toni Montano)". Retrieved 2013-06-13.
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otdh4mYnTYE
External links[edit]
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