Janey Needs a Shooter Lyrics
Well, Janey's got a doctor who tears apart her insides
He investigates her and silently baits her sighs
He probes with his fingers
But knows her heart only through his stethoscope
His hands are cold and his body's so old
Janey turns him down like dope
[Chorus]
Janey needs a shooter now, a shooter like me on her side
Janey needs a shooter now
A shooter man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
[Verse 2]
Well Janey's got a priest, from his marble pulpit he smiles
He provides consolation and he hears her confession at any time
In the pages of his Bible, he holds from what Janey hides
And with her doors open wide, she begs, "Come inside"
But he's been frozen so long on the outside
[Chorus]
Janey needs a shooter now, a shooter like me on her side
Janey needs a shooter now
A shooter man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
Well, Janey's got a cop who lives around the block and checks on her every night
And her skin would turn pale as the siren he'd wail outside
When he knew I was inside
Janey's small and sometimes he scared her
So I held her real close, she was more saint than a ghost
And told her I so long had been prepared for her
[Outro]
Janey needs a shooter now, a shooter like me on her side
Janey needs a shooter now
A shooter man who knows her style
Janey needs a shooter now
A shooter like me on her side, Janey needs a shooter now
A shooter man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
A man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
A man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
A man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
A man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
A man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
A man who knows her style
The way that I know her style
About
Janey is pretended by various men, who represent different male stereotypes. Only one can fully access her, can’t he?
Bruce Springsteen wrote Janey Needs A Shooter in 1972, but the melody was culled from his 1971 song ‘Talking About My Baby’. Prior to its official release in 2020, one studio version from 1979, two home demos, and one band rehearsal takes of the song were in circulation among collectors.
Sometime between 1976 and 1979, Jon Landau mentioned to Warren Zevon some songs Springsteen had written but could not record until his lawsuit with his manager Mike Appel was resolved. Among the songs that Landau mentioned was ‘Janey Needs A Shooter’, which Zevon misheard as “Jeannie Needs A Shooter”. Borrowing the misheard title from Springsteen, Zevon went on to write a song of his own that he described as a cowboy song. “Every time I saw Springsteen I asked him about it and pleaded to hear the song,” Zevon recalled.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
We were working on a lot of stuff that I have in the vault to put out again at some time, and I went through almost a whole record of pre-Greetings From Asbury Park music that was all acoustic, and these songs were inside them. The guys came in and I said, ‘Okay. Today we’re going to record songs that are 50 years old, and we’re going to see what happens.‘ The modern band playing those ideas that I had as a 22-year-old—and for some reason it just fit on the record, because the record skips through time. It starts with me thinking about when I was 14 and 15, and then it moves into the present. So those songs added a little touchstone for that certain period of time. I went back and I found a voice that really fit them, and they’re a nice addition to the record.
- 4.Janey Needs a Shooter
- 8.Rainmaker
- 10.Ghosts
- 11.Song for Orphans
