The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
I was born down by the river where the dirty water flows
And the cold wind cut through me, it cut right through my clothes
And the anger and the yearning, like fever in my veins
Set the fire burning
She came down from Knightstown with her hands hard from the line
From the first time I laid eyes on her I know that she'd be mine
Her father was a lawman, he swore he'd shoot me dead
'Cause he knew I wanted Jeannie and I'd have'r her like I said
[Chorus:]
Jeannie needs a shooter
Shooter like me
Jeannie needs a shooter
Jeannie needs a shooter
Shooter on her side
Jeannie needs a shooter
We met down by the river on the final day in May
And when I leaned down to kiss her, she did not turn away
I drew out all my money and together we did vow
To meet that very evening, and get away somehow
[Chorus]
The night was cold and rainy down by the borderline
I was riding hard to meet her when a shot rang out behind
As I lay there in the darkness with a pistol by my side
Jeannie and her father rode off into the night
Jeannie needs a shooter.
And the cold wind cut through me, it cut right through my clothes
And the anger and the yearning, like fever in my veins
Set the fire burning
She came down from Knightstown with her hands hard from the line
From the first time I laid eyes on her I know that she'd be mine
Her father was a lawman, he swore he'd shoot me dead
'Cause he knew I wanted Jeannie and I'd have'r her like I said
[Chorus:]
Jeannie needs a shooter
Shooter like me
Jeannie needs a shooter
Jeannie needs a shooter
Shooter on her side
Jeannie needs a shooter
We met down by the river on the final day in May
And when I leaned down to kiss her, she did not turn away
I drew out all my money and together we did vow
To meet that very evening, and get away somehow
[Chorus]
The night was cold and rainy down by the borderline
I was riding hard to meet her when a shot rang out behind
As I lay there in the darkness with a pistol by my side
Jeannie and her father rode off into the night
Jeannie needs a shooter.
Lyrics submitted by Major Valor
Jeannie Needs a Shooter Lyrics as written by Warren Zevon Bruce Springsteen
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Zevon had heard of this Bruce Springsteen song title from his manager, Jon Landau. Warren once said he asked Springsteen about it "many times" until Springsteen said, "You like it so much, why don't you write it?" Zevon wrote a few lines and cut a track and then showed up to Springsteen's house in the middle of the night. Springsteen was asleep on the sofa. Warren played what he had. Springsteen then said "It's nice, but where are all the other verses?" Warren explained he just looked and smiled at that point.
warrenzevon.wikia.com/wiki/Jeannie_Needs_A_Shooter
This is the Bruce song youtube.com/watch<br /> <br /> It's not cited but it sounds legit, knowing Warren. Cool tune.
The fact that Jeannie rode off by her dad's side while the narrator was lying mortally injured points to this being a case of the 'Unreliable Narrator' trope. Jeannie wasn't into the narrator, and quite likely the sum total of their intimacy was that she'd allowed him to kiss her once.
Note the narrator says "I knew she'd be mine" and "I wanted Jeannie and I'd have her like I said." This comes in the song before he kisses Jeannie for the first time (or at least the first time without her turning away). These are not a good signs of a healthy relationship! If this is the way the narrator usually went about things, Jeannie's dad (being a lawman) would have known of the narrator's reputation already.
I'll take the narrator at his word that he was shot from behind rather than in the front. It does reinforce the idea that Jeannie's dad was lying in wait for the narrator, no doubt because Jeannie had told her dad the narrator was on his way. Jeannie's dad shot the narrator in the back because if he had ridden out from behind a bush or rocky outcrop at Jeannie's side to confront the narrator, Jeannie would have run the risk of being caught in crossfire, or even deliberately killed by the narrator.
It does smack of irresponsibility to use your own daughter as bait for a dangerous criminal. However, Jeannie herself is something of a hard girl and the plan may have even been her idea. Although in the wrong time period to be a cop herself, she would still have something of a cop mentality due to both inherited personality traits and socialising with her dad's buddies when they dropped by after work while she was growing up.
Another western tale, a little like Dylan and Levy's "Romance in Durango" but much less detailed (actually, like Dylan's own "Drifter's Escape" in that way, getting you to mentally fill in a vivid story with just a couple short, verses).
Narrator wants Jeannie, but her protective father has other ideas. One meaning of the title is him saying she needs him to shoot her dad, and then they'll escape together (the other is straightforwardly sexual).
In any case, she double-crosses him (probably intending to from the beginning) and her father shoots the narrator, presumably fatally. It's an economical lyric even by Warren's standards, with the twist of the shooter literally being the girl's father.
I think this song is about heroin use.
Nothing to do with heroin, brah. Typical Warren song. <br /> <br /> Jeannie (girl) needs a shooter (him) dad is a lawman shoots narrator at the end of the song. Kind of dark but still just a fun song for Warren. Would love to hear panic cover this one.