When I was in middle school, I remember our music teacher assigning the class to find a song that told a story and present the song to the class. Since I was super OBSESSED with Hanson at that time, I definitely picked a Hanson song for that assignment. 😀 (Yet, I don’t remember which one. 😉 )

One of my classmates chose to present Aerosmith’s, “Janie’s Got a Gun.” Although I had heard that song on the radio before, it was not until that day in class that I understood that Steven Tyler was singing the words “Janie’s Got a Gun.” Before that day, I never could make out what he was saying. 😉

Before that day in class, I also was unaware of what the song was about. Thanks to my classmate’s presentation, I learned about the sad story that the song was telling: a story about a girl who kills her sexually abusive father. 😦

Dum, dum, dum, honey what have you done
Dum, dum, dum, it’s the sound of my gun
Dum, dum, dum, honey what have you done
Dum, dum, dum, it’s the sound, it’s the sound…
Nah, nah, nah…nah, nah, nah…
Nah, nah, nah…nah, nah, nah…

Janie’s got a gun
Janie’s got a gun
Her whole world’s come undone
From lookin’ straight at the sun

What did her daddy do
What did he put you through
They say when Janie was arrested
They found him underneath a train
But man, he had it comin’
Now that Janie’s got a gun
She ain’t never gonna be the same

Janie’s got a gun
Janie’s got a gun
Her dog day’s just begun
Now everybody is on the run

Tell me now it’s untrue
What did her daddy do
He jacked the little bitty baby
The man has got to be insane
They say the spell that he was under
The lightnin’ and the thunder
Knew that someone had to stop the pain

Run away, run away from the pain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Run away, run away from the pain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Run away, run away, run, run away

Janie’s got a gun
Janie’s got a gun
Her dog day’s just begun
Now everybody is on the run

What did her daddy do
It’s Janie’s last I.O.U.
She had to take him down easy
And put a bullet in his brain
She said ’cause nobody believes me
The man was such a sleaze
He ain’t never gonna be the same

Run away, run away from the pain
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Run away, run away, run, run away
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Run away, run away, run, run away

Janie’s got a gun
Janie’s got a gun
Janie’s got a gun
Everybody is on the run
Janie’s got a gun
Her dog day’s just begun

Now everybody is on the run (Honey, honey what’s your problem)
‘Cause Janie’s got a gun (Tell me it ain’t right)
Janie’s got a gun (Was it daddy’s cradle robbin’)
Her dog day’s just begun (That made you scream at night)
Now everybody’s on the run
Janie’s got a gun

Janie’s got a gun
Her dog day’s just begun

Not only did Steven Tyler raise awareness about violence against children through this song, but he also raised awareness through his establishment of Janie’s House, a shelter for young women who are abused. The name of the shelter was inspired by his song, “Janie’s Got a Gun.”

Steven Tyler created the foundation Janie’s Fund to provide support to abused young women. I was really blown away when I saw on the website for Janie’s Fund that Steven Tyler “considers Janie’s Fund to be his life’s true mission.” ❤

Can you think of any songs that tell a story in order to raise awareness of a social issue?