Artist : Ramones
song : I Wanna Be Sedated
Album : Road to Ruin – 1978
Style – Tempo – Signature – Length : Rock – 162 – 4/4 – 2:29
Musician : Marky Ramone
page : 1
Version : Album
Level : Beginner
“I Wanna Be Sedated” is one of the Ramones’ most iconic songs, a blistering punk anthem that captures the band’s dark humor, raw energy, and deadpan take on boredom and burnout. Released in 1978 on their fourth album Road to Ruin, it has become a staple of punk rock playlists and a favorite at live shows—largely because of its driving, relentless rhythm section.
The song was written by Joey Ramone, who later explained that it reflected the band’s life on the road: endless touring, long waits between gigs, and the chaotic circus of punk rock fame. Joey described it simply as a song “about what all of us go through: the stress, the insanity, and wanting it all to just stop for a while.” The lyrics are tongue-in-cheek but shaded with genuine exhaustion: “Twenty, twenty, twenty-four hours to go, I wanna be sedated…”
Musically, the song is a perfect example of the Ramones’ minimalist genius—three chords, a catchy melody, and a pounding beat that never lets up. For fans of drums, this is a masterclass in pure punk drumming. Tommy Ramone had stepped back from drumming by Road to Ruin, so Marky Ramone took over behind the kit. His style on this track is deceptively simple yet crucial: a straight, feverishly consistent 4/4 beat with quick hi-hat strokes, crisp snare hits, and a steady kick that feels like a machine. There are no flashy fills—just a relentless, hypnotic pulse that gives the song its anxious, trapped-in-a-loop feeling.
This song was performed live countless times by the Ramones, becoming a fixture of their shows from the late ’70s all the way to their final tours in the ’90s. They blasted through it at breakneck speed at legendary venues like CBGB in New York, the Rainbow Theatre in London, and countless punk festivals across Europe. Live, the song often ran even faster than the studio version, with Marky (or sometimes Richie Ramone in later years) pushing the tempo to near-manic levels, thrilling the crowd and embodying the raw edge of punk.
For drummers, “I Wanna Be Sedated” is a brilliant lesson in discipline and energy. It proves that sometimes the most powerful drumming is about locking into a groove so tight and unrelenting that it becomes the song’s heartbeat, driving everything forward with unstoppable momentum. It’s punk drumming at its purest—fast, direct, and absolutely essential.
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Drum sheet / Drum cover
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