Released January 1977 Genre Punk rock Label Sire/Philips | Recorded October 1976 Length 1:56 Writer(s) Ramones | |
"Carbona Not Glue" is a song by the Ramones from their second album, Leave Home (1977).
Contents
Story
"Carbona Not Glue" is a follow-up to "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue", a song that appeared on their first album. The band sarcastically suggested that the high obtained from sniffing Carbona cleaning solvent was more pleasurable than that of airplane glue. In the hardcover book included in some versions of Hey! Ho! Let's Go: The Anthology, Tommy Ramone says, "Something like 'Carbona Not Glue' has to be tongue-in-cheek. It's absurd, like saying that you should try something more poisonous." It was featured prominently in the graphic novel Ghost World by Dan Clowes.
Controversy
The original release of Leave Home included "Carbona Not Glue" as the fifth track on the album. However, the song was deleted from the album to avoid a potential lawsuit, as Carbona was a corporate trademark. The album was re-released with the single B-side "Babysitter" in its place. The British version with "Babysitter" does not list the name of this song on the back cover and on the inner sleeve. It's just referred on the vinyl itself. Most collectors believe that the "Babysitter" version is rarer than the "Carbona" version.
When Sire Records suddenly switched distributors from ABC Records to Warner Bros. Records (who had bought the label), yet another version of the album was released, with "Babysitter" being replaced by "Sheena Is a Punk Rocker", then a non-LP single already planned to be on the next Ramones album in a different mix.
The Tribute Band
Formed in 1995, Carbona Not Glue are a Ramones tribute band, taking their name from the song. Based in Edinburgh, Scotland they have played mostly around Scotland and the north of England.