Shock Treatment" utilizes Joey's singing abilities with its vocal-demanding melody. Author Scott Schinder called the song a "sing-along mental-illness ode." The next song, "I Remember You" was said by author Greil Marcus to be all about the moment where "Joey's voice turns the single word "you" into pure poetry." "Oh, Oh, I Love Her So" pays homage to the 1950s doo-wop genre, and consists of a three-chord barrage. The song was written solely by Joey, where in the song he humorously tells of how he met a girl at Burger King and they fell in love by a soda fountain. "Carbona Not Glue" was written as a follow-up to "Now I Wanna Sniff Some Glue" from their debut album. The song was Legs McNeil's favorite song from Leave Home, who relates: "[The song] was meant to clarify that while glue might not be good for you, the cleaning fluid Carbona was definitely a better high." The song contemplates around Beach Boys harmonies, and it uses "bouncy" guitar riffs. "Suzy Is a Headbanger" was inspired by the 1947 film noir Nightmare Alley, with the lyrics detailing a female involved in the punk rock scene. The lines "Gabba Gabba Hey" at the end of "Pinhead" were taken from the horror film Freaks, which the band saw in Cleveland, Ohio after their gig was cancelled. Joey's brother Mickey Leigh said that it was specifically taken from the scene where "the midget groom does a dance on the banquet table and sings 'Gobble gobble, we accept you, one of us' to his bride." The song is an audience participation song, and during live performances, Leigh appears on stage holding a sign that bore the text "Gabba Gabba Hey". "Pinhead", the album's longest piece, leads into "Now I Wanna Be a Good Boy", which portrays a confused adolescent wanting to be good, yet also yearning to run away from home. The next song on the album, "Swallow My Pride", was a piece written solely by lead singer Joey Ramone, who states that the concept deals with their record company Sire Records; Tommy used the expression "you gotta swallow your pride" when signing to their record company. Record World said of "Swallow My Pride" that the Ramones "pack more energy into a two minute song than just about anyone else." "What's Your Game" is one of the band's most melodic songs and was called "wistful" by