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AC/DC - Jailbreak
AC/DC - Jailbreak


AC/DC - Jailbreak Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: '74 Jailbreak
Released: 1984

Jailbreak Lyrics


There was a friend of mine on murder
And the judge's gavel fell
Jury found him guilty
Gave him sixteen years in hell
He said "I ain't spending my life here
I ain't living alone
Ain't breaking no rocks on the chain gang
I'm breakin' out and headin' home

Gonna make a Jailbreak
And I'm lookin' towards the sky
I'm gonna make a jailbreak
Oh, how I wish that I could fly

All in the name of liberty
All in the name of liberty
Got to be free

Jailbreak, let me out of here
Jailbreak, sixteen years
Jailbreak, had more than I can take
Jailbreak, yeah

He said he'd seen his lady being fooled with
By another man
She was down and he was up
He had a gun in his hand
Bullets started flying everywhere
And people started to scream
Big man lying on the ground
With a hole in his body
Where his life had been
But it was

All in the name of liberty
All in the name of liberty
I got to be free

Jailbreak, jailbreak
I got to break out
Out of here

Heartbeats they were racin'
Freedom he was chasin'
Spotlights, sirens, rifles firing
But he made it out
With a bullet in his back

Writer/s: SCOTT, PATRICK JOHN
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Jailbreak
  • This is about Mark Brandon Reid, also known as "Chopper." He was sent to jail for murdering a gang leader and he got sentenced to 16 years. Three years into his sentence Chopper became disillusioned with jail life and hated working for the "screws." His friend and crime partner Jimmy Loughnan planned an escape, but because of Jimmy's fear of tight spaces, they were caught and given solitary for two weeks. Bon Scott read about this in a newspaper and started writing lyrics for a song. Everyone in AC/DC loved the idea of a criminal-themed song, and they finished it in about a week.
  • AC/DC made a reasonably high-end performance video for this song, complete with the boys playing on a bunch of rocks as various explosions go on around them.

  • AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
    AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap


    AC/DC - Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
    Released: 1976

    Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap Lyrics


    If you're havin' trouble with the high school head
    He's givin' you the blues
    You want to graduate but not in 'is bed
    Here's what you gotta do
    Pick up the phone
    I'm always home
    Call me any time
    Just ring
    36 24 36 hey
    I lead a life of crime

    Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
    Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
    Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
    Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap
    Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap

    You got problems in your life of love
    You got a broken heart
    He's double dealin' with your best friend
    That's when the teardrops start, fella
    Pick up the phone
    I'm here alone
    Or make a social call
    Come right in
    Forget about him
    We'll have ourselves a ball

    Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
    Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
    Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
    Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap
    Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap

    If you got a lady and you want her gone
    But you ain't got the guts
    She keeps naggin' at you night and day
    Enough to drive ya nuts
    Pick up the phone
    Leave her alone
    It's time you made a stand
    For a fee
    I'm happy to be
    Your back door man

    Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
    Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
    Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap
    Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap yeah
    Dirty deeds and they're done dirt cheap

    Concrete shoes, cyanide, TNT
    Done dirt cheap
    Neckties, contracts, high voltage
    Done dirt cheap

    Dirty deeds
    Do anything you wanna do
    Done dirty cheap
    Dirty deeds
    Dirty deeds
    Dirty deeds
    Done dirt cheap

    Writer/s: ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG, RONALD BELFORD SCOTT, MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG
    Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
  • AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young got the song title from the 1962 animated cartoon series Beany and Cecil. The Show first aired on ABC Television and only ran for one season until the 26 episodes shown were cast as repeats for the next five years until it was recreated in 1968. The specific inspiration for the song name was the cartoon's main villain, "Dishonest John," who would carry around a business card that said, "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Holidays, Sundays, and Special Rates."
  • This song epitomizes AC/DC's dangerous and mean sound, with Angus Young's heavy guitar and Bon Scott's leering, vocals that would have scared the living daylights out of any unsuspecting teenage Pop fans when this song first hit the airwaves (they did it on a national TV show in Australia called Countdown, which was usually frequented by acts like ABBA and Bucks Fizz).
  • This was recorded at Alberts Studios in Sydney, Australia in 1976 soon after the sessions that produced the Australian version of their TNT album.
  • The ending is one of the most famous screams in Rock history. For those wondering, it's spelled: "Yaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrggghhhhhh!"
  • This was used in the Norm MacDonald movie Dirty Work. It is played while Norm's character Mitch and his friend Sam are wrecking a building in an attempt to get it condemned.
  • Lesley Gore, known for '60s hits like "It's My Party," recorded this for the 2002 compilation album When Pigs Fly: Songs You Never Thought You'd Hear . Her version was produced by Mauro DeSantis, who worked with Cevin Soling on the track. Soling, who was executive producer of the album, explains why he chose this song for Gore: "Her stuff was fairly empowering as far as female artists and things that she was doing. So it's not like it was the complete stretch, but you still think kind of the lighter girl-group kind of music from the '60s, and here's something that's pretty hard-core aggressive. But at the same time, I certainly concede that she was doing edgy stuff in her own way, at the time." (Check out our interview with Cevin Soling.)
  • On a 2008 episode of The Simpsons where they team up on a stakeout, we learn that Homer Simpson and the pious Ned Flanders have come common ground in their musical tastes. Homer likes AC/DC, and Ned likes their Christian tribute band: AD/BC, and their version of this song, "Kindly Deeds Done For Free."
  • Regarding the lyrics, "Just ring: 3-6-2-4-3-6," this was an actual phone number in Australia at the time, and it also could describe the measurements of a very shapely woman: 36-24-36. A year later, the Commodores used the same measurements to describe a woman in their song "Brick House." Sir Mix-a-Lot, however, scoffed at these measurements in his 1992 hit "Baby Got Back," where he says: "36-24-36? Only if she's 5'3."
  • The song about murder for hire enjoyed a sales spike following drummer Phil Rudd being charged with trying to procure a murder in November 2014. The charge was soon dropped.

  • AC/DC - Thunderstruc
    AC/DC - Thunderstruck


    AC/DC - Thunderstruck Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: The Razor's Edge
    Released: 1990

    Thunderstruck Lyrics


    Thunder, thunder, thunder, thunder
    I was caught
    In the middle of a railroad track
    I looked round
    And I knew there was no turning back
    My mind raced
    And I thought what could I do
    And I knew
    There was no help, no help from you
    Sound of the drums
    Beating in my heart
    The thunder of guns
    Tore me apart
    You've been
    Thunderstruck

    Rode down the highway
    Broke the limit, we hit the town
    Went through to Texas, yeah Texas, and we had some fun
    We met some girls
    Some dancers who gave a good time
    Broke all the rules
    Played all the fools
    Yeah yeah they, they, they blew our minds
    And I was shaking at the knees
    Could I come again please
    Yeah them ladies were too kind
    You've been
    Thunderstruck

    I was shaking at the knees
    Could I come again please

    Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck
    It's alright, we're doin' fine
    It's alright, we're doin' fine, fine, fine
    Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah
    Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck
    Thunderstruck, baby, baby
    Thunderstruck, you've been Thunderstruck
    Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck
    You've been Thunderstruck

    Writer/s: MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG, ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG
    Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Thunderstruck
  • AC/DC's Young brothers - guitarists Angus and Malcolm - wrote this song. They would often tell a story about how the song came about when Angus was flying in a plane that was struck by lightning and nearly crashed, but in the 2003 re-release of The Razor's Edge, Angus explained in the liner notes: "It started off from a little trick that I had on guitar. I played it to Mal and he said, 'Oh I've got a good rhythm idea that will sit well in the back.' We built the song up from that. We fiddled about with it for a few months before everything fell into place.

    Lyrically, it was really just a case of finding a good title, something along the lines of 'Powerage' or 'Highway To Hell.' We came up with this thunder thing and it seemed to have a good ring to it. AC/DC = Power. That's the basic idea."
  • In 2004, an Australian movie called Thunderstruck was released. It's a comedy about five guys who go to an AC/DC show in 1991 and agree to bury the first one who dies next to Bon Scott. (thanks, Mike - Oliver, Canada)
  • In Australia, this was used in commercials for the Holden Commodore SS Ute. The commercials were about an Australian Built Ute making a storm in the outback. (thanks, Ben G - Sydney, Australia)
  • According to The Story of AC/DC: Let There Be Rock, Angus Young created the distinctive opening guitar part by playing with all the strings taped up, except the B. It was a studio trick he learned from his older brother George Young, who produced some of AC/DC's albums and was in a band called The Easybeats.
  • AC/DC shook Iran all night long when a computer virus infected nuclear establishments there in July 2012. One of the effects of the worm was that the machines were forced to play this track at full volume during the small hours.
  • David Mallet, who directed the video for "You Shook Me All Night Long," returned to work with the band on this clip. Mallet wanted to create the "ultimate performance video," showcasing AC/DC's live energy. It was shot at Brixton Academy in London with some innovative camera work. Mallet had Angus do his duckwalk over plexiglass to get footage from underneath, and small cameras were placed on the guitar and on one of the drumsticks.
  • The Croatian cello duo 2Cellos released an instrumental version of the song in February 2014. The pair are best known for their cover of "Smooth Criminal," which was performed on the Michael Jackson-themed episode of Glee.
  • The song was featured in the film Varsity Blues during one of the games when the team is hungover from the night before. AC/DC charged a massive $500,000 for its use, the biggest deal that music supervisor Thomas Golubic (Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead) has ever brokered. "I remember being absolutely horrified when I heard that number," Golubic recalled to Variety. "And we spent a lot of time coming up with what we thought were great alternates, but there was going to be no budget on that, and they had money so they paid for it."

  • AC/DC - Hard As A Roc
    AC/DC - Hard As A Rock


    AC/DC - Hard As A Rock Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Ballbreaker
    Released: 1995

    Hard As A Rock Lyrics


    A rollin' rock, electric shock
    She gives a lickin' that doesn't stop
    She line 'em up, push you 'round
    Smokin' rings going round and round

    Her hot potatoes
    Will elevate you
    Her bad behavior
    Will leave you standing proud
    Hard As A Rock

    Hard as a rock
    Harder than a rock
    Hard as a rock
    Harder than a rock

    The lightnin' rod, strike it hot
    Gonna hit you like the Rushmore rock
    No nicotine, and no pipe dreams
    So low and dirty it's darn right mean

    Hell elevator
    I'll see you later
    No I ain't gonna take it
    I'm bustin' out
    Hard as a rock

    Hard as a rock
    Harder than a rock
    Hard as a rock
    Harder than a rock

    Writer/s: MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG, ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG
    Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Hard As A Rock
  • This is another AC/DC song which lyrical influences in Chuck Berry, an expert at making sexual references seem very obscure, to the point of being innocent. This song is about a girl who turns the guy on so much that he gets big erection, ie, "hard."
  • The lyrics mention a "Hellevator" (or "Hell elevator"). Like a "Highway to Hell," this would be a transportation method to Hell. AC/DC was fond of incorporating something earthly and physical with Hell in their lyrics (see also "Hell's Bells"). (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for above 2)

  • AC/DC - Play Bal
    AC/DC - Play Ball


    AC/DC - Play Ball Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

    Album: Rock or Bust
    Released: 2014

    Play Ball Lyrics


    Listen!
    Pick me up
    Fill my cup
    Pour me another round
    Come on in, mix in the sin
    Come in and join the crowd
    I said it’s party time
    When I’m on the loose
    Make it feel alright
    Listen, drinks all around
    I’m in the mood
    Because the night is mine

    Let’s Play Ball
    Shoot it down the wall
    Let’s play ball, baby
    Battin’ down the stalls
    Play, play, play ball

    Listen Sid, light me up
    I’m in love
    I’m all regional now
    Dive on in and swim in the gin
    Come on, shout it out loud

    Let’s play ball
    Shoot it down the wall, yeah
    Let’s play ball
    Battin’ down the stalls, yeah
    Play, play, play ball

    Let’s play ball
    Shootin' down the wall
    Let’s play ball
    And never stall
    Let’s play ball
    Let’s play ball
    Let’s play ball
    Play, play, play ball

    Writer/s: MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG, ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG
    Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Play Ball Song Chart
  • The first taste of music from AC/DC's Rock or Bust album was heard on September 27, 2014 when this aptly title song was used as part of a promotional trailer for TBS' American League baseball playoff coverage.

    It wasn't the first time that the Australian rockers have been paired with the sport. The practice of using a heavy metal theme song to signal the entrance of a relief pitcher began in 1998, when the San Diego Padres started playing "Hell's Bells" to accompany Trevor Hoffman's taking the mound. Other pro players that have used the band's songs as their walk on music include Chad Billingsley, Adam Castro, Brendan Donnelly and Adam Dunn.
  • Rock Or Bust was the first AC/DC album in the band's history on which Malcolm Young doesn't appear. The band's former guitarist officially departed the band due to serious dementia and Stevie Young – nephew of the Young brothers – plays rhythm guitar on disc. He previously played with AC/DC during their 1988 Blow Up Your Video tour, while Malcolm Young was in rehab.
  • The song's performance-based music video was shot on October 3-4, 2014 with director David Mallet at Black Island Studios in Middlesex, England. Phil Rudd was unable to attend due to murder allegations which were later dropped. Bob Richards of Shogun filled in for him on drums, whilst Stevie Young took his uncle Malcolm's place. Mallet, who's been working with the band since their 1986 "You Shook Me All Night Long" clip said : "They are the same band they were – they have never come out with any pretence to be anything else than the best rock'n'roll band in the world."

    "It's just as thrilling doing stuff with them now as it was all those years ago," he added. "That's because the records are just as good."
  • Rock or Bust was AC/DC's second album in a row with producer Brendan O'Brien, following Black Ice. This was the first time the band had used the same producer on consecutive albums since Mutt Lange helmed 1980's Back in Black and then For Those About to Rock.

    Brian Johnston told Shaun Keaveny and Steve Lamacq of BBC Radio 6 Music about O'Brien's production. "Seven days a week, [Brendan] kept the adrenaline pumped all the time and he calls everybody by both their names. He never says 'Brian' or 'Angus.' He's, like, 'Angus Young. C'mon! I want you in here now. Let me get that magic from you. What do you got for me? Brian Johnson, downstairs now. Sing, baby, sing.' And it turned out wonderful. We were excited, and I think that's great, 'cause it comes through in songs. If you sing a song twelve times to get it right, you can tell. If you sing a song just a couple of times, like I did, you can tell it's fresh and it's new. And it was the same for Ang, and it was the same for everyone. [Brendan is] wonderful to work with."

    Angus Young added: "He keeps everyone moving, so nobody's sitting around, going, 'What am I doing next?' Once we had a track down, he would go, 'Right. I'm gonna take this. I'm going down with Brian.' He'd get Brian up. 'While I am doing that, you guys get this track together and start knocking it out. Know all your bits.' So when he'd come back out, we would more or less [have] the track all in order and ready to go."
  • The video also shows clips of different sports, with an emphasis on female athletes in bikinis. Asked about the visual during an interview on the Australian television program, The Project, Angus Young said: "I've gotta admit. When they watched the Olympics, I'm always the one… I mean, I tuned in for the bikini beach volleyball. That's one of my favorite sports. If that wasn't on, I don't think I'd be watching."
  • This was used to soundtrack two commercials from Beats Electronics that aired in early 2015, promoting the Apple-owned company's Powerbeats2 Wireless and Studio Wireless headphones. AC/DC have rarely licensed its music for advertising, although the band have twice allowed "Back In Black" to be used: In 2011 they gave permission for the song's opening riff to feature during a commercial for Walmart, and a few years later, the track featured in a commercial for the 2015 Chevy Colorado pickup truck.

  • AC/DC - The Jac
    AC/DC - The Jack


    AC/DC - The Jack Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: High Voltage
    Released: 1975

    The Jack Lyrics


    She gave me the queen
    She gave me the king
    She was wheelin' and dealin'
    Just doin' her thing
    She was holdin' a pair
    But I had to try
    Her deuce was wild
    But my ace was high
    But how was I to know
    That she'd been dealt with before
    Said she'd never had a full house
    But I should have known
    From the tattoo on her left leg
    And the garter on her right
    She'd have the card to bring me down
    If she played it right

    She's got The Jack, she's got the jack
    She's got the jack, she's got the jack
    She's got the jack, she's got the jack
    She's got the jack, she's got the jack
    She's got the jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack
    She's got the jack

    Poker face was her name
    Poker face was her nature
    Poker straight was a game
    If she knew she could get you
    She played 'em fast
    And she played 'em hard
    She could close her eyes
    And feel every card
    But how was I to know
    That she'd been shuffled before
    Said she'd never had a royal flush
    But I should have known
    That all the cards were comin'
    From the bottom of the pack
    And if I'd known what she was dealin' out
    I'd have dealt it back

    She's got the jack, she's got the jack
    She's got the jack, and who knows what else?
    She's got the jack, yeah, yeah
    She's got the jack, she's got the jack
    She's got the jack, she's got the jack
    She's got the jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack
    She's got the jack

    She's got the jack, she's got the jack,
    Oh, it was a bad deal, (jack)
    She gave me the (jack), hey
    She's got the (jack), she's got the (jack)
    She's got the (jack), ooh can't you tell
    She's got the (jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack)
    (she's got the jack, she's got the jack)
    She's got the jack, she's got the jack
    She's got the jack, you never know
    She's got the jack, she's got the jack
    She's got the jack
    She's got the jack, and it hurts!
    (she's got the jack)
    She's got the jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack, jack
    She's got the jack
    Aaaaaah
    Oooooh
    Thank you, thank you, thank you people, thank you, thank you
    I'm glad you like the show, yes, thank you very much folks
    Goodnight and god bless

    Writer/s: ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG, RONALD BELFORD SCOTT, MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG
    Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    The Jack Song Chart
  • This song is about a venereal disease - "The Jack" is Australian slang for Gonorrhea, which is also known as "The Clap." AC/DC lead singer Bon Scott explained the origin of the song in a 1976 interview with Sounds. Said Scott: "We were living with this houseful of ladies who were all very friendly and everyone in the band had got the jack. So we wrote this song and the first time we did it on stage they were all in the front row with no idea what was goin' to happen. When it came to repeatin' 'She's got the jack' I pointed at them one after another." Added guitarist Angus Young: "After that, wherever we did the song the girls in the audience would run to the back of the hall."
  • Bon Scott was known for his outrageous behavior both on and off stage. He told this story in the same Sounds interview: "One time I had the jack and this girl wanted f--kin' and she was so ugly I figured, s--t! Nobody else would have her so she wouldn't spread it. But when we'd finished she went next door to Phil (Rudd, their drummer) and gave it to him. And a few weeks later she sent him a doctor's bill for 35 dollars for the cure. Well, next time she came to a show I got her up on stage in the middle of 'The Jack' and explained how she'd got it wrong and it was me owed her the money." On mike that was.
  • AC/DC takes the music in their songs much more seriously than their lyrics. They would often finish songs by writing lyrics that amuse them, and this is a good example of that technique.
  • This was released in Australia in 1975 on AC/DC's second album, T.N.T. Their first two Australian releases were combined to form High Voltage in 1976, which was their first album released worldwide.
  • In concert, Bon Scott would sometimes share with the crowd a more direct set of lyrics than the one on the recording. He also did a bit where he would introduce the song by singing (to the tune of "Maria" from West Side Story):

    Gonorrhea, I've just had my first dose of gonorrhea

    Such poetry can be heard on AC/DC's 1978 live album If You Want Blood, You've Got It.
  • AC/DC played this before a crowd of 500,000 at show in Toronto in 2003. The concert, which also featured The Rolling Stones, Rush, and others, was a benefit for the city, which suffered a drop in tourism due to the spread of a rare disease called SARS (Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome). AC/DC had no problem singing about one disease at a benefit for another, and the fans didn't mind either.

  • AC/DC - Big Ball
    AC/DC - Big Balls


    AC/DC - Big Balls Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
    Released: 1976

    Big Balls Lyrics


    I'm upper, upper class high society
    God's gift to ballroom notoriety
    And I always fill my ballroom
    The event is never small
    All the social papers say I've got the biggest balls of all

    [Chorus]
    I've got Big Balls
    I've got big balls
    And they're such big balls
    Dirty big balls
    And he's got big balls,
    And she's got big balls,
    But we've got the biggest balls of them all!

    And my balls are always bouncing
    My ballroom always full
    And everybody comes and comes again
    If your name is on the guest list
    No one can take you higher
    Everybody says I've got great balls of fire!

    [Chorus]

    Some balls are held for charity
    And some for fancy dress
    But when they're held for pleasure,
    They're the balls that I like best.
    And my balls are always bouncing,
    To the left and to the right.
    It's my belief that my big balls should be held every night.

    [Chorus]

    And I'm just itching to tell you about them
    Oh, we have such wonderful fun
    Seafood cocktail
    Crabs
    Crayfish

    Writer/s: ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG, RONALD BELFORD SCOTT, MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG
    Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Big Balls Song Chart
  • The title is a sexual play on words. The lyrics describe a cocktail ball, but there is obviously a double meaning.
  • AC/DC takes the music much more seriously than the lyrics to most of their songs. They often rattle off humorous lyrics so as not to be taken too seriously. Chuck Berry is a major influence on their lyrical style. He wrote many songs with highly suggestive lyrics, but presented them in a comical way so they did not seem offensive (see "My Ding-a-Ling").
  • Radio stations sometimes play the song together with "Rocker" because it's right after this on the album and the song starts up right away. Radio DJs just let the next song play since both the songs are short. (thanks, Nick - Paramus, NJ)
  • An AC/DC tribute band from Norway and another from Texas are called Big Balls. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada)

  • AC/DC - T.N.T
    AC/DC - T.N.T.


    AC/DC - T.N.T. Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: High Voltage
    Released: 1975

    T.N.T. Lyrics


    See me ride out of the sunset
    On your color TV screen
    Out for all that I can get
    If you know what I mean
    Women to the left of me
    And women to the right
    Ain't got no gun
    Ain't got no knife
    But don't you start no fight

    [Chorus]
    'Cause I'm T.N.T. I'm dynamite
    T.N.T. and I'll win the fight
    T.N.T. I'm a power load
    T.N.T. watch me explode

    I'm dirty, mean and mighty unclean
    I'm a wanted man
    Public enemy number one
    Understand
    So lock up your daughter
    Lock up your wife
    Lock up your back door
    And run for your life
    The man is back in town
    Don't you mess me 'round

    [Chorus]

    T.N.T. Oi, oi, oi
    T.N.T. Oi, oi, oi
    T.N.T. Oi, oi, oi
    T.N.T. Oi, oi, oi
    T.N.T. Oi
    I'm dynamite (oi, oi)
    T.N.T. Oi,
    And I'll win the fight,
    T.N.T.
    I'm a power load
    T.N.T.
    Watch me explode!

    Writer/s: ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG, RONALD BELFORD SCOTT, MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG
    Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    T.N.T. Song Chart
  • This was originally released in 1975 in AC/DC's home country Australia on their second album, which was also called T.N.T. Their first two Australian releases were combined to form High Voltage, which was released worldwide. The album fared well in Europe, but met stiff resistance in America: Rolling Stone called it an "all time low" for hard rock in their scathing review.
  • This was one of AC/DC's first singles with Bon Scott on lead vocals. Originally a roadie, he took over lead vocals when their first singer, Dave Evans, didn't show up for a gig.
  • AC/DC found a good way to capture the energy of their live shows for the High Voltage album: they went into the studio and recorded right after gigs. The result was a very raw, but energetic sound, smoothed out with production by Harry Vanda and George Young (brother of Angus and Malcolm), who were members of the group The Easybeats, best known for their hit "Friday On My Mind."
  • T.N.T. stands for Trinitrotoluene, an explosive compound. It was popularized in Road Runner cartoons when the Coyote would buy explosive items (from Acme) labeled "T.N.T." in an attempt to blow up the Road Runner. To this date, the coyote has not been able to harm the Road Runner in any way, and has done much more damage to himself through careless use of Acme products.

  • AC/DC - Touch Too Muc
    AC/DC - Touch Too Much


    AC/DC - Touch Too Much Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Highway To Hell
    Released: 1979

    Touch Too Much Lyrics


    It was one of those nights
    When you turned out the lights
    And everything comes into view
    She was taking her time
    I was losing my mind
    There was nothing that she wouldn't do
    It wasn't the first
    It wasn't the last
    She knew we was making love
    I was so satisfied
    Deep down inside
    Like a hand in a velvet glove

    Seems like a touch, a Touch Too Much
    Seems like a touch, a touch too much
    Too much for my body, too much for my brain
    This kind of woman's gonna drive me insane
    She's got a touch, a touch too much

    She had the face of an angel
    Smiling with sin
    A body of Venus with arms
    Dealing with danger
    Stroking my skin
    Let the thunder and lightening start
    It wasn't the first
    It wasn't the last
    It wasn't that she didn't care
    She wanted it hard
    And wanted it fast
    She liked it done medium rare

    Seems like a touch, a touch too much
    Seems like a touch, a touch too much
    Too much for my body, too much for my brain
    This kind of woman's gonna drive me insane
    She's got a touch, a touch too much

    Seems like a touch, touch too much
    You know it's much too much, much too much
    I really want to feel your touch too much
    Girl you know you're getting me much too much
    Seems like a touch
    Just a dirty little touch
    I really need your touch
    'Cause you're much too much too much

    Seems like a touch, a touch too much
    Seems like a touch, a touch too much
    Too much for my body, too much for my brain
    This kind of woman's gonna drive me insane
    She's got a touch, a touch too much

    Writer/s: ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG, RONALD BELFORD SCOTT, MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG
    Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Touch Too Much Song Chart
  • This is about the dangers of excess, which the band was quite familiar with. They were notorious for their wild parties, girls, and drinking. Lead singer Bon Scott drank himself to death six months after this was released.
  • Released as a single, this became just the second AC/DC song to chart in the UK, following "Rock 'N' Roll Damnation," which made #24.
  • Bon Scott's last performance was when he lip-synched this song when the band performed it on Top of the Pops, a popular British music show. The show aired February 7, 1980; Scott died 12 days later.
  • Considering how many of their songs are about drinking, it is surprising that AC/DC guitarist Angus Young didn't touch the stuff. When he was young, a bad encounter with Bond 7 Australian whiskey turned him off from alcohol.

  • AC/DC - Highway to Hel
    AC/DC - Highway to Hell


    AC/DC - Highway to Hell Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Highway to Hell
    Released: 1979

    Highway to Hell Lyrics


    Living easy, living free
    Season ticket on a one-way ride
    Asking nothing, leave me be
    Taking everything in my stride
    Don't need reason, don't need rhyme
    Ain't nothing I would rather do
    Going down, party time
    My friends are gonna be there too

    I'm on the Highway to Hell

    No stop signs, speed limit
    Nobody's gonna slow me down
    Like a wheel, gonna spin it
    Nobody's gonna mess me round
    Hey Satan, paid my dues
    Playing in a rocking band
    Hey Momma, look at me
    I'm on my way to the promised land

    I'm on the highway to hell
    (Don't stop me)

    And I'm going down, all the way down
    I'm on the highway to hell

    Writer/s: ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG, RONALD BELFORD SCOTT, MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG
    Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Highway to Hell Song Chart
  • The title is often attributed as a phrase AC/DC guitarist Angus Young used to describe touring in America. There is a much more literal explanation, however. "Highway to Hell" was the nickname for the Canning Highway in Australia. It runs from where lead singer Bon Scott lived in Fremantle and ends at a pub/bar called The Raffles, which was a big rock 'n roll drinking hole in the '70s. As Canning Highway gets close to the pub, it dips down into a steep decline: "No stop signs... speed limits... nobody gonna slow me down."

    So many people where killed by driving fast over that intersection at the top of the hill on the way for a good night out, that it was called the highway to hell, so when Bon was saying "I'm on the highway to hell" it meant that he was doing the nightly or weekly pilgrimage down Canning Highway to The Raffles bar to rock and drink with his mates: "Ain't nothing I would rather do. Going down, party time, my friends are gonna be there too."
  • Vocalist Brian Johnson explained to The Metro October 15, 2009: "It was written about being on the bus on the road where it takes forever to get from Melbourne or Sydney to Perth across the Nullarbor Plain. When the Sun's setting in the west and you're driving across it, it is like a fire ball. There is nothing to do, except have a quick one off the wrist or a game of cards, so that's where Bon came up with the lyrics."
  • This was the first AC/DC song to chart in the US. It helped drive huge sales for the Highway To Hell album, which has sold over seven million copies in America. It was AC/DC's sixth album, and their last with vocalist Bon Scott, who died in 1980 from excessive drinking. Their next album, Back In Black, was dedicated to him. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
  • Mutt Lange, who has also worked with The Cars, Bryan Adams, and Def Leppard (and Shania Twain, who he was married to from 1993-2008), produced the album. Lange took over after after failed sessions with Eddie Krammer, who had a solid resumé that included work with Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix, but whose procedural style didn't work for AC/DC.

    Lange was able to enhance the band's sound without altering their essence. On this song, he added robust background vocals to the choruses - something AC/DC didn't do on their previous efforts. This and other production refinements helped made the song a hit and expand their audience.
  • Recorded in London, Highway To Hell was the first AC/DC album recorded outside of Australia. The album cover had Angus Young on the cover wearing his schoolboy uniform and devil horns. Some religious groups found this quite offensive.
  • Serial killer Richard Ramirez claimed this album compelled him to murder. He believed AC/DC stood for "Anti Christ/Devil's Child."
  • In the film School of Rock Jack Black teaches the riff to the guitarist in the band. The song was also featured in the Movie Little Nicky, starring Adam Sandler.
  • The AC/DC Bluegrass tribute band Hayseed Dixie covered this on their 2001 album, A Hillbilly Tribute To AC/DC.
  • AC/DC performed this at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony when they were inducted in 2003. Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler inducted them, saying, "There is no greater purveyor of the power chord."
  • The chorus to the song was used in the 2010 movie Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief. (thanks, charlie - las vegas, NV)
  • A campaign to make the this the top song on the UK singles chart for Christmas 2013 resulted in a #4 placing and AC/DC's first top 10 British hit in a 40-year career. The Anglo-Australian hard rockers had previously been the most successful act never to have had a Top 10 hit single in the UK, having achieved a grand total of 30 chart entries, none of which have ever peaked any higher than #12 (that honor went to 1988 hit "Heatseeker").
  • When this song was released, there really was a "Highway to Hell" in America: Route 666. This section of highway ran through Arizona and Utah; it was later renumbered after various ghost stories emerged about unexplained happenings on the road.
  • AC/DC, who didn't win their first Grammy Award until 2010 (Best Hard Rock Performance for "War Machine"), played this at the 2015 ceremony. They opened the telecast with "Rock or Bust," then segued into "Highway."

  • AC/DC - Rock or Bus
    AC/DC - Rock or Bust


    AC/DC - Rock or Bust Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Rock or Bust
    Released: 2014

    Rock or Bust Lyrics


    Hey yeah
    Are you ready

    We be a guitar band
    We play across the land
    Shootin' out tonight
    Gonna keep you up alrigh

    You hear the guitar sound
    Playin' nice and loud
    Rock you to your knees
    Gonna make your destiny

    In rock we trust, it's rock or bust
    In rock we trust, it's rock or bust
    In rock we trust, it's rock or bust
    In rock n' roll we trust, it's rock or bust

    We hear the siren scream
    It sounds so lean to me
    We love to shake it down
    Know what we're talkin' bout

    We turn the amps up high
    The crowd's gonna hit the sky
    We play it fast and loose
    Because this night we're gonna pull a fuse

    In rock we trust, it's rock or bust
    In rock we trust, it's rock or bust
    In rock we trust, it's rock or bust
    In rock n' roll we trust, it's rock or bust

    In rock we trust, it's rock or bust
    In rock we trust, it's rock or bust
    In rock we trust, it's rock or bust
    In rock we trust, it's rock or bust

    Writer/s: MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG, ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG
    Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Rock or Bust Song Chart
  • The title track of AC/DC's fifteenth internationally released studio album finds Brian Johnston crooning, "In rock we trust. It's rock or bust." AC/DC had released fourteen previous songs including the word 'rock', from 1975's "It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock 'N' Roll)," by way of 1981's "For Those About To Rock (We Salute You) " and 1995's "Hard As A Rock" through to 2008's "Rock 'N Roll Train." Rock or Bust also contains three other rock-monikered tracks, "Rock the Blues Away," "Got Some Rock & Roll Thunder" and "Rock the House."

    Angus Young told The Pulse of Radio why it felt like time to use the word 'rock' in a title again. "Well, 'Rock Or Bust', it's a good, strong title and it's got the word 'rock' in it, you know? [laughs] 'Cause everyone says, jeez, you know, how many songs have they got with 'rock' in the title in it," he said. "But they've got to cut us some slack — I mean, we've made 16 albums, you know."

  • The song opens with a combination of guitars from Angus Young and Malcolm Young's replacement Stevie Young. Brian Johnson said he toyed with the idea of calling the album 'Man Down' in reference to Malcolm Young's absence, due to dementia. He said, "But it's a bit negative and it ('Rock or Bust') was probably just straight from the heart. I like that."
  • The song's music video was shot on October 3-4, 2014 along with the clip for "Play Ball." It was filmed by director David Mallet at Black Island Studios in Middlesex, England.

    The visual finds AC/DC, playing in the round to some of their fans. Phil Rudd was unable to attend and Bob Richards of Shogun filled in for him on drums. Brian Johnson told the audience that Rudd was occupied with a "family emergency" at the time. It later transpired that he was answering murder allegations, which were later dropped.

    Bob Richards told Rhythm magazine he was contacted and asked if he could make his way down to London for the video shoot. "I received a call on the Thursday evening asking if I could step in as Phil was unavailable, so I filled in at the last minute," the Welsh drummer recalled. "It was all hands on deck. I got my kit sorted out and then an early start to London."

    "I heard the songs an hour or so before we went on to the set to start the filming," Richards concluded. "I played it over several times and did a bit of air drumming to it."

    "The band were fantastic," he concluded. "They made me so welcome and we had a great time shooting the videos. They were very encouraging. I could just enjoy the experience."
  • Angus Young told Rolling Stone this song's swinging-thunder riff was something, "I kicked around for years in different forms."
  • Rock or Bust was AC/DC's second album in a row with producer Brendan O'Brien, following Black Ice. This was the first time the band had used the same producer on consecutive albums since Mutt Lange on 1980's Back in Black and the following year's For Those About to Rock We Salute You.

    Brian Johnston told Shaun Keaveny and Steve Lamacq of BBC Radio 6 Musi of O'Brien's production. "Seven days a week, [Brendan] kept the adrenaline pumped all the time and he calls everybody by both their names. He never says 'Brian' or 'Angus.' He's, like, 'Angus Young. C'mon! I want you in here now. Let me get that magic from you. What do you got for me? Brian Johnson, downstairs now. Sing, baby, sing.' And it turned out wonderful. We were excited, and I think that's great, 'cause it comes through in songs. If you sing a song twelve times to get it right, you can tell. If you sing a song just a couple of times, like I did, you can tell it's fresh and it's new. And it was the same for Ang, and it was the same for everyone. [Brendan is] wonderful to work with."

    Angus Young added: "He keeps everyone moving, so nobody's sitting around, going, 'What am I doing next?' Once we had a track down, he would go, 'Right. I'm gonna take this. I'm going down with Brian.' He'd get Brian up. 'While I am doing that, you guys get this track together and start knocking it out. Know all your bits.' So when he'd come back out, we would more or less [have] the track all in order and ready to go."
  • Speaking to Lochlin Cross of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada's 100.3 The Bear radio station, Angus Young explained the Rock or Bust meaning. "The title pretty much sums up AC/DC," he said. "I mean, whatever we did, it was a case of, you went for broke. And that's how it's always been. It's been the way of the band for a long time. I mean, when people would say, 'You should be doing this,' we did [something else]. When [they would say], 'You should be doing this,' we did it our way. We stuck to our guns. That's always how we've been. So 'Rock Or Bust' sums us up. Go for broke."
  • AC/DC, who were snubbed by Grammy voters until 2010 when they won Best Hard Rock Performance for "War Machine," opened the 2015 ceremony with a performance of this song, followed by "Highway To Hell."

  • AC/DC - Hard Time
    AC/DC - Hard Times


    AC/DC - Hard Times Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Rock or Bust
    Released: 2014

    Hard Times Lyrics


    Feeling low
    Going down slow
    Make you quake
    Make a body shake
    Trying to hold you down
    They can't push you around
    They try to hold you back
    Getting on the right track

    Hard times
    Blue and sad
    Don't you cross the line
    Run, run make it fun
    Freeing up the time

    Hidey plumping
    Feet are jumping
    This heart a loving
    Keeps me running
    They try to hold you down
    But they can't push you around
    Trying to hold you back
    Getting on the right track

    Hard times
    Blue and sad
    Don't you cross the line
    Run, run make it fun
    Freeing up the time
    Hard times
    Get on top
    Follow me down the line
    Hard times
    Get online
    Make a grown man blind

    Hard times, these hard times
    Sure ain't been good to me
    Hard times, hard times
    Sure been misery

    Hard times
    Blue and sad
    Don't you cross the line
    Run, run make it fun
    Freeing up the time
    Hard times
    Get on time
    Follow me down the line
    Hard times
    Get online
    Make a grown man blind

    Writer/s: JOHN ANGUS, ADAM PAQUETTE, ANDREW YOUNG, JAY EMMONS, BRETT EMMONS, CHRIS HUOT
    Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Hard Times Song Chart
  • Many of the songs on Rock or Bust find the Aussie veteran rockers recalling past memories. "Hard Times goes back to when we were younger and touring, and we didn't have much money," Angus Young told The Sun. "It's a good old song, rather than a modern day reflection."

  • AC/DC Songs - High Voltage
    AC/DC - High Voltage


    AC/DC - High Voltage Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: High Voltage
    Released: 1975

    High Voltage Lyrics


    Well you ask me 'bout the clothes I wear
    And you ask me why I grow my hair
    And you ask me why I'm in a band
    I dig doin' one night stands
    And you want to see me do my thing
    All you gotta do is plug me into high

    I said high
    High Voltage rock 'n' roll
    High voltage rock 'n' roll
    High voltage, high voltage
    High voltage rock 'n' roll

    Well you ask me why I like to dance
    And you ask me why I like to sing
    And you ask me why I like to play
    I got to get my kicks some way
    And you ask me what I'm all about
    Come and let me hear you shout high

    I said high
    High voltage rock 'n' roll
    High voltage rock 'n' roll
    High voltage, high voltage
    High voltage rock 'n' roll
    Rock 'n' roll

    I said high, I said high
    Waaaah
    High voltage rock 'n' roll
    High voltage rock 'n' roll
    High voltage, high voltage
    High voltage rock 'n' roll

    Spotlight, put the lights out, happy hour
    High voltage rock 'n' roll
    High voltage rock 'n' roll
    Wine, women and song
    High voltage, high voltage
    High voltage rock 'n' roll

    Writer/s: ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG, RONALD BELFORD SCOTT, MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG
    Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    High Voltage Song Chart
  • An early AC/DC track, this one plays off their band name, keeping with the electricity theme as Bon Scott sings about their "high voltage rock and roll." The band would produce many more songs about rock and roll over the next four decades, and these tracks were often the showstoppers at their concerts.
  • AC/DC's first album, released in 1975 only in Australia, was called High Voltage, but this song wasn't part of it. "High Voltage" the song was released as a standalone single, reaching #6 in Australia and goosing sales of the album.

    Another Australia-only album (T.N.T.) followed later that year, and in 1976 tracks from these first two albums were compiled, along with this song, for another album called High Voltage that was given international release and set the stage for the band's rise to stardom. The "High Voltage" single was also released internationally in 1976, and a video was made to promote the song.
  • This was the first AC/DC song that drummer Phil Rudd played on.

  • AC/DC Songs - Girls Got Rhythm
    AC/DC - Girls Got Rhythm


    AC/DC - Girls Got Rhythm Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Highway To Hell
    Released: 1979

    Girls Got Rhythm Lyrics


    I've been around the world
    I've seen a million girls
    Ain't one of them got
    What my lady she's got

    She's stealin' the spotlight
    Knocks me off my feet
    She's enough to start a landslide
    Just a walkin' down the street

    Wearing dresses so tight
    And looking dynamite
    Enough to blow me out
    No doubt about it can't live without it

    The girl's got rhythm (girl's got rhythm)
    The girl's got rhythm (girl's got rhythm)
    She's got the backseat rhythm (backseat rhythm)
    The girl's got rhythm

    She's like a lethal brand
    Too much for any man
    She gives me first degree
    She really satisfies me

    Love me till I'm legless
    Aching and sore
    Enough to stop a freight train
    Or start the Third World War

    You know I'm losin' sleep
    I'm in too deep
    Like a body needs blood
    No doubt about it, can't live without it

    The girl's got rhythm (girl's got rhythm)
    The girl's got rhythm (girl's got rhythm)
    She's got the backseat rhythm (backseat rhythm)
    The girl's got rhythm

    You know she moves like sin
    And when she lets me in
    It's like liquid love
    No doubt about it, can't live without it

    The girl's got rhythm (girl's got rhythm)
    The girl's got rhythm (girl's got rhythm)
    She's got the backseat rhythm (backseat rhythm)
    The girl's got rhythm (girl's got rhythm)

    You know she really got the rhythm (girl's got rhythm)
    She's got the backseat rhythm (backseat rhythm)
    Rock 'n' roll rhythm (rock n roll rhythm)
    The girl's got rhythm

    Writer/s: ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG, RONALD BELFORD SCOTT, MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG
    Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Girls Got Rhythm Song Chart
  • This lascivious rocker is one of the last tunes written by lead singer Bon Scott, who died six months after the album was released. It's a classic Bon Scott lyric, as he finds myriad ways of explaining how his woman satisfies him, all while keeping the title squeaky clean and radio-friendly. It was released as a single in the UK and other parts of Europe, but didn't chart. In America, the song did very well on stations with the Album Oriented Rock (AOR) format.
  • Highway To Hell was the first AC/DC album produced by Mutt Lange, who employed various production techniques that made the band's sound more appealing to the masses without softening their sound. On this song, you can especially hear Lange's influence in the backing answer vocals ("girls got rhythm... back seat rhythm").

    Lange was an up-and-coming producer at the time, but he would soon become a superstar, launching into the stratosphere with AC/DC's next album, Back In Black.
  • Note that there is no apostrophe in the title, which implies multiple girls having rhythm. The lyric suggests that an apostrophe is necessary, as Scott is singing about one specific girl, but it's not likely that anyone challenged his grammar.

  • AC/DC Songs - Back In Black
    AC/DC - Back In Black


    AC/DC - Back In Black Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Back In Black
    Released: 1980

    Back In Black Lyrics


    Back In Black
    I hit the sack
    I've been too long I'm glad to be back (I bet you know I'm,)
    Yes, I'm let loose
    From the noose
    That's kept me hanging about
    I've been looking at the sky
    'Cause it's gettin' me high
    Forget the hearse 'cause I never die
    I got nine lives
    Cat's eyes
    Abusin' every one of them and running wild

    [Chorus]
    'Cause I'm back
    Yes, I'm back
    Well, I'm back
    Yes, I'm back
    Well, I'm back, back
    (Well) I'm back in black
    Yes, I'm back in black

    Back in the back
    Of a Cadillac
    Number one with a bullet, I'm a power pack
    Yes, I'm in a bang
    With a gang
    They've got to catch me if they want me to hang
    'Cause I'm back on the track
    And I'm beatin' the flack
    Nobody's gonna get me on another rap
    So look at me now
    I'm just makin' my play
    Don't try to push your luck, just get out of my way

    'Cause I'm back
    Yes, I'm back
    Well, I'm back
    Yes, I'm back
    Well, I'm back, back
    (Well) I'm back in black
    Yes, I'm back in black

    Well, I'm back, yes I'm back
    Well, I'm back, yes I'm back
    Well, I'm back, back
    Well I'm back in black
    Yes I'm back in black

    Ho yeah
    Oh yeah
    Yes I am
    Oh yeah, yeah oh yeah
    Back in now
    Well I'm back, I'm back
    Back, I'm back
    Back, I'm back
    Back, I'm back
    Back, I'm back
    Back
    Back in black
    Yes I'm back in black

    Out of the sight

    Writer/s: BRIAN JOHNSON, MALCOLM MITCHELL YOUNG, ANGUS MCKINNON YOUNG
    Publisher: J. ALBERT & SON(INTERNATIONAL) PTY. LTD.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Back In Black Song Chart
  • This was released five months after lead singer Bon Scott died. The song is a tribute to Scott, and the lyrics, "Forget the hearse 'cause I never die" imply that he will live on forever through his music. With Brian Johnson on lead vocals, the Back In Black album proved that AC/DC could indeed carry on without Scott. (thanks, Nathan - Willow Spring, NC)
  • Brian Johnson made quite a statement with this song, quickly endearing himself to AC/DC fans and leaving little doubt that the band made the right pick to replace Bon Scott. Johnson had been in a group called Geordie, which Scott saw in 1973. After that show, Scott talked up the Geordie lead singer to his bandmates, and in 1980 when they were looking for a replacement, AC/DC's producer Mutt Lange suggested him. At the time, Johnson was working as a windshield fitter and had recently reunited Geordie.
  • The band got the idea for the title before writing any of the song, although Malcolm Young had the main guitar riff for years and used to play it frequently as a warm-up tune. After Bon Scott's death, Angus Young decided that their first album without him should be called Back In Black in tribute, and they wrote this song around that phrase. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
  • The album had a black cover with the band's logo on it, which was a tribute to Bon Scott. They didn't want it to feel mournful, however, and needed a title track that captured the essence of their fallen friend. They were certainly not going to do a ballad, so it fell on Brian Johnson to write a lyric that would rock, but also celebrate Scott without being morbid or literal.

    Johnson says he wrote "Whatever came into my head," which at the time he thought was nonsense. To the contrary, lines about abusing his nine lives and beating the rap summed up Scott perfectly, and his new bandmates loved it.
  • Bon Scott had several lyrical ideas for the album, but those were abandoned by the band in favor of new lyrics by Brian, Malcolm and Angus. Former AC/DC manager Ian Jeffrey claims to still have a folder that contains lyrics of 15 songs written for Back In Black by Bon, but Angus insists that all of Bon's notebooks were given to his family.
  • This song was recorded in The Bahamas and produced in New York by Mutt Lange. Back In Black was one of the first big albums Lange produced. He went on to work with Def Leppard, Celine Dion, and Shania Twain (who he married in 1993). In the late-'70s, he produced two albums for the band Clover, which featured Huey Lewis on harmonica and Alex Call on lead vocals. Call explains Lange's production style:

    "Mutt is a real studio rat. He is Mr. Endurance in the studio. When we were making the records with him, he'd start working at 10:30, 11 in the morning and go until 3 at night, night after night. He is one of the guys that really developed that whole multi-multi-multi track recording. We'd do 8 tracks of background vocals going, "Oooooh" and bounce those down to one track and then do another 8, he was doing a lot of that. A lot of the things you hear on Def Leppard and that kind of stuff, he was developing that when he worked with us. We were the last record he did that wasn't enormous, and that's not his fault, he did a really good job with us. Mutt is famous for working long hours. The story I heard about one of the Shania sessions, he had Rob Hajakos, who's one of the famous fiddle session men down here (Nashville). Rob was playing violin parts for like seven or eight hours and finally he said, 'Can I take a break,' and Mutt says, 'What do you mean take a break?' Rob goes, 'Have you ever held one of these for eight hours under your chin?' Mutt really loves to record, he loves music and he's a real perfectionist and an innovator. An unbelievable commercial hook writer." (Check out our full interview with Alex Call.)
  • This was the title track to AC/DC's most popular album. It has sold over 19 million copies in the US, the 6th highest ever. Worldwide, it has sold over 40 million.
  • The Beastie Boys sampled this on their 1985 single "Rock Hard," a single released in 1985 on Def Jam Records. They sampled it without AC/DC's permission, so AC/DC refused to allow the Beastie Boys to include the song on their 1999 compilation album Beastie Boys Anthology: The Sounds of Science. (thanks, Jimoh - New York, NY)
  • A remastered version is included on the 1997 Bon Scott tribute album, Bonfire.
  • The Atlanta Falcons football team used this as their theme song for a while. The Falcons also went through an MC Hammer phase, when they used "2 Legit 2 Quit" and let the rapper roam their sidelines.
  • This was used as the backing track to a bootleg version of Eminem's 1999 hit "My Name Is" The song fits surprisingly well under Eminem's rap.
  • Missy Elliott did a remix of this song called "Get Your Freak On (AC/DC remix)" that is played in the beginning of the movie The Rundown, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Sean William Scott. (thanks, Steve - Kitchener, Canada)
  • The Appalachian State Mountaineers football team use this song before and during their games, where it is a crowd favorite. The team colors are gold and black. (thanks, Laura K. - Toccoa, GA)
  • This features in a commercial for the 2015 Chevy Colorado pickup truck, where a mundane guy in a generic sedan is soundtracked with "Rainy Days And Mondays," which becomes "Back In Black" when a much more exciting fellow comes into the shot and drives off in his black Colorado.
  • Kurt Cobain was given his first guitar for his 14th birthday, and this was the first song that he learned to play.
  • Lyrics

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