‘It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)’ is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the first track of the group's second album T.N.T., released only in Australia and New Zealand on 8 December 1975, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young and Bon Scott. The song combines bagpipes with hard rock instrumentation; in the middle section of the song there is a call and response between the bagpipes and guitar.
The song chronicles the hardships endured by a rock band on tour, such as being robbed, assaulted, stoned, and cheated by a greedy agent. However, the band accepts these hardships as natural on the path to stardom, saying that "It's a long way to the top/If you wanna rock 'n' roll". The title and chorus line is said to have originated with a Melbourne club manager who would warn the young bands he booked that it would be "a long bloody way to the top" if they wanted to make it in the business.
While jamming on new songs in the studio, co-producer George Young (the older brother of Angus and Malcolm) recalled that Bon Scott had once been in a pipe band and encouraged the band to experiment with incorporating bagpipes into the song. Scott left the studio that day and returned with a set of bagpipes purchased at a Park Street music store at what was an extortionately high price (AU$479) at the time. Bassist Mark Evans would later muse that the amount “would have bought two Strats”. Simply putting the pipe-set together proved tricky, and it became apparent Scott had never played the instrument before, having in fact been a drummer in the aforementioned pipe band. Nonetheless, Scott taught himself to play well enough to record and perform the song (initially with the help of tape loops).
The music video for ‘It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)’, was filmed on 23 February 1976 for the Australian music television program Countdown. It featured the band and the members of the Rats of Tobruk Pipe band on the back of a flatbed truck travelling on Swanston Street in Melbourne. In 2004, one of the streets in Melbourne near where this video was filmed was renamed "ACDC Lane" in honor of the band. The street was formerly known as Corporation Lane. >>
Jack Black and the School of Rock band play a version of this at the end of the movie School of Rock. The interplay is between the singer and all the members of the band. This was a signature song for Bon Scott. Brian Johnson, who replaced Scott as AC/DC's lead vocalist after Scott's death in 1980, does not perform it, out of respect for his predecessor.
Label – Albert
Songwriters – Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott
Producers – Harry Vanda, George Young
SONG LYRICS
[Verse 1]Ridin' down the highway
Goin' to a show
Stoppin' on the byways
Playin' rock 'n' roll
[Pre-Chorus]
Gettin' robbed, gettin' stoned
Gettin' beat up, broken boned
Getting had, getting took
I tell you folks, it's harder than it looks
[Chorus 1]
It's a long way to the top, if you want to rock 'n' roll
It's a long way to the top, if you want to rock 'n' roll
If you think it's easy doing one night stands
Try playing in a rock-roll band
It's a long way to the top, if you want to rock 'n' roll
[Bagpipes Solo]
[Guitar Solo]
[Verse 2]
Hotel, motel
Make you want to cry
Ladies do the hard sell
Know the reason why
[Pre-Chorus]
Gettin' old, gettin' gray
Gettin' ripped off, underpaid
Gettin' sold, second-hand
That's how it goes, playin' in a band
[Chorus]
It's a long way to the top, if you want to rock 'n' roll
It's a long way to the top, if you want to rock 'n' roll
If you wanna be a star of stage and screen
Look out, it's rough and mean
It's a long way to the top, if you want to rock 'n' roll
It's a long way to the top, if you want to rock 'n' roll
[Outro]
Well, it's a long way
Oh, it's a long way
(You should have told me)
It's a long way
Such a long way