NERVOUS
During a long drive in Thailand,
with heavy traffic on a narrow,
two-lane highway, I rode
in a van full of Marines
driving from the coast
to a joint military exercise
not far from the River Kwai.
Somewhere near Bangkok,
an egotistical Marine Reserve officer
yelled at me above the radio
blaring "Highway to Hell."
“Oh, you’re going to interview
The general, eh?” he smirked.
“You must be pretty nervous!”
A smile spread across my face.
“Nervous? Naw,” I shouted back.
“I’m a reporter. He’s the one
who should be nervous.”
"Highway to Hell" (Angus Young/Malcolm Young/Bon Scott) was recorded by AC/DC for their 6th studio album "Highway to Hell" (1979). Guitarist Angus Young claimed that the song described "what it's like to be on the road for four years, like we'd been. A lot of it was bus and car touring, with no real break. You crawl off the bus at four o'clock in the morning, and some journalist's doing a story and he says, 'What would you call an AC/DC tour?' Well, it was a highway to hell. It really was. When you're sleeping with the singer's socks two inches from your nose, that's pretty close to hell." The album was the last that singer Bon Scott performed on; after he drank himself to death early in 1980 the lyrics seemed to take on a darker meaning.
ReplyDeleteLiving 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
On the highway to hell
Highway to hell
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 around
Hey Satan, paid my dues
Playing in a rocking band
Hey mama, look at me
I'm on my way to the promised land, whoo!
I'm on the highway to hell
Highway to hell
I'm on the highway to hell
Highway to hell
Don't stop me
I'm on the highway to hell
On the highway to hell
I'm on the highway to hell
On the highway
Yeah, highway to hell
I'm on the highway to hell
Highway to hell
Highway to hell
And I'm going down
All the way
Whoa!
I'm on the highway to hell