AC/DC’s new single, Rock N’ Roll Train, has raised more questions than answers here at Songspeak. Brian Johnson does NOT… I repeat… does NOT sing the song title (Rock N’ Roll Train) over and over again in the chorus. It has us a little thrown off. They’ve been following the formula for years. All of a sudden, this drastic change?! I mean, if you can’t depend on consistency from AC/DC, then what CAN you depend on?
The revelation unfolded between Jamie and myself over IM:
Matt: hold on now…. this may be the first song where I’m aware that they are NOT repeating the song title over and over again
Jamie: well, the name of the song is rock and roll train, but the chorus repeats “runaway train”, so I don’t know what’s going on there
Matt: yeah!
Matt: name another ac/dc song where they don’t repeat the title of the song for the chorus. I’m finding it difficult to think of one
Matt: this is a real departure for ac/dc
Matt: honestly, can you think of any?
Jamie: I’m thinking…
Jamie: I need to go back through some of their older stuff and see
Matt: it really is amazing that it’s this difficult
Jamie: isn’t that what their songs are supposed to be, though? verse/song title repeated in chorus/verse/repeat?
Matt: why NOW after however many years with the same formula?!
Jamie: it was probably going to be called runaway train, and somebody decided rock and roll train was more rockin’…
Jamie: damn you…now I have to go through their discography
Here’s the music video for their newest single, Rock N’ Roll Train:
I think it would be very difficult to find lyrics to an AC/DC song that doesn’t contain at least one of the following 10 words (in no particular order).
- rock
- roll
- woman
- hard
- hot
- long
- hell
- love
- tonight
- give
Here’s a challenge to our readers. Think of an AC/DC song that either contains ALL of the above words in the lyrics -OR- think of an AC/DC song that contains NONE of the above words in the lyrics… post your entries in the comments below.
In the meantime…
Loading ...Tags: 00s music, ac/dc, australian band, brian johnson, classic rock, good ol’ fashioned rock n’ roll, repeating chorus, repetition, rock and roll train, rock n roll train
I think I have one that has none of those words. Bedlam in Belgium, off of 1983’s Flick of the Switch:
The blood in my veins
Was running right through my brain
There was a cop with a gun
Who was running around insane
Three fifty arrests
No bullet proof vest
Now ain’t that a shame
We wanted to play
Play for the crowd
“No”, said the wankers
“You’re on your way out”
Bedlam in Belgium
Bedlam in Belgium
The place was a jumpin’
And the booze was going down
There’s a curfew in town
You’ve been working overtime
We don’t play just for pay
So we’d like to stay
Stay just the same
He gave me a crack
In the back with his gun
I bled so bad
I could feel the blood run
Bedlam in Belgium
It was bedlam in Belgium
Bedlam in Belgium
Came for a good time
Left on the run.
Bedlam in Belgium
Who’s to blame, it’s a shame
Bedlam in Belgium
It was bedlam
You gonna run out
Stage was stage
Cops enraged
Crying for more
It was war, war, war
Bedlam in Belgium
It was bedlam in Belgium
Bedlam in Belgium
Came for a good time
Left on the run.
Bedlam in Belgium
It was bedlam in Belgium
There was bedlam in Belgium
It was bedlam
And the law got the drop on me
@jamie - Nicely done, Mr. Bousquet.