Editing Highway to Hell (section)

==Tracks==
The album's most famous song is the title track. From the outset, Atlantic Records hated the idea of using the song as the album title, with Angus later telling ''[[Guitar World]]'''s Alan Di Perna that, despite backlash, the name is meant to depict the experience of touring for the band.<ref>{{Cite web |author1=Alan di Perna |date=2008-02-06 |title=AC/DC: Hard as a Rock |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/acdc-hard-rock |access-date=2024-10-10 |website=guitarworld |language=en}}</ref>

In a 2003 interview with Bill Crandall of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', Angus further recalled the genesis of the song. Residing in Miami at the time, Angus and his brother Malcolm played the guitar intro and drum beat to "[[Highway to Hell (song)|Highway to Hell]]" while playing in a rehearsal studio. They recorded this initial intro and beat on a cassette tape. Which was then taken by a man in the studio with the two, who gave the cassette to his child, who then proceeded to unravel the tape. Bon Scott was then able to later repair the broken cassette for further use.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Crandall |first=Bill |date=2003-02-28 |title=Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2003: AC/DC |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-2003-ac-dc-175551/ |access-date=2024-10-11 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>

"[[Highway to Hell (song)|Highway to Hell]]" quickly took on a life of its own just after the death of Bon Scott in 1980. Just months after the album was first released to the public, Scott was found dead in his car, apparently having drunk himself to death. Scott's death gave a new perspective to the lyrics of the album's title song, becoming more a representation of his life up to mortem. His literal "Highway to Hell." They show the carefree attitude when it comes to Scott's lifestyle, his so-called "fierce independence," and the company he kept during his hectic lifestyle. It is a physical manifestation of everything the singer stood for, making the song seem all the more alive, as Scott embraces his fate with enthusiasm.<ref>{{Citation |title=Highway to Hell - AC/DC {{!}} AllMusic |url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/highway-to-hell-mt0002733049 |access-date=2024-10-11 |language=en}}</ref>

Scott's lyrics on ''Highway to Hell'' deal almost exclusively with lust ("Love Hungry Man", "[[Girls Got Rhythm]]"), sex ("Beating Around the Bush", "Touch Too Much", "Walk All Over You"), and partying on the town ("Get It Hot", "Shot Down in Flames").  In his 2006 band memoir, Murray Engelheart reveals that Scott felt the lyrics of songs like "Gone Shootin'" from the preceding ''[[Powerage]]'' were "simply too serious."<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Engleheart |first1=Murray |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm77535806 |title=AC/DC: maximum rock & roll |last2=Durieux |first2=Arnaud |date=2006 |publisher=HarperEntertainment |isbn=978-0-06-113391-6 |edition=1st U.S. |location=New York, NY |oclc=ocm77535806}}</ref>

"Touch Too Much" had been first recorded in July 1977, with a radically different arrangement and lyrics from its ''Highway to Hell'' incarnation.{{cn|date=July 2022}} The final version was performed by Scott and AC/DC on the [[BBC]] music show ''[[Top of the Pops]]'' a few days before the singer's death in 1980.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lewrypublished |first=Fraser |date=2024-02-06 |title="He looked as fit as a butcher's dog": Watch Bon Scott's surreal final UK appearance with AC/DC |url=https://www.loudersound.com/news/acdc-touch-too-much-totp |access-date=2024-10-20 |website=louder |language=en}}</ref> The song "If You Want Blood (You've Got It)" borrowed the title of the band's live album from the previous year and stemmed from Scott's response to a journalist at the [[Day on the Green]] festival in July 1978: when asked what they could expect from the band, Scott replied, "Blood".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Engleheart |first1=Murray |url=https://www.worldcat.org/title/ocm77535806 |title=AC/DC: maximum rock & roll |last2=Durieux |first2=Arnaud |date=2006 |publisher=HarperEntertainment |isbn=978-0-06-113391-6 |edition=1st U.S. |location=New York, NY |oclc=ocm77535806}}</ref>

The opening guitar riff of "Beating Around the Bush" has been referred to by journalist Phil Sutcliffe as "almost a tribute{{nbsp}}... a reflection, I hesitate to say a copy" of "[[Oh Well (song)|Oh Well]]" by [[Fleetwood Mac]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irv_HcntKKo&t=96| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202031459/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Irv_HcntKKo&t=96| archive-date=2017-02-02 | url-status=dead|title=ACDC - Highway To Hell. A Classic Album Under Review (Part 6 of 8)|date=15 February 2013|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}</ref><ref>Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/b19PcuJsQbA Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20130614051055/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b19PcuJsQbA&gl=US&hl=en Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b19PcuJsQbA|title=Fleetwood Mac - Oh Well (Part 1 & 2)|date=23 July 2012 |accessdate=18 April 2021|publisher=[[YouTube]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1vdgGC4qrI&t=7| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170202024749/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1vdgGC4qrI&t=7| archive-date=2017-02-02 | url-status=dead|title=YouTube|publisher=[[YouTube]]|access-date=18 April 2021}}</ref>

Asked in 1998, "What's the worst record you've ever made?", Angus replied: "There's a song on ''Highway to Hell'' called 'Love Hungry Man' which I must have written after a night of bad pizza – you can blame me for that."<ref>{{cite magazine|first=David|last=Sheppard|title=Famous last words: Angus Young|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] #137|date=February 1998|page=178}}</ref>

"[[Night Prowler (song)|Night Prowler]]," the album's outro song, has gained a degree of infamy over the years, due to an alleged association with Los Angeles serial killer [[Richard Ramirez]]. Coined the "Night Stalker" by the media, Ramirez is accredited to a series of brutal murders, rapes, and attempted murders taking place from 1984 to 1985, and a claimed fan of AC/DC. Ramirez left behind an AC/DC hat at the scene of a murder, and according to friends of Ramirez, he had a particular love for the album and the song "Night Prowler." Ramirez himself never confirmed such an association. This alleged connection brought bad publicity to AC/DC, whose ensuing concerts and albums faced protests by parents and the general public.<ref>{{cite web |title=AC/DC The Case of the Night Stalker |url=http://www.crabsodyinblue.com/acdcnightstalker.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100503063159/http://www.crabsodyinblue.com/acdcnightstalker.htm |archive-date=3 May 2010 |access-date=25 May 2010 |publisher=Crabsody in Blue}}</ref> Despite backlash, the band had stated the song was given a murderous connotation by Ramirez's crimes, revealing on an episode of [[VH1|VH1's]] ''[[Behind the Music]]'' about AC/DC that the song was actually about a boy sneaking into his girlfriends bedroom at night while her parents are asleep, despite lyrics such as, "And you don't feel the steel, till it's hanging out your back."<ref>{{cite web |date=1 September 2007 |title=Metal made me do it |url=http://www.revolvermag.com/magazine/article/metal-made-me-do-it/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100417072311/http://www.revolvermag.com/magazine/article/metal-made-me-do-it/ |archive-date=17 April 2010 |access-date=25 May 2010 |work=[[Revolver (magazine)|Revolver]]}}</ref>