As it's often the case with songs that have loosely written lyrics, the meaning of such is somewhat inconclusive. Sometimes the artist(s) purposely leave these "wholes" in the songs for the listener to fill them as they wish.
Lyrical meaning of "Shoot to Thrill" could be ambiguous when you listen to it the first time, because you might be questioning the meaning of "Shoot to thrill, I'm ready to kill?" Does that mean AC/DC wrote the song from the point of view of a shooter/killer that goes on to shoot ladies, or does the band promote such to the listeners?
It's actually none of the above. The song is predominantly about sex, with a few references to drugs. It will become quite clear when I walk through the sexual codewords in the lyrics, i, and if you happened to have a different view please share it with me in the comments.
Analysis of lyrics:
All you women who want a man of the street1 - "man of the street" refers to bandmates of AC/DC. As a rock n' roll band, they've been on the road quite often doing live shows. As for "you women," that probably refers to groupies.
I'm gonna take you down5 - this metaphorically means the act of having sex. "Take you down" refers to a dominant sexual position.
I'm gonna pull it, pull it, pull the trigger7 - similar to the that of above, this too is yet another sexual reference. "Trigger," I believe, means penis.
Shoot to thrill, play to kill8 - "Shoot to thrill" means the act of ejaculation, and "play to kill" is just a filler line to complete the chorus.
Too many women with too many pills9 - this means groupies often do drugs so they can have sex with 500 different people.
Lines #13 to #16 - these are filler lines, just to get another verse in to continue the song. This verse doesn't contribute to the meaning of the overall song in a major manner.
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Lyrics:
- All you women who want a man of the street
- But you don't know which way you wanna turn
- Just keep a coming and put your hand out to me
- 'Cause I'm the one who's gonna make you burn
- I'm gonna take you down - down, down, down
- So don't you fool around
- I'm gonna pull it, pull it, pull the trigger
- Shoot to thrill, play to kill
- Too many women with too many pills
- Shoot to thrill, play to kill
- I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will
- Yeah
- I'm like evil, I get under your skin
- Just like a bomb that's ready to blow
- 'Cause I'm illegal, I got everything
- That all you women might need to know
- I'm gonna take you down - yeah, down, down, down
- So don't you fool around
- I'm gonna pull it, pull it, pull the trigger
- Shoot to thrill, play to kill
- Too many women with too many pills
- Shoot to thrill, play to kill
- I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will
- 'Cause I shoot to thrill, and I'm ready to kill
- I can't get enough, I can't get the thrill
- I shoot to thrill, play to kill
- Yeah, pull the trigger
- Pull it, pull it, pull it, pull the trigger
- Oh
- Shoot to thrill, play to kill
- Too many women, with too many pills
- I said, shoot to thrill, play to kill
- I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will
- 'Cause I shoot to thrill, and I'm ready to kill
- And I can't get enough, and I can't get my thrill
- 'Cause I shoot to thrill, play it again
- Yeah
- Shoot you down
- Yeah
- I'm gonna get you to the bottom and shoot you
- I'm gonna shoot you
- Oh hoo yeah yeah yeah
- I'm gonna shoot you down yeah yeah
- I'm gonna get you down
- Yeah yeah yeah yeah
- Shoot you, shoot you, shoot you, shoot you down
- Shoot you, shoot you, shoot you down
- Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, ooooooh
- I'm gonna shoot to thrill
- Play to kill
- Shoot to thrill
- Yeah, ooh yeah
Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/a/ac+dc/shoot+to+thrill_20003321.html
thank you for damaging my mental well-being with this analysis of this great song...i will never be able to unsee this
ReplyDeleteThis song is my life's story. I'm kinda concerned.
Deleteyou didn't have to read it
DeleteWhats bullshit and a cover made by the band ,the song was robbed off bon after he died ,hes note book was never found but people close to bon seen it and 99 percent of the lyrics for back in black were written or the core of the lyrics ,the songs have bon all over them .
ReplyDeleteBullshit Bon alblums suck
DeleteWoow I see I was blind maybe casue my latin origin, thank you. I'll wander more often through your blog.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your evaluation of these lyrics. So many rock bands had drug issuse and while we know the great Bon Scott was a heavy drinker and it got the better of him. But Angus and Malcolm weren't drug users and neither was Johnson. I'm sure Malcolm and Johnson were heavy drinkers in their day, but I don't think it was all that alarming as some bands are with drugs. The too many women with too many pills is definitely a reference to groupies as AC/DC was in the Era where rock n roll made the earth spin. This song like many AC/DC classics is about sex. It has a killer riff and Malcolm young always crushes the rhythm parts in all their tracks. Angus is free flowing as usual with tight bluesy pentatonic notes. Drums are solid as well and Johnson was in his prime. Highway To Hell is my favorite ACDC album and it signified just how great Malcolm and Angus were as rock musicians. But Back In Black was the band at its absolute best. Shoot to thrill is just one of sweet tunes on that album. BnB lacked nothing as an album. Especially creating record of this quality after losing your lead man
ReplyDeleteThe music is amazing, with the meaning conveying to everyone. These good songs if used to make great ringtones for phones. a crazy idea but also excellent
ReplyDeletehttps://metalheadzone.com/ac-dc-singer-brian-johnson-reveals-the-truth-behind-lyrics-of-shoot-to-thrill/
ReplyDelete