The iconic AC/DC song Angus Young wrote on the toilet in 1979: “I’m sitting and thinking”
Inspiration comes in many forms, and over the years, excellent ideas have come to musicians from an array of unlikely sources. From historical moments to things said in passing, music is comprised of little snapshots from artists’ lives.
While AC/DC aren’t a band that are famous for their thematic substance, preferring good-time rock ‘n’ roll over philosophical ponderings, guitarist Angus Young once got the inspiration for one of the band’s best-loved tracks while dropping the proverbial kids off.
Alongside their hard-rocking music, AC/DC appeal to masses of listeners through being down-to-earth characters, which naturally bleeds into their sound. The Australian band might be stadium-filling rock gods, but for the most part, outside of late frontman Bon Scott, they’ve never been ones to partake in traditional rockstar behaviour. In fact, their lead guitarist doesn’t even drink; he much prefers the sugary comfort of chocolate milk.
That grounded attitude helped separate AC/DC from many of their contemporaries. While other rock stars cultivated mystique, the Young brothers often seemed more comfortable sharing self-deprecating stories than building mythology around themselves.
As part of this everyday nature, the group are also forthcoming about their lives, music, and the works of others. A working-class outfit for working-class people, the Young brothers and the rest of their bandmates have provided many comical anecdotes over the years, strengthening their status in the eyes of fans. They recount these vignettes with the earnest humour of a patron perched in the corner of the bar in your local. You can’t help but listen; it’s the way they’re told. More often than not, there’s a worthwhile punchline in store.
Part of the band’s appeal has always been their ability to make even ordinary moments sound entertaining. Their anecdotes often reveal that their biggest successes were built on surprisingly unglamorous foundations.
While tales such as denigrating Rick Rubin for not being “a real rock and roller” and “a phoney” are some of Young’s best, he told an intriguing tale when speaking to Zane Lowe on Essentials Radio on Apple Music 1 in 2021. He rewound the clock to the time the band were working on their 1979 album Highway to Hell, which would be their last with Scott, who tragically died in February the following year.
At one point, the group were in Miami in a rehearsal room, putting together tracks for what became the hit 1979 album. They’d been there for three weeks and were working slowly, and then one day, Young’s brother, rhythm guitarist Malcolm, sounded just before entering the space that he had a good idea for a track. The song was the future title composition, ‘Highway to Hell’, and when they got in the room, Angus started playing the introduction.
He informed his brother that he also had an idea for the drums. He knew that the song’s success would be suspended on the correct beat, and it would come in at the right time. Malcolm then got behind the kit, and eventually, they hit upon the perfect downbeat, setting up the bare bones of one of their best-loved efforts. Following that crucial moment, they needed lyrics. Nature soon came calling for Angus, and he went to the toilet to exorcise his bowels and do some thinking.
“I went to the toilet, and then I was in the toilet, and I was there, and I’m sitting and thinking. And I’m just sitting on the throne more or less. Then I go, ‘I think I’ve got it. I’ve got it.” He continued: “And then I came in there and I said, ‘I’ve got it. Highway to hell.’ And I was over the chords that we had tried out through a chorus. And he went, ‘Yeah, that’ll work.’ And he said, ‘If we spread it out a bit into full singing thing.’ So he came up with a spread of it, ‘(Singing) Highway to Hell.’”
While inspiration can come from anywhere, it makes you wonder what happened in that lavatory that made Angus Young come up with the line “Highway to Hell”. It adds an entirely different dimension to the track from the one evoking devil horns and eternal damnation that people have loved for so long. It must have been another type of hell.
Regardless of where the inspiration struck, the result became one of AC/DC’s defining songs and a cornerstone of classic rock. It’s a reminder that great ideas can emerge anywhere, even in places that are far removed from the glamour usually associated with rock stardom.
