AC/DC “Back In Black” Lyrics Meaning: All You Need to Know

Back in Black wasn’t just another AC/DC album; it followed the band’s best album to that date, Highway to Hell. It marked the band’s comeback after the death of lead singer Bon Scott in February 1980, who died after a night out in London, victim of acute alcohol poisoning. As a tribute and a statement, it was a multi-platinum triumph, thanks to songs like the monstrous title track.

Based on a classic Malcolm Young guitar riff, polished up by ‘Mutt’ Lange, and finished with the gruff voice of the new lead singer Brian Johnson, anyone listening for a rueful elegy was quickly reassured: Black in Black was something else – a catchy anthem.

Today, after nearly three decades, its influence is impossible to quantify. ‘I think most bands learned to play by listening to this record,’ said Anthrax’s Charlie Benante. The Beastie Boys sampled it for their 1985 track “Rock Hard.”

But what is the meaning of the song “Back in Black” that gives the album its title? What’s behind the lyrics of this song? Let’s find out below.

“Back in Black” Lyrics

Back in black, I hit the sack
I’ve been too long, I’m glad to be back
Yes, I’m let loose from the noose
That’s kept me hanging about
I’m just looking at the sky ’cause it’s getting me high
Forget the hearse, ’cause I’ll never die
I got nine lives, cat’s eyes
Abusing every one of them and running wild

‘Cause I’m back, yes I’m back
Well, I’m back, yes I’m back
Well, I’m back, back
Well, I’m back in black
Yes, I’m back in black

Back in the back of a Cadillac
Number one with a bullet, I’m a power pack
Yes, I’m in a bang with a gang
They’ve got to catch me if they want me to hang
‘Cause I’m back on the track and I’m beatin’ the flack
Nobody’s gonna get me on another rap
So, look at me now, I’m just making my play
Don’t try to push your luck, just get out of my way

‘Cause I’m back, yes I’m back
Well, I’m back, yes I’m back
Well, I’m back, back
Well, I’m back in black
Yes, I’m back in black

Well, I’m back, yes I’m back
Well, I’m back, yes I’m back
Well, I’m back, back
Well, I’m back in black
Yes, I’m back in black, yow

Ah, yeah
Oh, yeah
Take my love
Yeah, yeah
Yeah
Ah, hey yeah
Ooh, yeah

Well, I’m back (I’m back)
Back, well I’m (I’m back)
Back (I’m back)
Back (I’m back)
Back (I’m back)
Back, back in black
Yes, I’m back in black

I’ve hit the sack

AC/DC – “Back in Black“

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Brian Johnson / Angus Young / Malcolm Young

AC/DC lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

AC/DC “Back in Black” Song Meaning

With Brian Johnson on board, the brothers Angus and Malcolm Young wrote “Back in Black” in honor of Scott. “I remember Back in Black was particularly difficult because the boys were saying, ‘Listen we want this song in memory of Bon, but we don’t want it to be sad or maudlin, we want it to be a good thing, positive song’,” Johnson said to NME. “So it was pretty tough, but I think we managed it pretty good. It’s kinda slow but it’s got a great riff. It was a toughy, that one.”

Johnson added, “The guys wanted it to be a good rock record in memory of Bon but without all the slather, without all the mulch and the crap that usually goes with that. They wanted the album to be black and I filled it with lines like ‘Nine lives, cats eyes’ because Bon had lived on the edge for a long time and he’d always made it through.”

Let’s break down some interpretations of the most emblematic lines from “Back in Black.”

“Yes, I’m let loose From the noose/ That’s kept me hanging about/ I’m just looking at the sky ’cause it’s getting me high/ Forget the hearse ’cause I never die.”

It pays homage to the artist that played a crucial role in the band’s success without being overly sentimental. The song immortalizes Scott in its lyrics.

“I got nine lives, cat’s eyes/ Abusing every one of them and running wild.”

No other line ever so succinctly captures the spirit of Bon’s recklessness, or how his youthful sense of mortality led him to think he was bullet-proof.

“Oh, back in the back of a Cadillac/ Number one with a bullet, I’m a power pack/ Yes, I’m in a bang, ooh, with a gang/ They’ve got to catch me if they want me to hang.”

All these lines reflect a certain swagger and defiance – the luxury of living large as suggested by the ‘back of a Cadillac’, the immediate and blunt rise to prominence as described by ‘number one with a bullet’, the assertion of invincible power and unstoppable energy implied by the phrase ‘in a bang with a gang’, and the cavalier attitude of a daredevil who says to the world: ‘They’ve got to catch me if they want me to hang’.

“Cause I’m back on the track and I’m beatin’ the flack/ Nobody’s gonna get me on another rap/ So, look at me now, I’m just a-makin’ my play/ Don’t try to push your luck, just get outta my way.”

These verses represent a response of a comeback, with ‘back on the track’ suggesting a triumphant return to the game after some interlude, and ‘beatin’ the flack’ dismissing the criticism on his return, ‘Nobody’s gonna get me on another rap’ representing that he is not going to repeat, in this instance, former accusations or trouble; ‘Look at me now’ and ‘makin’ my play’ demonstrating that he is in control of the situation and ‘get outta my way’ as the final line of assertion indicating that he is unstoppable and ready to take on any whose path he has crossed.

“Back in Black” Video