AC / DC's Thunderstruck song: translation, analysis and meaning
The song Thunderstruck of the rock group AC / DC was composed by Angus McKinnon Young and Malcolm Mitchell Young and is part of the album The Razors Edge, launched on the market in 1990.
The song reached fifth place on the Billboard chart, becoming one of the most iconic songs of the group and of all hard rock history. Let's know more about this song.
Letter of Thunderstruck
Thunder, thunder, thunder, thunder
I was caught
In the middle of a railroad track
I looked round
And I knew there was no turning back
My mind raced
And I thought what could I do
And I knew
There was no help, no help from you
Sound of the drums
Beating in my heart
The thunder of guns
Tore pushed me awayYou've been
ThunderstruckRode down the highway
Broke the limit, we hit the town
Went through to Texas, yeah Texas, and we had some fun
We met some girls
Some dancers who gave a good time
Broke all the rules
Played all the fools
Yeah yeah they, they, they blew our minds
And I was shaking at the knees
Could I come again please?
Yeah them ladies were too kindYou've been
ThunderstruckI was shaking at the knees
Could I come again please
Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck
It's alright, we're doin 'fine
It's alright, we're doin 'fine, fine, fine
Thunderstruck, yeah, yeah, yeah
Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck
Thunderstruck, baby, baby
Thunderstruck, you've been Thunderstruck
Thunderstruck, Thunderstruck
You've been Thunderstruck.
Translation
Thunder, thunder, thunder, thunder
I was caught
In the middle of the railroad
I looked around
And I knew there was no going back
My mind raced
And I thought what could I do
And i knew
That there would be no help, no help from you.
The sound of drums
Beats in my heart
The thunder of weapons
Tore me apart
You have been
shocked by thunder (thunderstruck).I went down the highway
We exceeded the limit, we reached the city.
We went through Texas, yes, Texas, and we had fun.
We met some girls
Some dancers who made us have a good time.
We broke all the rules
We make fun of all the fools
Yeah yeah they blew our minds
And I was shaking to my knees.
Could she come back to her again, please?
Yes, the girls were very nice.You have been
shocked by thunder (thunderstruck).She was shaking on her knees
Could she come back to her again, please?
Stunned, stunned, stunned, stunned.
Alright we're alright
It's alright, we're alright, alright, alright
Dumbfounded yeah yeah yeah
Dumbfounded, dumbfounded,
Dumbfounded baby
Dumbfounded, you've been dumbfounded
Dumbfounded, dumbfounded.You have been
shocked by thunder (thunderstruck).
Analysis of Thunderstruck
Thunderstruck fits nicely in the style of AC / DC, one of the most blues-influenced rock bands of the 1950s. As a general feature, AC / DC incorporates elements reminiscent of Little Richard and Chuck Berry, and adds a faster and more energetic rhythm thanks to the force of the beats battery. Together with the nasal, high and torn voice of the lead voice, AC / DC consolidates a unique style.
The song is built on a riff, that is, a type of phrase or short musical idea of a rhythmic nature that is repeated throughout the piece. On this basis, the authors of the song came up with a word that could have the necessary expressive force.
It was from the images that the music suggested to him that Agnus and Malcolm thought of the words thunder Y thunderstruck. The first can be translated as thunder and the second would be something like stupefied or stunned, like "struck by thunder." The energetic character of riff He led them to the image of thunder, that noise that deafens after the lightning strike. It is the deafening thunder that leaves the listener stunned, dumbfounded.
Regarding this process of creation, the following words are attributed to Agnus:
“It started with a little riff that I played on the guitar. I showed it to Malcolm (Young) and he said 'Oh, I have a good rhythm that can go really well with that.' We build the song from that... It was just a matter of finding a good title for him. We started thinking about that thunder (Thunder) thing and it seemed to look good. AC / DC = Power. That's the idea".
The rest of the text revolves around this idea. A series of images appear as flashbacks recounting the journey of the lyrical subject and his companion on a journey that goes from rupture to debauchery. An experience metaphorically throws him onto the railroad track, that is, onto the threatening, overwhelming path that forces him to move and take a direction.
From that experience, the lyrical subject decides to start a journey with someone else that will lead him to extreme and unexpected experiences: he will speed down the highway, defy rules and conventions, dance with women of the night, be totally thunderstruck.
The song is, therefore, a celebration of debauchery, of the voluptuousness of a life without rules, surrendered, at least briefly, to the fire of passions.
AC DC
AC / DC is an Australian hard rock band formed in 1973 by Scottish-born guitarists Agnus and Malcolm Young. They were joined in 1974 by singer Bon Scott. The band would reach its stable line-up with the inclusion of bassist Mark Evans and drummer Phil Rudd.
The album and single that marked the definitive success of AC / DC was Highway to Hell ('Highway to Hell'), released in 1979, in response to the recent success of the band Led Zepellin, which had captivated the world with Stairway to Heaven ('stairway to Heaven'). With this work, AC / DC secured a niche in the market. However, just a year later, in 1980, the singer died after an alcohol overdose.
Scott was replaced by vocalist Brian Johnson and preparations began immediately for a third album by the band in memory of him. The disc, called Back in Black (1980), became the third best-selling rock album to date, which had a positive impact on the sales of the entire AC / DC discography.
The band has had several members since its inception, such as Cliff Williams, Chris Slade, Simon Wright, Dave Evans, George Young, Alex Young, Colin Burgess, among others.
Despite the difficulties, the band has held its place of honor for many years. However, starting in 2014 it has had to face some major changes. The founding guitarist Malcolm had to retire after a picture of dementia, and was replaced by his nephew Stievie Young. Malcolm finally passed away in 2017.
Likewise, the vocalist Brian Johnson had to be replaced by Axl Rose during a tour in 2016 as a prevention to avoid total deafness.
Live video
You can see the official live video of Thunderstruck In the following link:
