Night Prowler

This song is not about sneaking into your girlfriend's bedroom, it is about murder, a serial killer. Malcolm is a terrible liar, as demonstrated on Behind the Music. Bon was into the whole Aleister Crowley new wave type satanism of the late 60's and if the truth be told Malcolm was as well. We have to put ourselves back in that era in rock. Marketing pressures demanded a "satanic" band. It is around this time when AC/DC started really writing what could be called satanic music. And around 1984 the whole satan craze dies down and AC/DC started to back off their overt satanism.

A sharp intake of breath opens the song. Immediately something is close and sinister, creeping towards you in the dark with menacing, predatory intentions. Then the guitar kicks in, stabbing the silence recklessly, almost clumsily, before settling into a low grumbling rhythm overlaid with the wolfish howl of Angus' lead. And then you know you're in danger when Bon enters with his gravelly, rasping and threatening description of the scene and his intentions, all delivered with a menace that betrays both an evil joy for his freedom and a subconscious anger at the people who are safe in bed while he is on the street.

This is a great song, no one could sing this like Bon or play it like AC/DC. It's bluesy and raw and thrillingly terrifying.

But Bon and the boys aren't really mean (unless you mess with them first ...). They're just having fun. So at the end, after the Night Prowler has supposedly taken you as his victim (exactly how is left to your fears and fantasies), Bon ends the song with a Mork impression, as a cheeky way of saying "nah, just kidding".

Richard "The Night Stalker" Ramirez used to listen to this song over and over to get pumped up to kill people.

Most people think the title track is the best song on "Highway To Hell", but I'd almost disagree and say that this is. It's a tie. But this is probably one of the most brilliantly-written songs AC/DC has ever done; I mean the lyrics are awesome. The slow and creeping but menacing pace and the chorus are also great, and the ending blows you away. One kick-ass ending to a great album by a great band.

Actually Richard "The Night Stalker" Ramirez did listen to this song a lot. He would play it over and over again. I have read numerous books pretaining to serial killers and this is in fact a fact.

I love how creepy and addictive this song is, and long live SHAZBOT NANU NANU (at the end). So random! It's how alines on the TV show Mork & Mindy used to say goodbye, although I thought Shazbot was a swear word.

I thought that "AC/DC" was written on a hoover, not a sewing machine, but whatever, it doesn't make a world of difference!

I watched the ACDC behind the music, and malcom young said it was about going to ur g/f s house in the night. But what does "And no one's gonna yell 'Attack' And you don't feel the steel Till it's hanging out your back" have to do with that? A man murdered someone else over this song which is fucked up, and thats where Anti-Christ/Devil Child came from. Stupid press... ACDC was the name taken off an old sewing machine that the Young brothers sister suggested. They took the name and didnt know about the bisexual meaning behind it. But they kept it anyways.

Angus probably meant the concept behind the idea of a "night prowler" was sneaking into your girlfriends house-and how the girlfriend thought it was a murderer hehe. This song has the greatest guitar riff ever!

This song is great and creepy, but it's merely a story....it doesn't have to have any significance...not all songs do... I mean, it's wonderfully written, but not all things have meaning...it's just a good story put to even better licks.

Richard Ramirez didnt listen to it to get pumped up. The press associated "night prowler" with him because of his killing people at night, sneaking into peoples houses. It became his theme song because he liked ac/dc and they found his ac/dc hat.