So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
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 gettin' me high
Forget the hearse 'cause I never die
I got nine lives
Cat's eyes
Abusin' 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 makin' 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
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
Take my love
Oh, yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah, yeah, ooh, yeah
Well, I'm back (I'm back)
Back (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
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 gettin' me high
Forget the hearse 'cause I never die
I got nine lives
Cat's eyes
Abusin' 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 makin' 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
Oh, yeah
Oh, yeah
Take my love
Oh, yeah, yeah
Oh, yeah, yeah, ooh, yeah
Well, I'm back (I'm back)
Back (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
Lyrics submitted by Demau Senae, edited by LHGL
Back In Black Lyrics as written by Young Angus Mckinnon Brian Johnson
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Ave Grave
Thee More Shallows
Thee More Shallows
Love in a Vacuum
'Til Tuesday
'Til Tuesday
Well, in my opinion this song is about being a young & maybe a little naive &/or introverted girl and finding yourself loving a man who is at first very charming, carefree & outgoing, and seems at first to be without limits, as in
"There was a time
you opened up every doorway
you didn't mind if everything
wasn't your way"
then that man starts to gradually become more introverted & shows their more possessive/obsessive side to you as the relationship progresses, even while they keep up the appearance of being carefree & outgoing to everyone else,
"Don't pull away
that goes against what you told me
I look in your eyes
I realize what you've sold me
is love in a vacuum"
so you confront them about the way they're acting and of course they deny it,
"I think you've changed
but you insist that
that's not true"
quite possibly they are an addict of some sort, my guess would be cocaine, &/or showing very obsessive behavior towards you (early on in the video for this song we see the man hanging a picture up, it is a very large portrait of Aimee & it is prominently displayed in his/their apartment for the duration of the song), thus their "love in a vacuum",
"You look so strange, so distant
that you're hardly you
Now I can see
how you have been acting different
You say it's me
but I know
that it isn't
it's love in a vacuum"
but still you are in love with them and don't want to leave them and you know that they are truly in love with you and they don't want you to leave them either, maybe they are convinced you can save them from themself, maybe they are so broken that the possibility of an overdose &/or suicide attempt is very real and you want to get through to them that their behavior not only dangerous but it is also just pissing you off and if they don't wise up they run the risk of loosing you, as in the lines
"You will be lonely
if you leave me alone", so you want to save them but can't get through to them due to the addiction &/or emotional problems they have,
"Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
love in a vacuum
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
You will be lonely
if you leave me alone
You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough"
you want them to understand that the love they are giving you is not enough when it is filtered through the vacuum of their drug addiction &/or emotional impairment,
"You will be lonely
you'll be the only one who feels this way
it's just not enough
and just wait
you will be lonely
Love in a vacuum
Love in a vacuum
and that's not enough
Love in a vacuum".
'Love In A Vacuum' for me is a hauntingly truthful acute argument on the loneliness of obsession and almost inevitable loss of love that follows people who are broken in some way or another; the obsessives, the coke heads, the drunks, addicts or the just-plain-old emotionally broken; a razor sharp, lyrically driven, deceptively poppy, yet ultimately-depressing-in-the-best-way song.
Quintessential Aimee Mann.
when rules change
Life in Your Way
Life in Your Way
High life
Techno Ted
Audioslave
Audioslave
Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Man, people don't even have an idea of the backstory behind this song and the whole album. Well, when AC/DC's frontman, Bon Scott, died from drinking too much and choking on his own vomit, the band set out to look for a new lead singer, which ended up being Brian Johnson. Bon liked Johnson's voice and Angus said in one interview that, "We knew if Bon liked him, he must be good, because Bon didn't like many people". This song was a big tribute to Bon Scott and the biggest resemblance between the song and Bon was, "Yes, I'm gettin' loose. From the noose. That's kept me hanging about. I've been looking at the sky. 'Cause it's gettin' me high. Forget the hearse 'cause I never die. I got nine lives. Cat's eyes. Abusin' every one of them and running wild." This part shows Bon's recklessness and how his youth brain washed him into thinking he was invincible hence the nine lives part and how he keeps abusing his lives.
With all information that's already been presented, I think it's obvious; the song is about resurrection. Simple as that.
Jesus, I give up. Every single poser who claims that Back in Black is a direct tribute to Bon Scott should be shot for not putting in the time to LOOK THINGS UP before posting their idiotic drivvle. Lets go over some FACTS:
Angus and Malcolm Young have said in interviews that no song on the back in black album is a tribute to Bon.
Brian Johnson was hired to replace Bon as AC/DC's lead singer and LYRICIST. As such, Johnson would have no place writing tribute songs about Bon, as he hardly knew him.
Only in 1990 on the Razors Edge did the Youngs take over writing the lyrics.
The only thing the Youngs claim to be a tribute to Bon was the all black album cover, that is it.
@Boo Urns You probably should give up since you're wrong. Brian Johnson has stated in interviews repeatedly that Angus and Malcolm played him the music to Back in black and said they wanted a tribute to Bon that was in keeping with his character and personality. Certainly the closest lyrics Johnson ever wrote to Bon's own style.
yea i'm from jersey, and i meant australia but i spelled it wrong. and they created back in black cause they were in mourning from bon scotts death. that's why they called in back in black. atleast that's what angus said.
I seriously doubt that Back in Black is a fiancial reference. I'm more inclined to agree with NJRockstar, but Bon Scott died in Feb. 1981 and this album was released in Summer of that same year with Brian Johnson on vocals. I think (and I could be wrong) that the songs were written with the intention of having Bon Scott sing them. NJRock could be right about this one. Perhaps it was written after Scott's death, but I'm pretty sure that the other songs were written before.
19eightyyy it was. please get your facts right.
suede67 is right. And Bon Scott was supposed to be singing on it, I'm not sure how much of it was actually written when he died though. But the band decided to find another singer and keep going, because they knew Bon would've wanted them to continue.
NJRock, Hell's Bells was written for the album Back in Black. Who Made Who was the song that was written for the film Maximum Overdrive.
yea i know i was saying they were performed on maximum overdrive. yea, some of the songs were on the intention to have bon scott sing them, but the cd itself is a tribut to bon scott.
From reading the lyrics, (which I never could understand), it seems that this song is about a man who is on the run from Death Row. Looking at the sky would get you high if you haven't seen it in a while. "I'm beating the flack", "Nobody's gonna get me on another rap." "Don't try to push your luck, just get out of my way" are other lines that support my theory. Any ideas on this one.
@BWoodmeyer The lyrics are a tribute to Bon Scott - they basically are what Johnson imagined Bon would have said about his own death...if you think about the way Scott lived and died they make a lot of sense.
I think its the best song acdc ever did.....
actually, the best song acdc ever did was "you shook me all night long".