This adrenal rocker is a play on the phrase "shoot to kill," with lead singer Brian Johnson playing the ultimate bad boy, a guy with "too many women with too many pills." It's part of the Back In Black album, Johnson's first with the band; he joined in March 1980 about six weeks after their frontman Bon Scott died after a night of drinking. Johnson took a cue from Scott's lyrical approach: The guy in "Shoot To Thrill" is a lot like the man you can call for "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap," one of Scott's most enduring lyrics. Bon Scott also made a munitions metaphor on his last album with AC/DC: "Shot Down In Flames" from Highway To Hell.
It wasn't released as a single and no video was made for it, but many radio stations played it anyway. The song quickly became an AC/DC favorite and a staple at their live shows. It helped propel Back In Black to 25 million in sales in America alone.
"Shoot to thrill" plays in the 2010 movie Iron Man 2 when Tony Stark makes a grand entrance. Scenes from the film were combined with AC/DC concert footage to make a video for the song that was released before the movie hit theaters, serving as a preview of sorts. The Iron Man 2 soundtrack was comprised entirely of AC/DC songs, with "Shoot To Thrill" and "Highway to Hell" appearing in the movie. Lyrics
All you women who want a man of the street
An' don't know which way you wanna turn
Just keep a-coming and put your hand out to me
'Cause I'm the one who's going to make you burn
I'm going to take you down
Oh, down, down, down
So, don't you fool around
I'm gonna pull it, pull it
Pull the trigger
Shoot to thrill, play to kill
Too many women with too many pills, yeah
Shoot to thrill, play to kill
I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will, yeah
I'm like evil, I get under your skin
Just like a bomb that's ready to blow
'Cause I'm illegal
I got everything that all you women might need to know
I'm gonna take you down
Yeah, down, down, down
So, don't you fool around
I'm gonna pull it, pull it
Pull the trigger
Shoot to thrill, play to kill
Too many women with too many pills, said
Shoot to thrill, play to kill
I got my gun at the ready, gonna fire at will
'Cause I shoot to thrill, and I'm ready to kill
I can't get enough and I can't get my fill
I shoot to thrill, play to kill
Yeah
Pull the trigger, pull it
Pull it, pull it
Pull the trigger
Oh
Shoot to thrill, play to kill
Too many women with too many pills, I said
Shoot to thrill, play to kill
I got my gun at the ready, going to fire at will
'Cause I shoot to thrill and I'm ready to kill
I can't get enough and I can't get my fill
'Cause I shoot to thrill, play to kill
Yeah
Shoot you down, yeah
I'm gonna get you down on the bottom, girl
Shoot you, I'm going to shoot you
Ooh, yeah
Yeah, yeah
I'm going to shoot you down, yeah-yeah
I'm going to get you down
Down, down, down, down
Shoot you, shoot you, shoot you, shoot you down
Shoot you, shoot you, shoot you down
I'm gonna shoot to thrill
Play to kill
Shoot to thrill
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