Have a Drink on Me by AC/DC

Album: Back in Black (1980)

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

This song is about a guy trying to buy his buddy a drink, which might seem like poor taste considering their lead singer, Bon Scott, drank himself to death just months before the album was released. His replacement, Brian Johnson, stayed true to Scott's form by writing about topics consistent with AC/DC's ethos, and that includes drinking. Many bands would have released a heartfelt ballad to honor a fallen member, but that's not the AC/DC way - Bon would have wanted them to rock out, and that's exactly what they kept doing. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Ryan - Hesperia, CA

Comments: 6

Joel from QueenslandThere is a lot of drinking at Scottish & Australian wakes. I think Bon would want the band to celebrate his life in such a manner.
Jeff from UsaAs I remember reading that have a drink on me was the time of grieving and mourning and having a drink on them in celebration of their life. But of course the lyrics seem to go way above and beyond that.
Phil from Montreal, QcAlthough it's one of my favorite tracks on the album, I always found it inconsiderate of the Young brothers to have included that song, praising drinking, after what happened to Bon Scott.
Eric from Camas, WaI like how during the verses the guitars play the same pattern all the way through, but the bass pattern does change. That's artistry.
Andrew from Kilcoy, AustraliaThe night of Bons death, the two Young brothers were messing around with the song when Bon with his drumming experience jumped on the kit and jammed along, after that he went out to the clubs and the two brothers never saw him again. It's ironic, considering the wy he died. R.I.P Bon.
Briar from Hazard, KyDecent song. Barley Scotch from Hayseed Dixie has stated in many interviews that this is one of his favorite Ac/Dc songs.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

You Get What You GiveThe New Radicals

"You Get What You Give" by The New Radicals was the first hit song to use the word "frenemies" in the lyrics.

Candle In The WindElton John

Marilyn Monroe is the subject of Elton John's "Candle In The Wind," but the song is really a look at how we react to celebrities who die young.

The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)Betty Everett

After Cher revived "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss)" in 1990, Salt-N-Pepa released "Shoop" and Whitney Houston had a #1 hit with "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)."

Back In The U.S.S.R.The Beatles

"Back In The U.S.S.R." by The Beatles was play on "California Girls" by The Beach Boys, with "Moscow girls" and "Ukraine girls" instead of the all-American girls.

MMMbopHanson

Hanson's megahit "MMMbop," released when they were teenagers, is surprisingly profound. Zac Hanson told Songfacts it "represents a frame of time or the futility of life."

GhosttownMadonna

"Ghosttown" from 2014 was Madonna's 45th chart-topper on the Dance Club Songs chart, breaking the record for the most #1s an artist has tallied on a single Billboard chart.