Shoot to Thrill

Album: Back in Black (1980)
Play Video
  • All you women who want a man of the street
    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 gonna make you burn

    I'm gonna 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, yeah

    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, gonna fire at will
    'Cause I shoot to thrill, and I'm ready to kill
    And I can't get enough, and I can't get my thrill
    '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 gonna shoot you
    Ooh, yeah, yeah, yeah
    I'm gonna shoot you down, yeah, yeah
    I'm gonna get you down
    Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

    Shoot you, shoot you, shoot you, shoot you down
    Shoot you, shoot you, shoot you down
    Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh

    I'm gonna shoot to thrill
    Play to kill
    Shoot to thrill, yeah
    Oh yeah Writer/s: Angus Mckinnon Young, Brian Johnson, Malcolm Mitchell Young
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 2

  • Luna Loud from Royal Woods, MichiganI read somewhere that the song was also referencing the Valiums that bored housewives were taking in the late '70s/early '80s or something like that, "Too many women with too many pills." I don't know for sure because I wasn't alive back then. Maybe someone who was can fill in the details...
  • George Pope from Vancouver BcA rocking song, for sure! One of my faves, too! I was tinking it was about the singer's life as a rock star, raking in money and girls (thrills) and how his life is all & only shooting for the thrill. .. I stil think mine is a valid interpretation, but only Johnsson knows for sure.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"

Allen Toussaint - "Southern Nights"They're Playing My Song

A song he wrote and recorded from "sheer spiritual inspiration," Allen's didn't think "Southern Nights" had hit potential until Glen Campbell took it to #1 two years later.

Dan Reed

Dan ReedSongwriter Interviews

Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman Jack

Have Mercy! It's Wolfman JackSong Writing

The story of the legendary lupine DJ through the songs he inspired.

Crystal Waters

Crystal WatersSongwriter Interviews

Waters tells the "Gypsy Woman" story, shares some of her songwriting insights, and explains how Dennis Rodman ended up on one of her songs.

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic Furs

Richard Butler of The Psychedelic FursSongwriter Interviews

Psychedelic Furs lead singer Richard Butler talks about their first album since 1991 and explains what's really going on in "Pretty In Pink."