I’m rolling thunder, pouring rain
I’m coming on like a hurricane
My lightning’s flashing across the sky
You’re only young but you’re gonna die
I won’t take no prisoners, won’t spare no lives
Nobody’s putting up a fight
I got my bell, I’m gonna take you to hell
I’m gonna get ya, Satan get ya
Yeah, hell’s bells
Yeah, hell’s bells
You got me ringing
Hell’s bells
Nassau, Bahamas. April 20, 1980. 2:00 PM
Brian Johnson has a dilemma. The newly hired lead singer for the band AC/DC is trying to write the lyrics for a song already titled Hells Bells.
Johnson was hired just weeks ago to replace lead singer Bon Scott who passed away on February 19, 1980, after a night of heavy drinking. Scott’s bandmates, Angus and Malcolm Young were anxious to get back to work to help with their overwhelming grief.
There is a synergy with Johnson and the band. They travel to producer Mutt Lange’s recording studio in the Bahamas. The album will be released as Back in Black, as a tribute to Scott. Johnson has the job of putting together the lyrics for the songs he’ll be singing.
The first few tracks come easy, including the title track and You Shook Me All Night Long. Then Johnson hits a wall. Hells Bells? He’s got nothing.
Then, as he recounts in an interview done last year, the answer appeared:
“Just then there was the mother of all thunderstorms,” Johnson told Louder Than Hell: the Definitive Oral History of Metal. “I said, ‘Jesus, the noise of the thunder is coming in. Mutt said, ‘There you go, that’s a start, Brian, the rolling thunder.” And I went, “It’s f–king pouring rain, look at the wind, it’s comin’ on like a hurricane. And look at that lightning flashing across the sky!” Honestly, I was like a reporter. There is an alarm bell ringing, so I went, “Got my bell I’m gonna take you to hell. Gonna get ya, Satan get ya! Hells bells.’ That was it. It was ten minutes, and the song was done.”
Uncertainty, followed by some critical event, led to a direction of success.
Have you ever thought about your life’s defining events and the impact they had on you? How they shaped your life? How they helped you forge a different path or future?
For me, that happened on the morning of October 11, 1996, when I nearly physically assaulted my boss while stationed in Silverdale, WA. Before that moment, my only career direction was to get out of the Navy as soon as possible. But after that, I knew I had a bigger future: TO DEVELOP THE NEXT GENERATION OF GREAT BOSSES. That defining event helped lead to me founding Boss Builders and what we have done over the past 17 years. Without it, my canvas might still be blank.
This week, why not reflect on you defining moments. What “thunderstorm” will influence your legacy? I certainly found mine. I hope you can see yours too.