>Bon Scott – Saviour of The Soul

>Originally posted December 06, 2006.

Haha, just look at this man! Look at his jeans way up high, so tight that his balls seem to be gasping for air…
This dude is on to something. Or was on to something, since this is the great Bon Scott who died rock’n’roll style in february 1980.

So what’s that got to do with anything? I almost never listen to AC/DC anyway.

Well, me and my good friend Micke (his online keyboard warrior name is WorkKills) had a very serious talk the other day. We discussed deep shit like how to gain control and freedom in your life, how to cultivate one’s independence, totally controlling your own time, living the life you really want to live, freeing your soul… The biggest problem here mainly being that we both work 8 hours a day. Fucking bummer.

What are you prepared to sacrifice? You have to sacrifice something valuable in order to gain something else, roughly speaking. Are you willing to live your life in constant poverty because you quit your job? Are you willing to leave your loved ones, your wife, your best friends, to live like a hermit… all for the sake of freedom? What about ending your life?
ACTA NON VERBA!

Stuff like that.

It was a good discussion and it was serious as hell. We didn’t reach any mindbending conclusions, but it’s really great to have these kind of talks once in a while. It makes you think even harder.

The best thing though was when Micke put on this AC/DC record and everything just fell into place. So perfect, so simple and so true. And so cheesy in a way.
But the fact is that the very essence of what we’d been talking about was put into words with such ease by the man with the tight trousers… Bon Scott put it this way:

My Daddy was workin’ nine to five
When my Momma was havin’ me
By the time I was half alive
They knew what I was gonna be
But I left school and grew my hair
They didn’t understand
They wanted me to be respected as
A doctor or a lawyer man
(But I had other plans)

Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll singer
Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll star
Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll singer
I’m gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll,
A rock ‘n’ roll star

Well I worked real hard and bought myself
A rock ‘n’ roll guitar
I gotta be on top some day
I wanna be a star
I can see my name in lights
And I can see the queue
I got the devil in my blood
Tellin’ me what to do
(And I’m all ears)

Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll singer
Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll star
Gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll singer
I’m gonna be a rock ‘n’ roll,
A rock ‘n’ roll star
(I hear it pays well)

Well you can stick your nine to five livin’
And your collar and your tie
You can stick your moral standards
‘Cause it’s all a dirty lie
You can stick your golden handshake
And you can stick your silly rules
And all the other shit
That you teach to kids in school
(‘Cause I ain’t no fool)

The last verse pretty much says it all.

I’m not saying we’re dreaming of becoming rock stars, that’s not the point at all. What’s he really saying? Just listen to the words, the way he sings these last lines and then worship forever.

The essence of it all? Well, maybe something like do what thou wilt, do your own thing, do it yourself, don’t believe the hype… The standard clichés. You know all that crap. But why the fuck do you still sit around doing nothing then? Think about that instead.

Sometimes all you need is a dude like Bon Scott, telling it like it is, and then things seem just a tiny bit better.

R.I.P.

(The song is called Rock ‘N Roll Singer and is from their second album T.N.T. (1975))

by Mattias Indy Pettersson