Jailbreak (AC/DC song)

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"Jailbreak"

Single by AC/DC
from the album 'Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap'
B-side(s)	"Fling Thing"
Released	1976
Format	CD
Recorded	1976
Genre	Hard Rock
Length	???
Label	Albert Productions
Producer(s)	Harry Vanda, George Young
AC/DC singles chronology
"T.N.T. / Rocker" (1976)	"Jailbreak" (1976)	"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap / R.I.P. (Rock in Peace)" (1976)

"Jailbreak"

Song by AC/DC
from the album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Released	September 20, 1976
Recorded	Summer 1976
Genre	Hard Rock
Length	4:40
Label	Albert Productions
Writer(s)	Angus Young, Malcolm Young, Bon Scott
Producer(s)	Harry Vanda, George Young
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap track listing
Ride On (8)	"Jailbreak" (9)	N/A

"Jailbreak"

Song by AC/DC
from the album '74 Jailbreak
Released	October 1984
'74 Jailbreak track listing
N/A	"Jailbreak" (1)	You Ain't Got a Hold on Me (2)

"Jailbreak" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the ninth and final track of their Australian album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, released in September 1976 (see 1976 in music), and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott.

"Jailbreak" was dropped from the running order for the international version of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, along with "R.I.P. (Rock In Peace)." It was not released in the United States, Canada, and Japan until October 1984 (see 1984 in music), as part of AC/DC's '74 Jailbreak album. It has been posited that Atlantic Records removed "Jailbreak" from the international version due to concerns about its content. If true, this would be highly ironic considering that similar, if not more depraved, lyrical content is found in such songs as the title track, "Problem Child," and "Big Balls," all of which were included on Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap's international version. Another reason that "Jailbreak" may have been removed from the international version is because of Thin Lizzy's song of the same name that was released the same year.

The song is about a man, identified as a friend of Scott's, who attempts to escape from prison after receiving a 16-year sentence for murdering his girlfriend's (or spouse's) illicit lover. The man does get out of prison, but he is shot in the back while doing so. It is not specified whether or not the man dies as a result of the gunshot, leaving his final fate open to listener interpretation. Scott claims the man's actions were "all in the name of liberty."

"Jailbreak" has only been included on one official AC/DC live album: 1992's Live: 2 CD Collector's Edition, as sung by Scott's replacement, Brian Johnson.

1 Personnel
2 Production
3 Music Video
4 References

[edit] Personnel

[edit] Production

Producers: Harry Vanda, George Young

[edit] Music Video

The music video for "Jailbreak" was filmed in March 1976 for Australia's Countdown music program, and was directed by Paul Drane. It was filmed outside a prison, and featured the band's then-current lineup. Rudd and Scott were dressed as prisoners, Evans and Malcolm Young as guards, and Angus Young in matching white shorts and shirt with a seashell-esque pattern. The Young brothers, Evans, and Rudd all appeared to play their instruments, while Scott sang. Additionally, the band acts out the section of the song that details the protagonist's escape from prison. The protagonist is portrayed by Scott, and he appears to die after being shot in the back by Evans and Malcolm Young. The video is dubbed with the studio track from the Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap album.^[1]