Jailbreak (AC/DC song)

"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, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott.

It was also released as a single, with a B-side of "Fling Thing", in 1976.

"Jailbreak" was dropped from the running order for the international version of Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. It was not released in the United States, Canada, and Japan until October 1984, as part of AC/DC's '74 Jailbreak album.

1 Composition
2 Live recordings
3 Music video
4 Personnel
5 Production
6 References

[edit] Composition

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 (however, see "Music video" below). Scott claims the man's actions were "all in the name of liberty."

[edit] Live recordings

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

[edit] Music video

The music video for "Jailbreak" was filmed in March 1976 for the Australian music programme Countdown, 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 pattern (which was the Australian uniform for maximum security prisoners). The Young brothers, Evans and Rudd all appeared to play their instruments, while Scott sang. This video was featured on AC/DC's Family Jewels DVD.

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]

An alternate video, which features the band simply playing on a stage, was also filmed. Both can be found on the Internet.