Night Prowler (song)

Night Prowler is the final track on AC/DC's album Highway to Hell. It is known among other AC/DC songs for its slow blues rhythm, ominous lyrics, as well as its controversy stemming from its association with the Richard Ramirez serial killings in 1985.

Instrumentation

Angus Young and Malcolm Young both tune their guitars a half step down in this song, and the tempo is slowed down as well. The song is in 6/8 time signature. This is very similar to the Rolling Stones song "Midnight Rambler" from the Let it Bleed album.

"Night Stalker" controversy

In June 1985, a highly publicized murder case began revolving around Richard Ramírez, who was responsible for more than a dozen brutal killings as well as attempted murders and rapes in Los Angeles. Nicknamed the "Night Stalker," Ramírez was a fan of AC/DC, particularly the song "Night Prowler." Police also claimed that Ramírez was wearing an AC/DC shirt and left an AC/DC hat at one of his crime scenes. During the trial, Ramírez shouted "Hail Satan!" and showed off the pentagram carved into his palm. The incident brought extremely bad publicity to the band, whose concerts and albums were suddenly campaigned against by parents in the Los Angeles area.^[1] On VH1's Behind the Music on AC/DC, the band claimed that while the song had taken on a murderous connotation by Ramírez, it is actually about a boy sneaking into his girlfriend's bedroom at night. The song, however, does contain lines such as "You don't feel the steel / Till it's hanging out your back".^[2]

"Shazbot, nanu nanu!"

Scott was an avid fan of Robin Williams, and he ended the song with some of Williams' famous catchphrases: 'Shazbot, Nanu Nanu!'. These originated from the extraterrestrial character 'Mork' from 'Mork And Mindy': 'Shazbot' was an all-purpose vulgar exclamation, and 'Nanu Nanu' was a greeting/salute Mork used at the end of his transmissions to his home planet.

Personnel

• Bon Scott: lead vocals
• Angus Young: lead guitar
• Malcolm Young: rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Cliff Williams: bass guitar, backing vocals
• Phil Rudd: drums

References