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Highway To Hell

What is highway to hell?

· Emily Grant

Key facts

Artist AC/DC[1]
Album Highway to Hell[1]
Release year 1979[1]
Label Albert Productions and Atlantic Records[1]

Highway to Hell is an AC/DC song from 1979, often explained as a metaphor for the grueling life on The Road and touring, though it's also linked to a dangerous road in Australia called Canning Highway.

Context

Highway to Hell is the title track of AC/DC's 1979 album of the same name [1]. The song's meaning is often described as a metaphor for the grueling life on the road and touring [2]. Another widely cited interpretation links the phrase to the Canning Highway in Australia, a road known for its steep decline and traffic deaths, which ends at a bar called The Raffles [2]. The road runs through Fremantle, where Bon Scott lived [2]. The song is sometimes confused with a satanic message, but the sources instead describe touring-life and road-nickname interpretations [2].

Documented claims

  • The song is commonly explained as a metaphor for the grueling life on the road and exhausting touring. [2]
  • The phrase is also documented as the nickname of the Canning Highway in Australia, which runs through Fremantle where Bon Scott lived. [2]

Related

Questions and answers

Who originally sang 'Highway to Hell'?

AC/DC originally sang 'Highway to Hell' [1].

What is the story behind the song 'Highway to Hell'?

The song is often explained as a metaphor for the exhausting life on the road, but it's also linked to the Canning Highway in Australia, a dangerous road that ends at a bar [2].

Who was the singer on 'Highway to Hell'?

The singer was Bon Scott, who lived in Fremantle, where the Canning Highway runs [2].

Sources

  1. Behind the Meaning of "Highway to Hell" by AC/DC - — americansongwriter.com (retrieved August 3, 2026)
  2. Conheça o real significado de Highway To Hell, do AC/DC — letras.mus.br (retrieved August 3, 2026)

Sources last checked August 3, 2026. · More in Entertainment