Highway to Hell
Thursday, May 19, 2022
“The fact that there is a highway to hell and only a stairway to heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers.” – Bob Williamson
The song, “Highway to Hell” was recorded by the band AC/DC in 1979. I was in college at the time, but was too busy listening to Frank Sinatra, Linda Ronstadt, and Kenny Rogers to pay much attention.
However, the lyrics are both haunting and disturbing. Haunting because they reveal a “devil may care” attitude towards life… and what happens after it is over. Disturbing because the words also reveal a complete misunderstanding of what hell is really like.
Here are some of the lines from the song…
Livin' easy
Lovin' free
Season ticket on a one way ride
Askin' nothin'
Leave me be
Takin' everythin' in my stride
Don't need reason
Don't need rhyme
Ain't nothin' that I'd rather do
Goin' down
Party time
My friends are gonna be there too
No stop signs
Speed limit
Nobody's gonna slow me down
Like a wheel
Gonna spin it
Nobody's gonna mess me around
Hey satan
Payin' my dues
Playin' in a rockin' band
Hey mumma
Look at me
I'm on the way to the promised land
The chorus, which is repeated throughout the song, is equally chilling…
I'm on the highway to hell
Highway to hell
I'm on the highway to hell
Highway to hell
Don't stop me
The concluding words are perhaps the worst of the bunch…
And I'm goin' down
All the way
I'm on the highway to hell
My friend, hell is real… and it will not include a non-stop party with your friends. If you reject Jesus Christ and refuse to accept His death on the cross as payment for your sins, you will spend eternity in hell. Alone. Apart from God. In constant and everlasting torment. Don’t take my word for it; take God’s (Matthew 13:41-42, 49-50; Luke 16:22-24; Revelation 20:11-15).
Or you can ask Bon Scott, the lead singer of AC/DC, who is most likely residing there since his death from acute alcohol poisoning at age 33, just seven months after releasing Highway to Hell. As for the “Stairway to Heaven”, I can’t make heads or tails of the lyrics of the 1971 song by Led Zeppelin. I prefer to stick with God’s Word as spelled out in the verse below.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few that find it.” Matthew 7:13-14 (NKJV)
- Rev. Dale M. Glading, President
