On 26 January 2010, a new music video for "Shoot to Thrill" was released with exclusive footage from the film Iron Man 2. The live concert footage used in the video was filmed in December 2009 at a concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina at the Estadio Monumental, from which the Live at River Plate DVD was filmed.
When explaining his lyrical inspiration for the song, lead singer and then-songwriter Brian Johnson recalled reading a British article about a neighbourhood pusher who made daily rounds (almost like a milkman) throughout the London suburbs, selling narcotics to bored, lonely and depressed housewives. These substance-effected homemakers would then peruse the local clubs and bars, seeking out torrid, extra-marital relationships. The term "Shoot to thrill.." most likely refers to certain solutions such as diazepam (valium), which is often administered via injection to treat anxiety and depression.
Lead guitarist Angus Young has recently commented that the song's 'break-down', which occurs soon after the main solo (a muted and repeating three chord sequence of A Major triad, G Major triad, and a D power-chord leading up to a bombastic outro-solo), was inspired by the trio gun-battle climax from Sergio Leone's classic, Italian western 'The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly". In this seminal scene, gun-fighters Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach stare one another down in the centre of a Civil-War cemetery for minutes-on-end to an eventual shoot-out. Young said this sequence in the song was designed to mirror the actual soundtrack selection 'Il Triello' by composer Ennio Morricone. Both compositions feature a slow quiet build-up, increasing in tension to a thunderous, cataclysmic finale.
Lyrics
All you women who want a man of the street
Don't know which way you wanna turn
Just keep a-coming
And put your hand out to me
Cause I'm the one who's gonna make you burn
I'm gonna take you down
Down down down
So don't you fool around
I'm gonna pull it, pull it
Pull the trigger
Shoot to thrill play to kill
Too many women too many pills, yeah
Shoot to thrill play to kill
I got my gun at the ready gonna fire at will
I'm like evil I get under your skin
Just like a bomb that's ready to blow
Cause I'm illegal
I got everything
That all you women might need to know
I'm gonna take you down
Yeah down, down, down
So don't you fool around
I'm gonna pull it, pull it
Pull the trigger
Shoot to thrill play to kill
Too many women too many pills
Shoot to thrill play, to kill
I got my gun at the ready gonna fire at will
Cause I shoot to thrill and I'm ready to kill
I can't get enough and I can't get my fill
Shoot to thrill, play to kill
Pull the trigger, pull it
Pull it pull it
Pull the trigger
Shoot to thrill play to kill
Too many women too many pills, said
Shoot to thrill play to kill
I got my gun at the ready gonna fire at will
Cause I shoot to thrill and I'm ready to kill
I can't get enough and I can't get my fill
Cause I shoot to thrill, play to kill
Yeah
Shoot you down, yeah
I'm gonna get you down on the bottom girl
Shoot you, I'm gonna shoot you
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm gonna shoot you down, yeah yeah
I'm gonna get you down, down down down down
Shoot you, shoot you, shoot you, shoot you down
Shoot you, shoot you, shoot you down
I'm gonna shoot to thrill
Play to kill
Shoot to thrill