Rock of Ages (Def Leppard song)

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"Rock of Ages"
Single by Def Leppard
from the album Pyromania
B-side
  • "Action! Not Words" (UK)
  • "Billy's Got a Gun" (US)
ReleasedJune 1983 (1983-06)[1]
Recorded1982
Studio
Genre
Length4:09
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Def Leppard singles chronology
"Photograph"
(1983) 		"Rock of Ages"
(1983) 		"Foolin'"
(1983)

"Rock of Ages" is a song by Def Leppard from their 1983 album Pyromania. When issued as a single in the United States, the song reached #16 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #19 on the Cash Box Top 100. It also hit #1 on the Top Tracks Rock chart.[6]

In 2012, the band re-recorded the song, along with "Pour Some Sugar on Me", under the title "Rock of Ages 2012". Both were released digitally on 4 June 2012.[7]

Lyrics[edit]

The song begins with "Gunter glieben glauten globen", a German-like nonsense phrase introduced by Mutt Lange, who is of German descent. According to the official Def Leppard FAQ,

What does "Gunter Glieben Glauten Globen" mean? Nothing in particular (although the band sometimes jokingly claims it means "running through the forest silently"). It's gibberish said by producer Mutt Lange during the recordings of "Rock of Ages", instead of the regular one, two, three, four.[8]

(That same count-in was sampled by The Offspring at the beginning of their 1998 song "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)".[9])

As the song's melody begins, Elliott speaks the lines, "All right/I've got something to say/It's better to burn out/Than to fade away"; the second two lines are a reference to Neil Young's song "My My, Hey Hey (Out of the Blue)".[10] Def Leppard's four-line version was quoted in the 1986 movie Highlander by the film's villain, the Kurgan. Young's line would later become immortalized in rock history when it was used in the suicide note of grunge pioneer Kurt Cobain.[11]

During the guitar solo, several vocal phrases were backmasked. When played forward, the phrases "Fuck the Russians" and "Brezhnev's got herpes" can be heard.[12]

Title[edit]

According to the liner notes of the compilation release Rock of Ages: The Definitive Collection, the band was at a recording studio when lead vocalist Joe Elliott stumbled upon a hymn book left by a member of a children's choir that had just used the studio. In the book, he saw the words "Rock of Ages", which prompted him to write the lyrics of the song.[13]

Reception[edit]

Cash Box described it as a powerful rock anthem that "pulls out just about every 'Long live rock ‘n’ roll' cliche there is."[10]

Music video[edit]

The music video was directed by David Mallet[14] and shot on 8 December 1982 (guitarist Phil Collen's 25th birthday), in Battersea, London, England. Former Def Leppard co-manager Peter Mensch appears in this video as one of the monks.

The song's video was placed on New York Times list of the 15 Essential Hair-Metal Videos.[5]

Track listing[edit]

7": Vertigo / VER6 (812 858-7) (UK)[edit]

  1. "Rock of Ages"
  2. "Action! Not Words"

12": Vertigo / VERX6 (812 293-1) (UK)[edit]

  1. "Rock of Ages"
  2. "Action! Not Words"

7": Mercury / 812 604-7 (US)[edit]

  1. "Rock of Ages"
  2. "Billy's Got a Gun"

Personnel[edit]

Def Leppard[edit]

Additional musicians[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart (1983) Peak
position
Australian Singles (Kent Music Report)[15] 96
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[16] 24
UK Singles (OCC)[17] 41
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 16
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[19] 1

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (1995). The Great Rock Discography. p. 212. ISBN 9780862415419.
  2. ^ Tucker, Dan (28 February 2014). "13 Classic Hard Rock Songs That Will Make You Scream "More Cowbell!"". VH1. Archived from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  3. ^ Wiederhorn, Jon (27 March 2020). "Def Leppard Reflects on the 'Early Years' and Why Those Iron Maiden Comparisons Were 'Tiresome'". Billboard. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  4. ^ Sleazegrinder (4 December 2015). "The 20 Best Hair Metal Anthems Of All Time Ever". loudersound. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  5. ^ a b Edwards, Gavin (5 May 2020). "15 Essential Hair-Metal Videos". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004) for a single week. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 170.
  7. ^ "Def Leppard Release New Versions of 'Rock of Ages,' 'Pour Some Sugar on Me'". Ultimate Classic Rock. 2012. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
  8. ^ "FAQ". DefLeppard.com. 5 October 2001. Archived from the original on 5 October 2001. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  9. ^ Irwin, Corey. "Rick Allen Reveals the Origin of 'Gunter Gleiben Glauchen Globen'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  10. ^ a b "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. 11 June 1983. p. 10. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  11. ^ Margaritoff, Marco (4 June 2023). "'Thank You All From The Pit Of My Burning, Nauseous Stomach': The Last Words Of Kurt Cobain". All That's Interesting. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
  12. ^ Ryan Delmonico (14 February 2014), Def Leppard - Rock of Ages REVERSED vocals during guitar solo! what he really says!!, archived from the original on 20 November 2020, retrieved 22 September 2016
  13. ^ "The Story of DEF LEPPARD's "Rock of Ages"". MY ROCK MIXTAPES. 31 January 2017. Retrieved 4 September 2023.
  14. ^ Def Video 2 Pyromania 1983/High 'n' Dry 1984 Archived 20 July 2007 at archive.today, Def Leppard UK.com
  15. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  16. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 4309." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  17. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Def Leppard Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
  19. ^ "Def Leppard Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
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