# AC/DC's Highway to Hell. Did Bon Scott sing a racist verse? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2014, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726 "2014-11-27T00:05:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/61 "2016-03-01T19:29:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Well, no. You can start off in one part of the continent and end up at the other. I’ve done season tickets like that. Not a waste at all unless you want to return to your starting point and, well, that’s kind of completely opposite of the point of the song. But you buy season tickets to sports games, hence the season. Is there another context? ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/62 "2016-03-01T19:33:58Z")
The fact that there’s a “Highway to Hell” but only a “Stairway to Heaven” says much about anticipated traffic volumes. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2016, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/63 "2016-03-01T19:38:08Z")
> [@Biffster](#): > > But you buy season tickets to sports games, hence the season. Is there another context? Given the context is “a one-way ride,” I would assume transport, of course, like a rail pass, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Shakester](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shakester/32/437_2.png) [@Shakester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shakester)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/64 "2016-03-02T05:07:55Z")
I seem to have missed this thread the first time around, but I’m Australian, aged 50, and have been listening to AC/DC since before the Highway to Hell album came out. **Season ticket** is the phrase, and it was back in the late 70s too. I was about 14 when that album came out, and I remember the lyrics very clearly because I thought they were super cool. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/65 "2016-03-02T07:15:18Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > [Here’s the first hit on Bon Scott singing it live](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOTMw0o1ELM). I think it’s pretty clear there he sings “season ticket.” This version sounds like “See son tigget” the studio (to my American ears) sounds like “Shes a nigger” His enunciation is beyond bad, He should have taken some lessons from K.D. Lang. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/66 "2016-03-02T15:51:49Z")
Y’all know this is a man who was drunk for most of his waking hours AND missing key teeth, right? Leave his enunciation alone! :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/67 "2016-03-02T17:11:36Z")
Will we ever see the mickey45\* again, or now that he has corrected people who were wrong on the internet, he has moved on to his next mission, never to return? Just like the Lone Ranger, or Richard Kimble? \*mickeys 1-44 were “not entirely successful” ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/68 "2016-03-02T19:10:14Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > Y’all know this is a man who was drunk for most of his waking hours AND missing key teeth, right? Leave his enunciation alone! :mad: Yes but mix this with his Scottish/Australian accent and it should all balance out. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/69 "2016-03-02T19:53:15Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > This version sounds like “See son tigget” Yeah, like I said somewhere way back, he does kind of vocalize that “k”, so hearing it as “tigget” or “diggid” makes sense. > [@](#): > > the studio (to my American ears) sounds like “Shes a nigger” I really have to stretch to hear that with my American ears, and I can’t honestly say I do. It could be because it’s always been “season ticket” to me that it’s hard to hear it as anything else. I know you don’t think that’s the actual lyrics but to the other commentators who do, seriously, “Livin’ easy, lovin’ free, season ticket on a one way ride” makes complete sense in a way “livin’ easy, lovin’ free, she’s [or “sees”] a nigger on a one way ride” does not. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/70 "2016-03-02T20:05:53Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I know you don’t think that’s the actual lyrics but to the other commentators who do, seriously, “Livin’ easy, lovin’ free, season ticket on a one way ride” makes complete sense in a way “livin’ easy, lovin’ free, she’s [or “sees”] a nigger on a one way ride” does not. I agree completely that the lyric makes perfect sense at it is. It just doesnt sound that way to me. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/71 "2016-03-02T20:15:21Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > I agree completely that the lyric makes perfect sense at it is. It just doesnt sound that way to me. Oh, I totally hear what you’re saying. Obviously, more than a few people get “she’s a nigger” out of that verse. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2016, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/72 "2016-03-02T20:49:14Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > The fact that there’s a “Highway to Hell” but only a “Stairway to Heaven” says much about anticipated traffic volumes. This makes the whole thread worth it. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/73 "2016-03-03T20:50:39Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Nothing you wrote is supported by the video you linked to. > > And you’re wrong. Son, I do believe you just done got wooshed. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/74 "2016-03-03T21:01:49Z")
I totally hear the N word in the song. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2016, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/75 "2016-03-03T21:20:59Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Son, I do believe you just done got wooshed. It’s possible, but I’m guessing not. ---
**Author:** ![CHRISTONY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eb8c5e/32.png) [@CHRISTONY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CHRISTONY)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2021, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/76 "2021-09-11T23:45:27Z")
I truly believe Bon is singing ’ …A Seasoned Digger on a One- way Ride’ I searched Australian slang for the word ’ digger’ and it is used to mean ’ ingenuity, courage , good-humoured mate or mateship ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2021, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/77 "2021-09-12T03:31:19Z")
It can be “digger” _and_ a slur! > **[The Digger Indian Stereotype in California](https://escholarship.org/uc/item/6qq09790)** > > Author(s): Lonnberg, Allan | Abstract: In sum, the "Digger" stereotype, first applied to indigenous peoples in the Great Basin, soon came to refer to native Californians, particularly those in and around the mining areas. There, the stereotype became... ---
**Author:** ![Happytree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happytree/32/3555_2.png) [@Happytree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happytree)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2021, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/78 "2021-09-12T03:34:25Z")
Glad i checked this thread. I’d always heard it as “Speedin’ ticket on a one way ride” Never gave much thought about what it meant, but it makes more sense than any N word stuff. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2021, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/79 "2021-09-12T03:50:25Z")
> [@sisu](#): > > Season Ticket, remember he was a drunken aussie bogan and enunciation was not his strong suit. Yep, a local radio host brought up the OP’s question once upon a time, and it was pretty clear on listening to it, that it was very much a slurred or mangled pronunciation of “season ticket on a one way ride” and not something more obnoxious and racist. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2021, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726/80 "2021-09-12T04:03:07Z")
I heard “Season ticket on a one way ride”, and the official lyrics are “Season ticket on a one way ride”. Good enough for me. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ac-dcs-highway-to-hell-did-bon-scott-sing-a-racist-verse/705726.md?page=5)