Writing a song might not be so challenging at times; after all, art imitates life. So, when Keith Richards was evicted from his apartment, Mick Jagger found it funny and inspiring enough to dedicate a song to the incident. ‘Neighbours’ was the first song Jagger had ever written for Richards, and it’s safe to say Keith’s feelings for it were a bit complicated.
So, when Bon Scott looked for inspiration to compose and write a new track, he didn’t need to look afar, just like Mick. The AC/DC frontman had all the motivation to himself by looking through his bandmates’ lives and inspecting their exciting personalities. However, perhaps one particular bandmate took the cake when Scott decided to write a song about him.
The track in question was dedicated to Angus Young, and it fitted the guitarist’s personality so well that the lyrics perhaps proved the lyrical genius of the late frontman. Scott only needed a few words to portray Angus’ entire stage persona, and Young was quite proud of the late frontman when he heard the track.
Bon would often write songs inspired by his life, just like when he dedicated a song to his first wife and appreciated her with a rather unique name for the track, ‘She’s Got Balls.’ However, he also had a list ready to go when it came to targeting his bandmates. So, perhaps it wasn’t that hard to dedicate a song to AC/DC.
Angus Young joined Guitar World for an interview in 2020 as he discussed the frontman’s musical talent and recalled his time with him. The rocker then disclosed the track Bon Scott dedicated to him. The song was inspired by Angus’ rebellious and timeless image as a troubled schoolboy.
“Malcolm said that it was Bon’s voice,” said Angus as he recalled the appreciation of Bon Scott with his late brother. “And his witty lyrics that gave the band its ‘flavor.’ Bon called himself a ‘toilet wall graffitist.’ He was full of compliments about himself! But he could conjure a story from anything.”
Young revealed the song Scott had dedicated to him. He recalled, “‘She’s Got Balls’ was about his first wife. And he did say he wrote ‘Problem Child’ for me, but you know, I never owned a knife like it says in the song. My dad took my knife off me when I was four. Just having a guitar was bad enough, I suppose. But yeah, Bon summed me up in two words.”
It seems like Scott had gotten to know Angus so well that he could even imagine his childhood. The frontman created a persona in his mind and put Angus’ antics into his words. Young appreciated his former bandmate as he recalled his lyrical genius and disclosed that ‘Problem Child’ was dedicated to him.
