Rock Of Ages

"Rock of Ages" begins with a voice that says something like "Gunter Glieben Glauten Globen." It doesn't mean anything. Producer Mutt Lange got tired of counting the band in with "1, 2, 3, 4...," so he started saying this. The band would sometimes make up stories when asked what it means.

This song references Neil Young in the opening lines: I've got something to say... It's better to burn out Than fade away! This is part of the refrain of Young's "My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)," released in 1979 on Rust Never Sleeps. Def Leppard, more so than most bands, paid a steep price for their fast living. In 1984 their drummer Rick Allen lost an arm after losing control after racing his Corvette on a dangerous stretch of road near Sheffield, England. Lead singer Joe Elliott and guitarist Phil Collen stayed sober from this point forward, but their other guitarist, Steve Clark, couldn't shake his additions and died from an overdose of prescription drugs in 1991.

What's this song about? The band had the music written but were having trouble coming up with lyrics. One night, there was a bible study group in the studio, and the next day Def Leppard lead singer Joe Elliott found a bible open to the hymn "Rock Of Ages." He started singing the phrase, and Mutt Lange decided it would be perfect for the chorus. They used it as the title and wrote the rest of the lyrics from there, which they loaded with fiery rock clichés that synch with the Pyromania album title: Gonna start a fire Let's strike a light We're gonna blow like dynamite