Def Leppard

Released: July 6, 1981

Songwriter: Joe Elliott Richard Savage Steve Clark

Producer: Robert John Lange

[Verse 1]
The wait is done, the battle's won
So count the cost before you run
'Cause on and on your time was power
The clock on the wall ticks away the hours

Come on down, you're flying high
You'll never win if you never try
Stop the hate, carry the load
Come on, get this show on the road

[Chorus]
On through the night
You can't stop me now
On through the night
You won't stop me anyhow

[Verse 2]
The stakes are high and getting higher
I'm flat on my face and you call me liar
I'm watching you, you're watching me
You're watching every move that I can see

My reputation's still at stake
I play it safe for safety's sake
Your ego and your promises
Are going to fade again and again

[Chorus]
On through the night
You won't stop me now
On through the night
You won't stop me anyhow, not anyhow

[Bridge]
All you want to hear is the audience applause
You can't get on stage for a country clause
And the road ahead seems a little rough
If you want to know my feelings, I say that's tough, that's tough

[Verse 3]
Your wheels ain't turning, you're out of gas
You pay by check but they take cash
Two roads ahead but which to take
And you can't see it's your mistake

They're waiting for you, they're waiting for me
And what seems like eternity
It's all tradition, they'll get you yet
In rock and roll, there's no safety net

[Chorus]
On through the night
Can't stop me now
On through the night
Can't stop me anyhow

[Outro]
On through the night
Going on and on, on and on
On through the night
You can't stop me anyhow
Oh no, not anyhow

In 1977, Rick Savage, Tony Kenning, and Pete Willis were students at a secondary school in Sheffield, England. They had a band called Atomic Mass. Lead singer Joe Elliott joined later that year, and suggested a new band name. Within 10 years, that name, Def Leppard, became one of the most recognised in English rock music. To date, they have released more than 40 singles.

Def Leppard was a definitive part of the new wave of British heavy metal bands in the late 1970s. Their first three albums had tremendous momentum, each outselling the one before. Then, after the release of Pyromania in 1983, drummer Rick Allen lost his arm in a car accident. The band stuck by him through his recovery and retraining.

When Def Leppard came back, they came back hard. Their fourth album, 1987’s Hysteria, was a hard rock masterpiece that took the world by storm. By then the music video had matured as a film style, and Hysteria’s singles and videos had enough pop, sex, colour, and glam to put it over the top. Hysteria was one of the biggest-selling albums of the 1980s.

more tracks from the album

High ‘n’ Dry

From the albums

High ‘n’ Dry (1981)
Stone Cold Metal (1998)

Def Leppard popular songs

On Through the NightDef Leppard

Def Leppard

High ‘n’ Dry