"Jailbreak" is a song by

Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...

that originally appeared as the title track on their 1976 album of the same name. Along with " The Boys Are Back in Town", it is one of their most popular songs, played frequently on

classic rock Classic rock is a radio format that developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, it comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the early-1990s, primarily focusing on comm ...

radio. The song is typical of the band's music, with the dual lead guitar harmony and Brian Robertson's use of the

wah-wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of effects pedal designed for electric guitar that alters the timbre of the input signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The peda ...

Phil Lynott Philip Parris Lynott (, ; 20 August 1949 – 4 January 1986) was an Irish musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the co-founder, lead vocalist, bassist, and primary songwriter for the hard rock band Thin Lizzy. He was known for his distinctive ...

's lyrics about a prison break are the typical personification of the "tough guys", also seen in "The Boys Are Back in Town" and the regular concert closer and fan favourite " The Rocker". An alternate version of the song appeared on the bonus disc of the 2011 remastered deluxe edition of the ''Jailbreak'' album, featuring a short spoken introduction and additional guitar parts throughout.

Charts

Use in media

In December 2008, the song was named the 73rd best hard rock song of all time by

VH1 VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...

. "Jailbreak" is used in the films '' Detroit Rock City'', ''

Joe Dirt ''Joe Dirt'' is a 2001 American adventure comedy film, directed by Dennie Gordon (in her feature film directorial debut), starring David Spade, Dennis Miller, Christopher Walken, Adam Beach, Brian Thompson, Brittany Daniel, Jaime Pressly ...

'', '' Bordello of Blood'', and '' Gracie''. and was also used in the ''

Veronica Mars ''Veronica Mars'' is an American teen neo-noir Mystery fiction, mystery Drama (film and television), drama television series created by screenwriter Rob Thomas (writer), Rob Thomas. The series is set in the fictional city, fictional town of Ne ...

'' episode " Ahoy, Mateys!" and on the MTV show '' Jackass''. On 3 February 2009, a live version of the song (from the '' Still Dangerous'' live album) was released as download content for the ''

Rock Band ''Rock Band'' is a series of rhythm games first released in 2007 and developed by Harmonix. Based on their previous development work from the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series, the main ''Rock Band'' games have players use game controllers mod ...

'' series as part of a Thin Lizzy pack (which also contained versions of " The Boys Are Back in Town" and " Cowboy Song" from the same album).

Cover versions

* The Minnesota-based glam metal band Slave Raider covered the song on their second album, ''What Do You Know About Rock 'N Roll?'', in 1988. *

Master Master, master's or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles In education: *Master (college), head of a college *Master's degree, a postgraduate or sometimes undergraduate degree in the specified discipline *Schoolmaster or master, presiding office ...

covered the song on their album '' Collection of Souls'' in 1993. * A live cover of the song by

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and Lead vocalist, frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was fo ...

was also used as the b-side to "Queen of New Orleans" in 1997. *

Fu Manchu Dr. Fu Manchu ( zh, t=傅滿洲/福滿洲, p=Fú Mǎnzhōu) is a supervillain who was introduced in a series of novels by the English author Sax Rohmer beginning shortly before World War I and continuing for another forty years. The character f ...

covered the song as their contribution to a split 7-inch with

Fatso Jetson Fatso Jetson is an American desert rock band from Palm Desert, California, formed in 1994 by Yawning Man members Mario Lalli and Larry Lalli, along with Tony Tornay. They are often credited as the fathers of the desert strain of stoner roc ...

in 1998. It was added to Godzilla's/Eatin' Dust re-issue in 2019. * American

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

band Six Feet Under covered the song on their '' Maximum Violence'' album in 1999. *

Blue Öyster Cult Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island, New York, in the hamlet of Stony Brook, in 1967. They have sold 25 million records worldwide, including 7 million in the United States. ...

covered the song live (featuring guitarist Al Pitrelli) in 1999. *

Supersuckers The Supersuckers (formerly known as The Black Supersuckers) are an American rock band, formed in 1988, whose music is influenced by both hard rock and country. AllMusic describes the band as "the bastard sons of Foghat, AC/DC, and ZZ Top after ...

performed it on their 2004 live album ''Live at The Magic Bag, Ferndale, MI'' *

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career, he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, Heavy metal music, heavy ...

played the song in the 2005 festival One Night in Dublin which was later released in 2006. *

Dropkick Murphys Dropkick Murphys are an American Celtic punk band formed in Quincy, Massachusetts in 1996. The current lineup consists of co-lead vocalist and bassist Ken Casey, drummer Matt Kelly, co-lead vocalist Al Barr (on hiatus from the band since 202 ...

recorded it for their 2007 album ''

The Meanest of Times ''The Meanest of Times'' is the sixth studio album by American celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys. It was released on September 18, 2007, through their vanity label, Born & Bred Records, a division of Cooking Vinyl Records. The album was thei ...

'', as a bonus track. * "Jailbreak" is sampled heavily in the 2008 Girl Talk song "Don't Stop." * Grave Digger released cover on their EP ''Ballads of a Hangman'' in 2009. *

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

covered the song on their 2013 EP ''

Anthems An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short s ...

''. *

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

covered the song with Scott Gorham as a special guest during Europe's 30th anniversary concert at Sweden Rock Festival in 2013, a concert which was released on DVD and Blu-ray.

Personnel

– bass guitar, vocals, acoustic guitar *

Scott Gorham William Scott Gorham (born March 17, 1951) is an American guitarist and songwriter who is one of the "twin lead guitarists" for the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy. Although not a founding member of Thin Lizzy, he served a continuous membership after ...

– lead and rhythm guitars * Brian Robertson – lead and rhythm guitars * Brian Downey – drums, percussion

References

External links

* {{authority control Thin Lizzy songs 1976 songs Songs about prison Songs written by Phil Lynott Vertigo Records singles 1976 singles Songs about freedom 1970s in Irish music