The band's greatest commercial success came between the early 1980s and the early 1990s. Their first album, 1980's On Through the Night, reached the Top 15 in the UK but received little notice elsewhere. Their second album, 1981's High 'n' Dry, was produced by Mutt Lange, who helped them begin to define their melodic hard rock style, and the album's most popular track "Bringin' On the Heartbreak" became one of the first rock videos played on MTV in 1982, but the album only reached the Top 30 and 40 in the UK and US. Def Leppard's next studio album, Pyromania, was released in January 1983, with "Photograph" and "Rock of Ages" both topping the US Rock Tracks chart and reaching the top 20 of the Hot 100. Reaching No. 2 on the US album chart, Pyromania was certified Diamond in the US and 7× platinum in Canada and reached the top 20 in the UK but did not sell much elsewhere.
Def Leppard's fourth album, the more pop-oriented Hysteria (1987), topped the UK, US, New Zealand, Canadian, Australian and Norway charts. It also went to No. 2 in Sweden and No. 10 in Germany without any Top 50 singles in those countries. It has been certified 12× platinum for sales in the US and 13× platinum in Canada, selling over 25 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. The album spawned six Top 20 US singles, including the US Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 "Love Bites" (went Top 10 in several other countries including No. 2 in NZ), alongside "Pour Some Sugar on Me" (US No. 2), "Hysteria", "Armageddon It" (No. 2 in NZ), "Animal" (at No. 6, the biggest UK hit), and "Rocket" (a Top 15 hit in many countries). Hysteria had four Top 10 hits in New Zealand.
Their next studio album, Adrenalize (their first following the death of guitarist Steve Clark), reached No. 1 on the UK, US, NZ, Canadian and Australian charts in 1992, while going Top 10 in Sweden and Germany. It contained several hits, including the US Rock Tracks chart-topper, "Let's Get Rocked", which became their biggest hit in several countries, including No. 2 in the UK, No. 3 in Canada and Switzerland, and the Top 20 in Sweden and Germany. The third single, "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", was a Top 15 song in the US, UK and Canada. Adrenalize went on to sell over 8 million copies worldwide. Their 1993 album, Retro Active, contained the acoustic Top 5 North American hit "Two Steps Behind". Their greatest hits album Vault, released in 1995, featured the UK No. 2 hit "When Love & Hate Collide" and reached the Top 10 in several countries, going 5× platinum in the US. Beginning with Slang, Def Leppard released five albums between 1996 and 2008, with most usually reaching the Top 15 in several countries, including the UK, US and Canada. Their self-titled album was released in 2015 and reached the Top 10 in several countries. The band's newest studio album, Diamond Star Halos was released in May 2022 and reached the Top 10 in the US, the UK and Australia.
As one of the world's best-selling music artists, Def Leppard have sold more than 100 million records worldwide, and have two albums with RIAA diamond certification: Pyromania and Hysteria, making them one of only five rock bands with two original studio albums selling more than 10 million copies in the US. The band were ranked No. 31 in VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" and ranked No. 70 in "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Def Leppard were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2019.
Studio albums
On Through the Night (1980)
High 'n' Dry (1981)
Pyromania (1983)
Hysteria (1987)
Adrenalize (1992)
Slang (1996)
Euphoria (1999)
X (2002)
Yeah! (2006)
Songs from the Sparkle Lounge (2008)
Def Leppard (2015)
Diamond Star Halos (2022)
Long Long Way To Go
Def Leppard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I may never see your face again
So tell me how to fill the emptiness inside
Without love, what is life?
And anyone who knew us both can see
We always were the better part of me
I never wanted to be this free
And all this pain, when does it go away?
Then every time I turn around
And you're nowhere to be found
I know
I gotta long long way to go
Before I can say goodbye to you
Oh, I gotta long long way I know
Before I can say goodbye
To all I ever knew, to you
To you
From memory there is no hiding place
Turn on the TV and I see you there
In every crowd there's always someone with your face
Everywhere, trying not to care
Then every time I turn around
And you're nowhere to be found
I know
I gotta long long way to go
Before I can say goodbye to you
I gotta long long way I know
Before I can say goodbye
To all I ever knew
To you I wish you everything
And all the best that life can bring
I only hope you think of me sometimes
Oh, and even though I feel the pain
I know that I will love again
The time will come
Oh, and I'll move on
I gotta long long way to go
Before I can say goodbye to you
Oh, I gotta long long way I know
Gotta long way to go
Before I can say goodbye
Before I say goodbye
To all I ever knew
To all I ever knew
I gotta long way to go
Before I say
Say goodbye, say goodbye
But I wish you the best girl
Oh and all of the rest to you
The lyrics to Def Leppard's song Long Long Way to Go express the pain and difficulty of moving on from a past love. The first verse starts by acknowledging the loss of the person and the challenge of filling the emptiness they’ve left behind. The lyrics go on to express the belief that the two were better as a couple and that the singer did not want to be "free" from the relationship. However, they accept that the pain of the loss will not go away easily. The chorus underscores the time and distance required to heal from the break-up - the singer has a "long long way to go" before goodbye can be said.
In the second verse, the singer reflects on how memories of the past relationship are ever present and impossible to escape. In a crowd, there are always reminders of the lost love. This is followed by the chorus which is repeated again to reinforce the theme of the difficulty of moving on. The last verse is the most poignant. It communicates the singer's wishes for the one who has left, words of hope for the future and the somber acknowledgement that they will someday love another.
In the interpretation of the song, what one realizes is that in the wake of the end of a relationship, the hurting partner must try to move on and re-discover life for themselves. The journey to healing is long, and sometimes it is hard to pick oneself up no matter how old or experienced, sometimes they still have a long, long way to go. Nevertheless, when we get back to our feet and find new love, that love will in no way diminish the value of the former love story.
Line by Line Meaning
You held my hand and then you slipped away
You were once by my side but you left me suddenly
And I may never see your face again
I fear that I may never be in your presence again
So tell me how to fill the emptiness inside
I am desperate to know how to overcome the loneliness that I feel
Without love, what is life?
Without love, life is empty and meaningless
And anyone who knew us both can see
It is plain for anyone to see that we were perfect for each other
We always were the better part of me
Our relationship brought out the best in me and made me whole
I never wanted to be this free
I never wanted to be alone and without your companionship
And all this pain, when does it go away?
I am in agony and I wonder when this pain will ever subside
Then every time I turn around
Whenever I look back
And you're nowhere to be found
And you are not there
I know
I am aware
I gotta long long way to go
It is going to take me a very long time
Before I can say goodbye to you
Before I can finally let you go
To all I ever knew, to you
To the life that I once had, to you
From memory there is no hiding place
There is nowhere I can go to escape the memories of you
Turn on the TV and I see you there
Even when I watch TV, I am reminded of you
In every crowd there's always someone with your face
I seem to see you everywhere, even in strangers I pass on the street
Everywhere, trying not to care
I am trying not to let my emotions consume me
To you I wish you everything
I wish for you all the happiness and success in the world
And all the best that life can bring
I hope that life brings you nothing but the best
I only hope you think of me sometimes
I hope that you remember me occasionally
Oh, and even though I feel the pain
Despite the overwhelming pain I am experiencing
I know that I will love again
I am confident that I will find love once more
The time will come
The day will arrive
Oh, and I'll move on
And I will eventually move forward
But I wish you the best girl
But I sincerely hope that you have the best life possible
Oh and all of the rest to you
I wish you all the other good things that life has to offer
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: STEPHEN PAUL ROBSON, WAYNE ANTHONY HECTOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Isabelle Arsenault
Thank you Def Leppard for this beautiful song ! ❤
Artistic Visions
One of their greatest songs! Way underrated🙏
Big Daddy71
I listened to this song for the first time yesterday, and it really hit me hard because it’s like it was written about my wife and I. She suffered a brain stem stroke on 4/1/18 and fought like hell for 6 months to come back to me. She was paralyzed from the neck down, and couldn’t speak. She could only communicate by rolling her eyes up for “yes”, and down for “no”. She had locked in syndrome, and understood everything going on. I worked with her relentlessly until she could move her hands and feet on command. All of this after the doctors said she would never breathe on her own again and I was gonna have to make a “hard decision about quality of life”, IOW, removing life support. I refused to do that, and fought for her to have every chance and the best of care. A few days after they told me that, she started breathing on her own so they put in a trach, and took her off the ventilator! I stayed by her side ever possible minute I could for the first 3 months, living out of a rucksack and “sleeping” in a recliner next to her bed. I was a combat medic in the Army, so I was able to care for her much better than most people. On 9/5/18, I was at work and got a call from the hospital that she had taken a bad turn and I needed to get there ASAP. I thought it was a false alarm as she had given us before, but she had been in bad shape for about a week after hitting a 106.8 temp in the nursing home, which is why she was back in the hospital. When I got there, I found out that it was no false alarm. About 2 hours later, as the first line of this song goes, I held her hand while stroking her hair and face while telling her how much I loved her, until she slipped away. She was my absolute soulmate and best friend. We met when we were teens, drifted apart because of me joining the Army, and found each other again years later. We were together 17 years and married just short of 16 years. Every line of this song was spot on and I stood in my kitchen yesterday morning on Mother’s Day listening to this and cried as hard as I did when I lost her.
Robert Dickson
🤟 🎸 ❤️ Sorry for your loss peace brother
Roger Ramjet
heavens......thankyou for sharing.....hugs and peace.
Charlene C Timuss
so sorry for your loss... :(
Aimee Buettner
Oh man. Crying for you and with you. So sorry.
LoveABun
Big Daddy71 Bless you for staying by her side and showing her so much love and patience throughout her ordeal. Life is so fleeting. Women need men like you who honor their vows and stay committed through thick and thin, sickness and in health. Thank you for sharing your story... and thank you for your service to our country. ❤️
Smashing Stone Studio
Thank you Def Leppard for this beautiful song.🤍
Patricia Gurney
I've been enjoying Def Leppard since I was 14. I am now 54. I can never get enough of there music. I have memories that their songs take me back. I'm your dedicated fan for life. Congratulations, a well deserved induction to Hall of Fame. Your win was personal for me and it brought tears of joy. I hope to have the pleasure of meeting the band. Keep doing what you do Def Leppard. We're going to be around many, many more years. Love you guys. May God bless you and always keep you safe. Hugs.