Songfacts®:

• This is the first single from No Guts. No Glory, the second album by Australian pub rock band Airbourne.
• Frontman Joel O'Keeffe wrote this song, which deals with the difficulties the band encountered before making the big time. Rhythm guitarist David Roads explained to the French metal webzine Auxportesdumetal.com: "Joel wrote this song, that's inspired by our experience when we went to Melbourne, before we had a manager. We were ready to give some show in pubs even if we didn't get paid for that because we were happy to be on the bill. We lived on welfare, that's what we call 'the doll'. 'No Way But A Hard Way' get used to it."
• The song's music video features scenes of the band in the offices of Dinosaur Records smashing up the furniture and playing on the roof. Roads told Auxportesdumetal.com: "The original concept was to smash it up an hotel but no, that's too rock star. Let's might take a record label. I guess it's probably more in the vein of record labels in the ideas, labels are big powerful monsters. Thousands of bands who send their demos and they put it in a box. F--k you, let's smash it up & rock n' roll !"