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Iron Maiden - 2 A.M.
Iron Maiden - 2 A.M.


Iron Maiden - 2 A.M. Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: The X Factor
Released: 1995

2 A.M. Lyrics


I get in from work at 2a.m.
And sit down with a beer
Turn on the late night t.v.
And then wonder why I'm here
It's meaningless and trivial
And it washes over me
And once again I wonder
Is this all there is for me

Here I am again
Look at me again
Here I am again
On my own
Trying hard to see
What there is for me
Here I am again
On my own

Life seems so pathetic
I wish I could live it all behind
This canvas chair, this bed,
These walls that fall in on my mind
Hold on for something better
That just drags you trough the dirt
Do you just let go or carry on
And try to take the hurt

Writer/s: BAYLEY COOKE, JANICK GERS, STEPHEN PERCY HARRIS
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

2 A.M.
  • Written by Blaze Bayley, Jannick Gers and Steve Harris, this song has very pessimistic lyrics which are referring to a man who is living alone with nothing better to do with his life and no hope for the future.
  • Around 1993 Steve Harris got a divorce from his wife Lorraine and in an interview with Greek Metal Hammer Magazine said he was not having the best days of his life, both because Bruce Dickinson left the band and his personal problems with his family. So,it's easy to say the song presents the psychological situation that Harris had at that period of his life.

  • Iron Maiden - Remember Tomorrow
    Iron Maiden - Remember Tomorrow


    Iron Maiden - Remember Tomorrow Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Iron Maiden
    Released: 1980

    Remember Tomorrow Lyrics


    Unchain the colors before my eyes,
    Yesterday's sorrows, tomorrow's white lies.
    Scan the horizon, the clouds take me higher,
    I shall return from out of fire.

    Tears for remembrance, and tears for joy,
    Tears for somebody and this lonely boy.
    Out in the madness, the all seeing eye,
    Flickers above us, to light up the sky.

    Unchain the colours before my eyes,
    Yesterday's sorrows, tomorrow's white lies.
    Scan the horizon, the clouds take me higher,
    I shall return from out of fire.

    Writer/s: ANDREWS, PAUL / HARRIS, STEPHEN PERCY
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Remember Tomorrow
  • Written by bassist Steve Harris and lead singer Paul Di'Anno, this was Iron Maiden's first low-mid tempo ballad ever released, and it appeared on their debut album. It's a marked change from most power ballads witnessed on many other Iron Maiden songs such as "Revelations," "Hallowed Be Thy Name" and "Fear of the Dark."
  • According to Paul Di'Anno, the title and concept of this song came from his grandfather. Di'Anno told us : "I lost him in 1980, when I was on tour. He was a diabetic. They cut off his toe and his heel, then he lost his leg from the knee down, and he just sort of gave up.

    'Remember Tomorrow,' that is what he always used to say - that was his little catch phrase. 'You never know what is going to happen, remember tomorrow, it might be a better day.'"

  • Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name
    Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name


    Iron Maiden - Hallowed Be Thy Name Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Number Of The Beast
    Released: 1982

    Hallowed Be Thy Name Lyrics


    I'm waiting in my cold cell when the bell begins to chime
    Reflecting on my past life and it doesn't have much time
    Cause at 5 o'clock, they take me to the Gallows Pole
    The sands of time for me are running low, yeah

    When the priest comes to read me the last rites
    I take a look through the bars at the last sights
    Of a world that has gone very wrong for me

    Can it be that there's some sort of error
    Hard to stop the surmounting terror
    Is it really the end, not some crazy dream?

    Somebody please tell me that I'm dreaming
    It's not easy to stop from screaming
    The words escape me when I try to speak
    Tears flow, but why am I crying
    After all I'm not afraid of dying
    Don't I believe that there never is an end

    As the guards march me out to the courtyard
    Somebody cries from a cell God be with you
    If there's a God then why has he let me go?

    As I walk all my life drifts before me
    And though the end is near I'm not sorry
    Catch my soul, it's willing to fly away

    Mark my words, believe my soul lives on
    Don't worry now that I have gone
    I've gone beyond to seek the truth

    When you know that your time is close at hand
    Maybe then you'll begin to understand
    Life down here is just a strange illusion

    Yeah Hallowed Be Thy Name
    Yeah hallowed by thy name
    Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, ooh

    Writer/s: HARRIS, STEPHEN PERCY
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Hallowed Be Thy Name
  • This song is about a man who is on death row and about to be executed, it is from the perspective of that man.
  • This song has been covered by Iced Earth and Cradle of Filth.
  • The live version of this song off of A Real Dead One was released as a single in 1993 after Bruce Dickinson announced he was leaving the band. The single's cover shows Eddie as Satan stabbing Bruce to death with a triton. Killing the departing vocalist in album art was an idea that was also used on the cover of Maiden Japan in 1981 (with Eddie holding Paul Di'Anno 's severed head), as well as in the video of Bruce's farewell concert with the band, "Raising Hell," where horror illusionist Simon Drake appears to impale Bruce to death in an iron maiden torture device.

  • Iron Maiden - The Evil That Men Do
    Iron Maiden - The Evil That Men Do


    Iron Maiden - The Evil That Men Do Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
    Released: 1988

    The Evil That Men Do Lyrics


    Love is a razor and I walked the line on that silver blade
    Slept in the dust with his daughter,
    Her eyes red with the slaughter of innocence
    But I will pray for her, I will call her name out loud
    I would bleed for her, if I could only see her now
    Living on a razor's edge, balancing on a ledge
    Living on a razor's edge, balancing on a ledge
    Balancing on a ledge, living on a razor's edge
    Balancing on a ledge, you know, you know

    The Evil That Men Do lives on and on
    The evil that men do lives on and on
    The evil that men do lives on and on
    The evil that men do lives on and on

    Circle of fire my baptism of joy at an end it seems
    The seventh lamb slain, the book of life opens before me
    And I will pray for you, someday I may return
    Don't you cry for me, beyond is where I learn

    Living on a razor's edge, balancing on a ledge
    Living on a razor's edge, you know, you know

    The evil that men do lives on and on
    The evil that men do lives on and on
    The evil that men do lives on and on
    The evil that men do lives on and on

    Living on a razor's edge, balancing on a ledge
    Living on a razor's edge, you know

    The evil that men do lives on and on
    The evil that men do lives on and on, yeah
    The evil that men do lives on and on
    The evil that men do lives on and on
    The evil, the evil that men do
    The evil, the evil, the evil that men do

    Writer/s: SMITH, ADRIAN FREDERICK / DICKINSON, BRUCE / HARRIS, STEPHEN PERCY
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    The Evil That Men Do
  • This song is based on a quote from William Shakespeare's tragedy Julius Caesar: "The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred with their bones." Bruce Dickinson says this sometimes before performing the song live, but with the quote slightly reversed.

  • Iron Maiden - Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
    Iron Maiden - Rime Of The Ancient Mariner


    Iron Maiden - Rime Of The Ancient Mariner Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Powerslave
    Released: 1984

    Rime Of The Ancient Mariner Lyrics


    Hear the Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
    See his eye as he stops one of three
    Mesmerizes one of the wedding guests
    Stay here and listen to the nightmares of the sea.

    And the music plays on, as the bride passes by
    Caught by his spell and the mariner tells his tale.

    Driven south to the land of the snow and ice
    To a place where nobody's been
    Through the snow fog flies on the albatross
    Hailed in God's name, hoping good luck it brings.

    And the ship sails on, back to the North
    Through the fog and ice and the albatross follows on.

    The mariner kills the bird of good omen
    His shipmates cry against what he's done
    But when the fog clears, they justify him
    And make themselves a part of the crime.

    Sailing on and on and north across the sea
    Sailing on and on and north 'til all is calm.

    The albatross begins with its vengeance
    A terrible curse a thirst has begun
    His shipmates blame bad luck on the mariner
    About his neck, the dead bird is hung.

    And the curse goes on and on at sea
    And the curse goes on and on for them and me.

    "Day after day, day after day,
    we stuck nor breath nor motion
    as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean
    Water, water everywhere and
    all the boards did shrink
    Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink."

    There calls the mariner
    There comes a ship over the line
    BUt how can she sail with no wind in her sails and no tide.

    See...onward she comes
    Onward she nears out of the sun
    See, she has no crew
    She has no life, wait but here's two.

    Death and she Life in Death,
    They throw their dice for the crew
    She wins the mariner and he belongs to her now.
    Then, crew one by one
    they drop down dead, two hundred men
    She, she, Life in Death.
    She lets him live, her chosen one.

    "One after one by the star dogged moon,
    too quick for groan or sigh
    each turned his face with a ghastly pang
    and cursed me with his eye
    four times fifty living men
    (and I heard nor sigh nor groan)
    with heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
    they dropped down one by one."

    The curse it lives on in their eyes
    The mariner wished he'd die
    Along with the sea creatures
    But they lived on, so did he.

    and by the light of the moon
    He prays for their beauty not doom
    With heart he blesses them
    God's creatures all of them too.

    Then the spell starts to break
    The albatross falls from his neck
    Sinks down like lead into the sea
    Then down in falls comes the rain.

    Hear the groans of the long dead seamen
    See them stir and they start to rise
    Bodies lifted by good spirits
    None of them speak and they're lifeless in their eyes

    And revenge is still sought, penance starts again
    Cast into a trance and the nightmare carries on.

    Now the curse is finally lifted
    And the mariner sights his home
    spirits go fromhe long dead bodies
    Form their own light and the mariner's left alone.

    And then a boat came sailing towards him
    It was a joy he could not believe
    The pilot's boat, his son and the hermit,
    Penance of life will fall onto him.

    And the ship sinks like lead into the sea
    And the hermit shrives the mariner of his sins.

    The mariner's bound to tell of his story
    To tell this tale wherever he goes
    To teach God's word by his own example
    That we must love all things that God made.

    And the wedding guest's a sad and wiser man
    And the tale goes on and on and on.

    Writer/s: HARRIS, STEPHEN PERCY
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
  • This was inspired by and based on the 1797 poem of the same name by Romantic poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), a contemporary of William Wordsworth and William Blake (whose work was the inspiration and basis of Bruce Dickinson's solo album The Chemical Wedding). In the poem, the captain (The Ancient Mariner) tells the story of how his ship was driven south by storms and the strange happenings that followed. The moral of the story is that "we should love all creatures created by God."

  • Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dar
    Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dark


    Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dark Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Fear Of The Dark
    Released: 1992

    Fear Of The Dark Lyrics


    I am a man who walks alone
    And when I'm walking a dark road
    At night or strolling through the park

    When the light begins to change
    I sometimes feel a little strange
    A little anxious when it's dark

    Fear Of The Dark, fear of the dark
    I have constant fear that something's
    Always near
    Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
    I have a phobia that someone's
    Always there

    Have you run your fingers down
    The wall
    And have you felt your neck skin crawl
    When you're searching for the light?
    Sometimes when you're scared
    To take a look
    At the corner of the room
    You've sensed that something's
    Watching you

    Have you ever been alone at night
    Thought you heard footsteps behind
    And turned around and no one's there?
    And as you quicken up your pace
    You find it hard to look again
    Because you're sure there's
    Someone there

    Watching horror films the night before
    Debating witches and folklore's
    The unknown troubles on your mind
    Maybe your mind is playing tricks
    You sense, and suddenly eyes fix
    On dancing shadows from behind

    Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
    I have constant fear that something's
    Always near
    Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
    I have a phobia that someone's
    Always there

    When I'm walking a dark road
    I am a man who walks alone

    Writer/s: HARRIS, STEPHEN PERCY
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Fear Of The Dark
  • This song is about a paranoid man who constantly fears that there's someone or something about to spring out at him from the dark as a result of watching horror films and studying the occult. Themes like this appear on much of Maiden's cover art (see: "Sanctuary," "Women in Uniform," "Iron Maiden," "Bring Your Daughter To The Slaughter" etc.).
  • The album, which many consider a vast improvement over Maiden's previous album, No Prayer For the Dying, debuted on the UK charts at #1.
  • Three tracks off the album were released as singles. "Be Quick or Be Dead" charted highest, at #2.
  • Until Brave New World was released in 2000, this was the last Iron Maiden album to feature Bruce Dickinson as lead vocalist.
  • The album was Maiden's first that featured cover art not designed by Derek Riggs, but instead by Melvyn Grant. Riggs apparently designed some cover art, but it was rejected in favor of Grant's, so the D/R symbol is nowhere to be found. The cover art is rather popular and depicts a tree spirit called a driad. Shock-rocker Marilyn Manson once attempted to draw it himself.
  • Nyctophobia is the scientific term for the fear of the dark. It is very frequently seen among infants and many adults.
  • This song appears in the Iron Maiden computer game Ed Hunter. It plays during Level 4, Graveyard.
  • Some consider this a sequel to "Murders in the Rue Morgue" and "Innocent Exile," which also deal with a paranoid and nervous man. In those songs, he was on the run from the law after being falsely accused of murder.
  • The 1992 "Fear of the Dark" tour included the band headlining at the Monsters of Rock festival thrown at Castle Donnington (for the second time). The concert was recorded and released as the album Iron Maiden Live at Donnington, which since has gone out of print and become very hard to find.
  • This runs 7:16.
  • Kerrang! magazine, while interviewing singer Bruce Dickinson, quoted the Iron Maiden biography Run To The Hills, in which Steve Harris professed that Bruce "made very little effort" on the Fear of the Dark Tour. Bruce's response: "I've got my version of events and he's got his. It all comes down to how you see the world. For Steve, Maiden's more important than anything. To me, there are some things that are more important than the band I'm in. I didn't know it was going to be that much of a big deal when I left, but as soon as I walked out onstage and looked at the audience I thought 'Sh**! If I run around grinning like a fool, the audience is going to think, "What a wanker! If he's so happy, why is he leaving?".' And if I wander around looking miserable as sin, they'll wonder why they paid £20 for a ticket to see this tosser. I was stuffed. Some nights the audience was hostile. It was like doing a gig at a wake! Some nights I enjoyed it, but on others I was thinking, 'I wish I wasn't here!'. The moment I left Maiden I made a deal with myself that I wouldn't do anything that I didn't believe in ever again. Steve and myself always used to clash. He wanted to fire me after the first month of the 'Number Of The Beast' tour - because I kept getting in his way onstage! I had an extra six inches added to the base of my microphone stand so I could trip the bastard up! I got fed up of him standing in front of me when I was singing. I got all these chips in my teeth where he used to elbow me. After a gig in Newcastle in '82 we were going to go outside, sleeves rolled up. But we learned to live with each other. And if Steve hadn't had that personality, Maiden would never have existed."
  • Because many fans had scorned No Prayer for the Dying and Fear of the Dark as inferior Maiden albums, Bruce Dickinson was asked in an interview: "I assume you're much happier now than in the last few albums from Iron Maiden?" His response: "Oh, I'm not going to go anywhere and start making comments on Maiden and stuff. There's too much respect between the guys in Maiden and me and me and the guys in Maiden. I don't go there." He did, however, admit that he tried to do a different sound in his solo albums and was pleased with the result. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for all above)

  • Iron Maiden - Tailgunne
    Iron Maiden - Tailgunner


    Iron Maiden - Tailgunner Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: No Prayer For the Dying
    Released: 1990

    Tailgunner Lyrics


    Trace your way back 50 years
    To the glow of Dresden, blood and tears
    In the black above by the cruel searchlight
    Men will die and men will fight, yeah|
    Who shot who and who fired first?
    Dripping death to whet the blood thirst
    No radar lock on, skin and bone
    The bomber boys are going home

    [Chorus: x2]
    Climb into the sky never wonder why, Tailgunner
    You're a tailgunner

    Nail that fucker kill that son.
    Gonna blow your guts out with my gun
    The weather forecast's good for war
    Cologne and Frankfurt? Have some more|
    Tail end Charlie in the boiling sky
    The Enola Gay was my last try
    Now that this Tailgunner's gone
    No more bombers (just one big bomb)

    [Chorus]

    Writer/s: DICKINSON, BRUCE / HARRIS, STEPHEN PERCY
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Tailgunner
  • A sequel to Maiden's 1984 song "Aces High." It depicts the battle from another perspective. It was co-written by Bruce Dickinson and Steve Harris.
  • Contains the harshest profanity Iron Maiden has ever used in their song lyrics- the F-word.
  • Bruce Dickinson: "The title came from a porno movie about anal sex. Then I thought, well I can't write the lyrics about that, so I write it about real tailgunners. I had some words which began 'Trace your way back fifty years, to the glow of Dresden, blood and tears.' I know we shouldn't mention the war but it's about the attitude of bombing people. It was real death in the skies back then. But there aren't any tailgunners on planes anymore, it's all done by computers using missiles. At least it used to be man-on-man, but now it's machine-on-machine. Who uses bullets anymore?"
  • The first track off the album, it featured Dickinson imitating former vocalist Paul Di'Anno 's raspy singing style.
  • Dickinson sang the word "Fokker" (a plane term) in a way that sounded very similar to the popular expletive.
  • For the album that accompanied the release of the Iron Maiden computer game Ed Hunter, "Tailgunner," appropriately enough, was the last track- at the tail end. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for all above)

  • Iron Maiden - Sanctuar
    Iron Maiden - Sanctuary


    Iron Maiden - Sanctuary Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Iron Maiden
    Released: 1980

    Sanctuary Lyrics


    Out of the winter came a war horse of steel
    I've never killed a woman before, but I know how it feels
    I know you'd have gone insane if you saw what I saw
    So now I've got to look for Sanctuary from the law

    I met up with a stranger last night to keep me alive
    He spends all his money on gambling and guns to survive
    I know you'd gone insane if you saw what I saw
    So now I've got to look for Sanctuary from the law

    So give me sanctuary from the law and I'll be alright
    Just give me sanctuary from the law and love me tonight, tonight
    I know you'd have gone insane if you saw what I saw
    So now I've got to look for sanctuary from the law
    So give me sanctuary from the law and I'll be alright
    Just give me sanctuary from the law and love me tonight, tonight

    I can laugh at the wind, I can howl at the rain.
    Down in the canyon or out in the plain.

    I know you'd have gone insane if you saw what I saw
    So now I've got to look for sanctuary from the law

    So give me sanctuary from the law and I'll be alright
    Just give me sanctuary from the law and love me tonight, tonight

    Writer/s: HANSON, CHRISTOPHER / DEDMAN, GARY / ANDREWS, KEVIN / HARRIS, PAUL / HURR, JAMES
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Sanctuary
  • About a fugitive who needs "Sanctuary from the law." This is also the theme of Maiden songs like "Running Free," "Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Fugitive" and "Innocent Exile."
  • The only song from Iron Maiden's debut album released as a single.
  • First appeared on a 1979 compilation album called Metal for Muthas along with another Maiden song, "Wrathchild."
  • The single was a far better quality version of the song than that included on the album. It was the band's second single after "Running Free." The cover art of "Running Free" introduced the shock-haired, skeletal zombie known as Eddie, and the cover art for this song depicted him killing Margaret Thatcher, who was known as the "Iron Maiden." On the cover, she had been tearing down an "Iron Maiden- Live" poster off a wall before Eddie drew his knife and did the deed. The cover art for the single was actually the first installation of a story which was continued in the cover art of the next two singles. On the cover for "Women in Uniform," Margaret Thatcher is alive again, dressed as a soldier and carrying a gun. She has torn down another Iron Maiden poster and is waiting for Eddie, who is just around the corner with two young girls. On the cover art for "Twilight Zone," Eddie is a ghost attacking a girl in her bedroom.
  • Most of the singles had a black bar over the face of Margaret Thatcher as a response to controversy over it. According to Derek Riggs, who designed the cover, "the 'flak'... was invented by the band's management. They 'banned' it and they put the black square over her face and then they showed it to the press and cried 'censorship,' but there really wasn't any. The flak was all imaginary and self-generated for publicity. It's an old trick and it nearly always sells records... go and ask all the rappers who swear on their records all the time, if it depressed the record sales they would soon stop doing it." He also claims that the cover art was inspired by the lyric "Never killed a woman but I know how it feels," and remarks dryly, "Lovely state of mind..."
  • This was kept off the UK/European version of Iron Maiden until it was re-released in 1998.
  • Contained a startlingly realistic sound effect of a police siren, which appeared midway through the song. It was missing from Metal for Muthas.
  • Dennis Stratton (then the band's guitarist) performed a slightly different solo on the Iron Maiden version of this song than on the Metal for Muthas one.
  • There is an Iron Maiden tribute band from New York City called Sanctuary. Their logo uses the same font ("Metal Lord") as Maiden, and perform many songs from the Bruce Dickinson ("golden") era.
  • This was covered by Abattoir and included on the album Call to Irons II. The album is a tribute to Iron Maiden.
  • "Sanctuary" is also the name of a Madonna song. The band hates Madonna. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for all above)

  • Iron Maiden - Iron Maide
    Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden


    Iron Maiden - Iron Maiden Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Iron Maiden
    Released: 1980

    Iron Maiden Lyrics


    Won't you come into my room, I want to show you all my wares.
    I just want to see your blood, I just want to stand and stare.
    See the blood begin to flow as it falls upon the floor.
    Iron Maiden can't be fought, Iron Maiden can't be sought.

    [Chorus]
    Oh Well, wherever, wherever you are,
    Iron Maiden's gonna get you, no matter how far.
    See the blood flow watching it shed up above my head.
    Iron Maiden wants you for dead.

    Won't you come into my room, I want to show you all my wares.
    I just want to see your blood, I just want to stand and stare.
    See the blood begin to flow as it falls upon the floor.
    Iron Maiden can't be fought, Iron Maiden can't be sought.

    Writer/s: BARCLAY JAMES HARVEST
    Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Iron Maiden
  • This became the band's trademark song and a concert favorite. They would typically close out their sets with it before returning for an encore.
  • The original demo of this song appeared on the raw tapes played at the Soundhouse, a metal club in London, when the band was just starting out. The demo was eventually released as an EP called The Soundhouse Tapes, but the song was re-recorded for their debut album.
  • The song is about the medieval torture device of the same name. It was a specifically shaped iron coffin that resembled a sarcophagus. The door was imbedded with long spikes. It was held vertically so the victim could be placed inside, and the door slammed shut under its own massive weight. The victim was skewered, as well as crushed. Steve Harris, who started the band, first saw the Maiden in an old film adaptation of The Man In The Iron Mask.
  • Maiden mainstay Steve Harris said of this song: "It's quite simple. The bass line is fairly straight forward as is the drumming. But the guitar is over the top with harmony, and the bass is descending behind it. I think this makes it pretty special."
  • Will Malone was the producer for the album, although the production was done primarily by the band and the recording engineer.
  • Derek Riggs designed the cover art, which depicted a shock-haired, skeletal zombie in an alley. When the album was re-mastered in 1998, a slightly edited version of the cover was used. It was darker, both colour-wise (it looked shadier) and emotionally (the zombie looked far less cartoonish and more horrific). Riggs slipped his logo- the symbol which features a reflected D and a right-hand R (his initials)- into the cover art. It appears on the second brick from the left, six rows down, on the shadier half of the wall. Also, a wastebasket on a street lamp by the wall reappeared on the cover art for Somewhere in Time, next to Eddie's left leg.
  • Only one song from the album was released as a single, "Sanctuary," and it was exclusively in the UK. Paul Di'Anno , who was the vocalist at the time of this album's release, was far less popular than Bruce Dickinson, whose air-raid siren voice was far more well received that Di'Anno's grittier singing. (Ironically, Bruce tried a grittier style in albums like No Prayer for the Dying).
  • The album was recorded in December 1979, and released on April 11, 1980. "Iron Maiden" was the last track.
  • The guitar riff was a heavy influence on their later, and far more successful song, "Aces High."
  • Steve Harris thought "Iron Maiden" could also be a description of a cold-blooded woman (Indeed, Margaret Thatcher's nickname was "Iron Maiden," she appeared on some single covers). The song describes such a damsel, who seduces men into her bedroom to show off her "wares" (torture devices) and proceeds to kill them in an Iron Maiden.
  • There is an all-female Los Angeles tribute band called the Iron Maidens, who have actually met the band and have a female Eddie as their mascot. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for all above)
  • The Heavy Metal band Trivium covered this in 2008. It was included as a bonus track on their Shogun album. (thanks, Nick - Cairns, Australia)

  • Iron Maiden - Lord Of The Flie
    Iron Maiden - Lord Of The Flies


    Iron Maiden - Lord Of The Flies Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: The X Factor
    Released: 1995

    Lord Of The Flies Lyrics


    I don't care for this world anymore
    I just want to live my own fantasy
    Fate has brought us to these shores
    What was meant to be is now happening

    I've found that I like this living in danger
    Living on edge it makes feel as one
    Who cares now what's right or wrong,
    It's reality
    Killing so we survive
    Wherever we may roam
    Wherever we may hide
    We've got to get away

    I don't want existence to end
    We must prepare ourselves for the elements
    I just want to feel like we're strong
    We don't need a code of morality

    I like all the mixed emotion and anger
    It brings out the animal the power you can feel
    And feeling so high on this much adrenalin
    Excited but scary to believe what we've become

    Saints and sinners
    Something within us
    We are lord of flies

    Saints and sinners
    Something willing us
    To be Lord Of The Flies

    Writer/s: GERS, JANICK / HARRIS, STEPHEN PERCY
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Lord Of The Flies
  • This was inspired by the novel Lord Of The Flies by William Golding, which was made into two movies: one in 1963 and one in 1990 (neither were great critical successes). It's about a group of boys who are shipwrecked and begin embracing their primal side. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada)
  • Lord Of The Flies is the literal translation of the Greek word Beezelbub. In the Bible, Beezelbub is the name given for Satan by Jesus (this occurs in the episode where he casts demons out of a crazy man and into a pig. There's also a line in there from which Lincoln derived his phrase about the Civil War- a house divided upon itself can not stand). While most songs dealing with Golding's novel deal with the more good guy characters in the novel - Ralph and Piggy, or with the kinda psychic kid (Simon) who actually talks to the beast, this song is unique in that it's told from the point of view of the most savage boys - Jack and his crew. It's kind of like The Rolling Stones' Sympathy For The Devil in that it's a sort of exoneration for evil behavior, and cautions that everyone is called to be evil. (thanks, Jackie - Dallas, TX)
  • This is the most guitar-driven song on the album.
  • The artwork on the single depicted Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie as literally a lord of the flies. He sits, dressed as a monarch, on an electric chair (serving as a throne) with a swarm of flies around him.
  • The two songs on the B-side were a cover of the Who's "My Generation" and a cover of UFO's "Doctor, Doctor." (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for above 3)

  • Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh So
    Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son


    Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
    Released: 1988

    Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son Lyrics


    Here they stand brothers them all
    All the sons divided they'd fall
    Here await the birth of the son
    The seventh, the heavenly, the chosen one

    Here the birth from an unbroken line
    Born the healer the seventh, his time
    Unknowingly blessed and as his life unfolds
    Slowly unveiling the power he holds

    Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
    Seventh son of a seventh son
    Seventh son of a seventh son

    Then they watch the progress he makes
    The Good and the Evil which path will he take
    Both of them trying to manipulate
    The use of his powers before it's too late

    Seventh son of a seventh son
    Seventh son of a seventh son
    Seventh son of a seventh son

    Today is born the seventh one
    Born of woman the seventh son
    And he in turn of a seventh son
    He has the power to heal
    He has the gift of the second sight
    He is the chosen one
    So it shall be written
    So it shall be done

    Writer/s: HARRIS, STEPHEN PERCY
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
  • Running This runs 9:53, this song was inspired by a series of science fiction novels by Orson Scott Card. They are about Alvin Maker, the seventh son of a seventh son (the first book in the series is called Seventh Son), who is born with second sight and the ability to use "folk magic" in an alternate reality. The song describes how his birth was eagerly anticipated by his siblings and how the forces of good and evil struggled over him.
  • The album was a "concept album" and dealt with the life of the "seventh son." For instance, "The Clairvoyant" is about him coming to terms with his powers and learning to control them, "The Prophecy" is about him trying to get people to believe him and "Moonchild" is about "the Unmaker of all things" trying to prevent his birth. Four songs from the album became Top 10 singles in the UK.
  • Derek Riggs, who designed the cover art for most Iron Maiden albums, depicted a skeletal upper torso hovering over water in an arctic region with UFO-like objects in the sky. He also displayed his trademark in the water, a unique symbol which depicts his initials with a mirrored D and an R on the right hand side. It is hidden in a subtle place on most of the albums, usually near Maiden's mascot, Eddie.
  • Seven is the Hebrew and Biblical number of perfection. In ancient legend, the seventh son of a seventh son will have extraordinary powers, including magical healing skills.
  • This was the band's seventh studio album. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for all above)
  • According to the mythology about the "seventh son of a seventh son," Septamus is supposed to be the Christian name of such a child. When Kerrang! magazine gave lead singer Bruce Dickinson a quiz that included the question "Which Christian name are you traditionally supposed to give to a seventh son of a seventh son?" his answer was "Steve." He ultimately scored 16 out of 25, although Kerrang! gave him "A slap on the wrist for not knowing the 'seventh son of a seventh son' one!" (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for all above)

  • Iron Maiden - Hooks In Yo
    Iron Maiden - Hooks In You


    Iron Maiden - Hooks In You Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: No Prayer For The Dying
    Released: 1990

    Hooks In You Lyrics


    I got the keys to view at number 22
    Behind my green door there's nothing to see
    Stone cold sober and sitting in silence, laid
    Back and looking for sympathy
    I like a girl who knows where she's bound
    I don't like girls who've been hanging around

    [Chorus]
    Hooks In You, hooks in me, hooks in the ceiling
    For that well hung feeling
    No big deal, no big sin, strung up on love I
    Got the hooks screwed in

    [Chorus]

    She's tied up she can't come to the phone
    You must have got your wires crossed 'cause she ain't home
    Knock on wood, you know I like that sound
    She never could keep her feet on the ground

    [Chorus]

    Right on the money got it wrapped up tight
    New ideas for the decor tonight
    Gonna make this house a preservation zone
    Gonna set her in concrete set her up on her own

    Writer/s: DICKINSON, SMITH
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Hooks In You
  • This is part of "The Charlotte saga," a series of songs about a prostitute. It's the sequel to "Charlotte the Harlot" and "22 Acacia Avenue." The song's narrator acknowledges her residence as being at "number 22," so we know the girl in the song is Charlotte.
  • Co-written by band members Adrian Smith and Bruce Dickinson. Although this is the only song on No Prayer for the Dying that Smith had any hand in composing, he didn't play on it.
  • Bruce Dickinson: "'Hooks In You' is a slightly tongue-in-cheek thing. Me and Paddy (his wife) went to look at a house to buy, and it was lived in by three gay guys. We looked around and it had all these beams, and one of the guys was obviously into S&M and leather and stuff, and in one room there were these enormous industrial hooks screwed into the beams. My mind boggled at what they could be used for. I went home and wrote 'Hooks In You' with the line 'All the hooks in the ceiling, that well hung feeling.' I couldn't write it about gay guys, but what if you went round to the house of Mr. and Mrs. Average you found all these hooks in the ceiling? What do THEY get up to? (when asked if he bought the house) No, we didn't! At the end of the song the guy thinks his wife has been unfaithful and sets her in concrete in the foundations." (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for all above)

  • Iron Maiden - The Phantom of the Oper
    Iron Maiden - The Phantom of the Opera


    Iron Maiden - The Phantom of the Opera Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Iron Maiden
    Released: 1980

    The Phantom of the Opera Lyrics


    I've been looking so long for you now you won't get away from my grasp.
    You've been living so long in hiding in hiding behind that false mask.
    And you know and I know that you ain't got long now to last.
    Your looks and your feelings are just the remains of your past.

    You're standing in the wings, there you wait for the curtain to fall.
    Knowing the terror and holding you have on us all.
    Yeah, I know that you're gonna scratch me, maim me and maul.
    You know I'm helpless from your mesmerizing cat call.

    Keep your distance, walk away, don't take his bait.
    Don't you stray, don't fade away.
    Watch your step, he's out to get you, come what may.
    Don't you stray, from the narrow way.

    I'm running and hiding in my dreams you're always there.
    You're The Phantom of the Opera, you're the devil, you're just out to scare.
    You damaged my mind and my soul it just floats through the air.
    Haunt me, you taunt me, you torture me back at your lair.

    Writer/s: HARRIS, STEPHEN PERCY
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    The Phantom of the Opera
  • Running 7:22, this song was inspired by the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux which was later turned into a popular musical adaptation for the stage and screen.
  • Bass player Steve Harris, who wrote this song, explained: "This is a very long song that was done in sections. The middle part was totally separate but it fit in very well. It felt right to go from the slow part into the middle section. Phantom is one of the best pieces I've ever written, and certainly one of the most enjoyable to play. It's got all these intricate guitar lines which keep it interesting. Then there's the slow middle part which creates quite a good mood. It's also got fast heavy parts which are really rockin'. And it's also got areas for crowd participation. It pretty much covers all the bases for the band. It was also a good example of what I wanted to get across."
  • Derek Riggs, yet again, hid his logo (his stylized initials) into some Maiden cover art. In this case, it's depicted clearly near the bottom of the stone in which the organ is imbedded, directly across from the Phantom Eddie's ankle/knee. Eddie is Iron Maiden's mascot.
  • On the back of the Somewhere in Time album, there is a "Phantom Opera House."
  • New Eden covered this for the 1998 compilation A Call to Irons: A Tribute to Iron Maiden.
  • In the Iron Maiden computer game Ed Hunter, this plays during Level 1, London. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for all above)

  • Iron Maiden - Powerslav
    Iron Maiden - Powerslave


    Iron Maiden - Powerslave Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Powerslave
    Released: 1984

    Powerslave Lyrics


    Into the abyss I'll fall-the eye of Horus
    Into the eyes of the night-watching me go
    Green is the cat's eye that glows-in this temple
    Enter the risen Osiris-risen again.

    [Chorus]
    Tell me why I had to be a power slave
    I don't want to die, I'm a god, why can't I live on?
    When the Life Giver dies, all around is laid to waste.
    And in my last hour,
    I'm a slave to the power of death.

    When I was living this lie-fear was my game
    People would worship and fall-drop to their knees
    So bring me the blood and red wine for the one to succeed me
    For he is a man and a god-and he will die too.

    [Chorus]

    Now I am cold but a ghost lives in my veins,
    Silent the terror that reigned-marbled in stone
    Shell of a man God preserved-a thousand ages
    But open the gates of my hell-I will strike from the grave.

    [Chorus]

    Writer/s: DICKINSON, BRUCE
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Powerslave
  • This is about an arrogant Pharaoh in his dying hours. Because he's been raised to think he's a god, he can't understand why he's about to die and fights it in vain. He also feels overwhelmed by the power of death, and thinks sardonically about his heir. Just before he dies, he promises to return as a mummy.
  • The album cover shows a pyramid with a giant statue of the Pharaoh (reminiscent of the Sphinx), with the bands mascot Eddie as the Pharaoh. The artwork inside the album also carried this theme.
  • Lead singer Bruce Dickinson wrote this. He claims this is a sequel, or somehow linked to his previous song "Revelations."
  • The back of the album Somewhere in Time shows pyramids behind the city in a reference to this.
  • Cover art designer Derek Riggs once again slipped his logo into his artwork. His logo is a unique symbol which depicts his initials, a mirrored D and an R on the right hand side. In this case, it's right above the "entrance" to the pyramid (Eddie's crotch).
  • To capitalize on the album's European popularity, the band went on their famous "Slavery Tour." For the tour, a massive stage show was displayed with a twenty foot tall model of their mascot Eddie as one of the attractions. Eddie was raised at the end of the song "Iron Maiden." The stage show also featured creative light work and props. They began the Slavery Tour in Poland and performed behind the Iron Curtain (ironically enough) for more than three weeks.
  • The album was recorded in Nassau.
  • Darkane coverd this for the compilation album A Tribute to the Beast and Ancient for their album God Loves The Dead.
  • To capitalize on the album's European popularity, the band went on their famous "Slavery Tour." It was a spoof of the name of their previous tour, "World Piece Tour," which promoted the album Piece of Mind. For the tour, a massive stage show was displayed with a 20-foot tall model of their mascot Eddie as one of the attractions. Eddie was raised at the end of the song "Iron Maiden." The stage show also featured creative light work and props. They began the Slavery Tour in Poland and performed behind the Iron Curtain (ironically enough) for more than three weeks.
  • This appears in the Iron Maiden computer game Ed Hunter. It plays during Level 5, Pharaoh's Tomb. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for all above)

  • Iron Maiden - King Of Twiligh
    Iron Maiden - King Of Twilight


    Iron Maiden - King Of Twilight Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Eddie's Archive
    Released: 1984

    King Of Twilight Lyrics


    King Of Twilight
  • This was originally recorded by Nektar in 1972 for their album A Tab in the Ocean. Maiden's version was actually a mix of two of Nektar's songs, this and "Crying in the Dark." Because "King of Twilight" was more prominent, they also made it the title of the track. Steve Harris listened to Nektar a lot before starting Maiden.
  • This was used as the B-side to the single of "Aces High." (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada)

  • Iron Maiden - Murders In The Rue Morgu
    Iron Maiden - Murders In The Rue Morgue


    Iron Maiden - Murders In The Rue Morgue Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Killers
    Released: 1981

    Murders In The Rue Morgue Lyrics


    I remember it as plain as day
    Although it happened in the dark of the night.
    I was strolling through the streets of Paris
    And it was cold it was starting to rain.
    And then I heard a piercing scream
    And I rushed to the scene of the crime
    But all I found was the butchered remains
    Of two girls lay side by side.

    Murders In The Rue Morgue
    Someone call the Gendarmes
    Murders in the Rue Morgue
    Run before the killers go free

    There's some people coming down the street
    At last there's someone heard my call
    I can't understand why they're pointing at me
    I never done nothing at all.
    But I must have got some blood on my hands
    Because everyone's shouting at me
    I can't speak French so I couldn't explain
    And like a fool I started running away.

    Murders in the Rue Morgue
    Someone call the Gendarmes
    Murders in the Rue Morgue
    Am I ever gonna be free.

    And now I've gotta get away from the arms of the law.
    All France is looking for me.
    I've gotta find my way across the border for sure
    Down the south to Italy.

    Murders in the Rue Morgue
    Someone call the Gendarmes
    Murders in the Rue Morgue
    I'm never going home.

    Well I made it to the border at last
    But I can't erase the scene from my mind
    Anytime somebody stares at me, well
    I just start running blind
    Well I'm moving through the shadows at night
    Away from the staring eyes
    Any day they'll be looking for me
    'Cause I know I show the signs of...

    Murders in the Rue Morgue
    Running from the Gendarmes
    Murders in the Rue Morgue
    Running from the arms of the law

    Murders in the Rue Morgue
    Running from the Gendarmes
    Murders in the Rue Morgue
    Am I ever gonna be free

    It took so long and I'm getting so tired
    I'm running out of places to hide
    Should I return to the scene of the crime
    Where the two young victims died
    If I could go to somebody for help
    It'd get me out of trouble for sure
    But I know that it's on my mind
    That my doctor said I've done it before.

    Murders in the Rue Morgue
    They're never gonna find me
    Murders in the Rue Morgue
    I'm never going home.

    Writer/s: HARRIS, STEPHEN PERCY
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Murders In The Rue Morgue
  • This song was inspired by the short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe. They both describe the gruesome murder of two girls in Rue Morgue, Paris. In the song, an Englishman hears the girls being murdered, runs for the Rue Morgue, and finds their corpses. He gets blood on his hands, however, and when a crowd gathers everyone thinks he's guilty. He can't speak French, so he can't explain and becomes a fugitive from the law. He eventually leaves France to keep from being hunted, but is still so paranoid that simply being stared at makes him think he's recognized as a murderer. As a result, he never stops trying to escape the French police, no matter where he goes.
  • This was the first time Steve Harris performed the bass with a significant amount of harmonics.
  • Another track on the album, "Innocent Exile," is the continuing story of the fugitive in this song (Iron Maiden was into sequel songs; see "Charlotte the Harlot" and "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son"). The album itself had a running lyrical theme of death and murder (hence the title), and the cover art shows Eddie murdering someone clinging to him with an axe.
  • The band In Flames did a cover of this for the 1997 compilation album Made In Tribute - A Tribute to The Best Band In A Whole Goddamn World! (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for all above)

  • Iron Maiden - Genghis Kha
    Iron Maiden - Genghis Khan


    Iron Maiden - Genghis Khan Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Killers
    Released: 1981

    Genghis Khan Lyrics


    Genghis Khan
  • This is an instrumental song that expresses musically the fear, terror, apprehension, and feeling of being overwhelmed. It also "describes" the army's military power. Genghis Khan was a warrior who led the Mongolian empire.
  • Iron Maiden bass player Steve Harris, who wrote this song, explained: "This was another song where there could have been a vocal melody on top, but it felt good as an instrumental. A vocal would have cluttered it up. Originally it was written to depict the feeling and sound of Genghis Khan's army going into battle. It felt better not to have any guitar solos on this track."
  • This was released as the B-side to the single for "Purgatory." It is the lowest charting Maiden single to date, and only went as far as #52 in the UK charts.
  • The 1998 album A Call to Irons: A Tribute to Iron Maiden featured a cover of this by Angel Corpse.
  • This is one of four instrumental Iron Maiden songs the band has released. The others are "The Ides of March" (also Maiden's shortest song, at one minute and forty-four seconds), "Transylvania" (which was originally meant to have lyrics, but ultimately the band determined it sounded best as just instrumental) and "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" (the title is "Loss for words- big horror!" as pronounced in a Cockney accent). (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for all above)
  • In 1990 Iron Maiden released a series of CDs called The First Ten Years which contained commentary from their drummer Nicko McBrain in features called "Listen With Nicko." On one of these discs, Nicko said that this song was originally called "Jenkin's Barn." (thanks, Mike - Cumbria, England)
  • Papa Roach "borrowed" the guitar riff from this song in their hit "Last Resort."

  • Iron Maiden - Back In The Villag
    Iron Maiden - Back In The Village


    Iron Maiden - Back In The Village Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

    Album: Powerslave
    Released: 1984

    Back In The Village Lyrics


    Turn the spotlights on the people,
    Switch the dial and eat the worm.
    Take your chances, kill the engine,
    Drop your bombs and let it burn.

    White flags shot to ribbons,
    The truce is black and burned,
    Shellshock in the kitchen,
    Tables overturned.

    [Chorus]
    Back In The Village again,
    In the village.
    I'm back in the village again.

    Throwing dice now, rolling loaded,
    I see sixes all the way.
    In a black hole, and I'm spinning
    As my wings get shot away.

    No breaks on the inside,
    Paper cats and burning barns,
    There's a fox among the chickens,
    And a killer in the hounds.

    Questions are a burden
    And answers are a prison for oneself
    Shellshock in the kitchen
    Tables start to burn.

    [Chorus]

    But still we walk into the valley
    And others try to kill the inner flame
    We're burning brighter than before
    I don't have a number, I'M A NAME!

    [Chorus]

    Writer/s: DICKINSON, BRUCE / SMITH, ADRIAN FREDERICK
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Back In The Village
  • One of the band's musical adaptations of the old BBC television series, The Prisoner. "The Village" was the name of the prison in this Patrick McGoohan series. (thanks, Jeff - Haltom City, TX)
  • Layered over the line "I see sixes all the way" is a whisper, which is apparently singer Bruce Dickinson saying the number 666. It is a reference to the first album that featured Dickinson on vocals, The Number of the Beast.
  • Bruce Dickinson, a licensed pilot and airplane fan, inserted much pilot terminology in here (he did the same in "Aces High" and "Tailgunner"). For example: "Take your chances, kill the engine, drop your bombs and let them burn" and "In a black hole, and I'm spinning, as my wings get shot away." There is also the line "There's a fox among the chickens," which some have interpreted as a reference to guided missiles (a radar guided missile= "fox 1", infrared guided air to air missile= "fox 2", etc.) A Napalm missile is a "fox six", hence, "I see sixes all the way." (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for above 2)

  • Iron Maiden - To Tame A Lan
    Iron Maiden - To Tame A Land


    Iron Maiden - To Tame A Land Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

    Album: Piece Of Mind
    Released: 1983

    To Tame A Land Lyrics


    He is the king of all the land
    In the Kingdom of the sands
    Of a time tomorrow

    He rules the sand worms and the Fremen
    In a land amongst the stars
    Of an age tomorrow

    He is destined to be a King
    He rules over everything
    On the land called planet Dune

    Body water is your life
    And without it you would die
    On the desert the planet Dune

    Without a still suit you would fry
    On the sands so hot and dry
    In a world called Arrakis

    It is a land that's rich in spice
    The sand riders and the "mice"
    That they call the "Muad'Dib"

    He is the Kwizatz Haderach
    He is born of Caladan
    And will take the Gom Jabbar

    He has the power to foresee
    Or to look into the past
    He is the ruler of the stars

    The time will come for him
    To lay claim his crown
    And then the foe yes
    They'll be cut down
    You'll see he'll be the
    Best that there's been
    Messiah supreme
    True leader of men
    And when the time
    For judgement's at hand
    Don't fret he's strong
    And he'll make a stand
    Against evil and fire
    That spreads through the land
    He has the power
    To make it all end

    Writer/s: HARRIS, STEPHEN PERCY
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    To Tame A Land
  • Based on the science fiction novel Dune, which was later made into a movie. Author Frank Herbert refused to allow the band to call this song "Dune." The band originally sent a letter to Herbert's agent for permission. The response read as follows: "No. Because Frank Herbert doesn't like rock bands, particularly heavy rock bands, and especially rock bands like Iron Maiden."

    Songwriter Steve Harris tried to convince Herbert that the song would be a good promo for the book, but he still refused.
  • Steve Harris often bases his compositions on works by other artists.
  • The song contains many seemingly senseless words, including "Fremen," "Caladan," "gom jabbar" and "Muad'Dib." All of these were derived from the science fiction novel Dune, and make sense in the context of the story. Singer Bruce Dickinson did, understandably, mispronounce some of these words. (thanks, Jeff - Haltom City, TX, for all above)
  • On the back of the Somewhere in Time album, there is a "Herbert Ails" advertisement. This is a reference to the author of Dune.
  • Steve Harris: "This is the best song I've ever written. I was really pleased with Phantom, but now I have to say that this is the best."
  • Lead singer Bruce Dickinson referred to Frank Herbert as "a bit of a cu-t" because "among other things, he said that if we called this track that we wrote on the album 'Dune,' that he'd sue us and stop the album coming out, and all kinds of very unpleasant things." Dickinson made these remarks at a concert in Stockholm, Sweden, on June 5th, 1983.
  • At one point, Steve Harris wanted to start the song with a spoken quote from Dune.
  • Morgion covered this for the compilation album A Call to Irons: A Tribute to Iron Maiden.
  • This is one of the longer Iron Maiden songs, running 7:26. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada, for above 6)

  • Iron Maiden - The Aftermat
    Iron Maiden - The Aftermath


    Iron Maiden - The Aftermath Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

    Album: The X Factor
    Released: 1995

    The Aftermath Lyrics


    Silently to silence fall
    In the fields of futile war
    Toys of death are spitting lead
    Where boys that were our soldiers bled
    war horse and war machine

    Curse the name of liberty
    Marching on as if they should
    Mix in the dirt our brothers' blood

    In the mud and rain
    What are we fighting for
    Is it worth the pain is it worth dying for
    Who will take the blame
    Why did they make a war
    Questions that come again
    Should we be fighting at all

    Once a ploughman hitched his team
    Here he sowed his little dream
    Now bodies arms and legs are strewn
    Where mustard gas and barbwire bloom
    Each moment's like a year
    I've nothing left inside for tears
    Comrades dead or dying lie
    I'm left alone asking why

    After the war
    Left feeling no one has won
    After the war
    What does a soldier become

    Writer/s: GERS, JANICK / HARRIS, STEPHEN PERCY / COOKE, BAYLEY
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    The Aftermath Song Chart
  • This song is one of Blaze Bayley's most significant contributions to Iron Maiden. The former Wolfsbane lead singer took over on vocals for Maiden starting with the The X Factor album and continuing through their 1998 release Virtual XI. He wrote the song with bassist Steve Harris and guitarist Janick Gers.
  • The song deals with World War I, and is written from the perspective of a soldier in the trenches. Blaze Bayley's great-grandfather fought and died in that war; Blaze had a photo of him in his notebook which triggered the memory and led to this song.

    By all accounts, World War I battles were horrific. That's reflected in the lyric as we hear about the carnage and the soldier questions why he is there in the first place.
  • Blaze Bayley had been reading a lot of poetry from the World War I era when he composed this song. In particular, Bayley read the work of Siegfried Sassoon, a British poet who fought on the front lines in France and later became disillusioned with the war. Sassoon gained widespread acclaim in America for his novel, Memoirs of a Fox-hunting Man.
  • Blaze Bayley has a very emotional connection with this song, which hits him hard when he performs it. In our 2014 interview with Bayley , he said: "It's a song that I occasionally do in my setlist, but it's heavy in a very emotional way, so I find myself getting very bound up with that song and sometimes mentally it's a dark place to go. So I don't always do it in my set."

  • Lyrics

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