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)