| Iron Maiden – Lost in a Lost World Lyrics | 6 months ago |
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My impression is that it's about Native Americans. Their land has been taken by the Europeans (the "lost world") and they're now doing their best to live in a world where they're marginalized, although it used to be their land. Kind of a sequel to "Run to the Hills" What tipped me off that it's about the Native Americans in particular was the lines about Buffalo and rain dances. |
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| Dio – Don't Talk To Strangers Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| To me, this is an example of a song where the "speaker" is not necesarily the singer himself. All the lines about "don't talk to strangers" are the things people (or our fears) tell us. I agree with esotericsage - the message I get is: don't let fear (or fearful advice) rule you, be willing to risk a little danger to experience life. | |
| Deep Purple – Blind Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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Here's the correct lyrics: [Verse 1] I see reflections in the water Autumn colours, summer's daughter And as as the year is growing older I see winter on my shoulder I stand in the haze Watching stormy ripples grow on my own Never knew you were needed Till I found myself standing here alone And in the water, such a sad face Slowly drowning, such a sad face If only I could change the seasons Like a poet, I've my reasons It started to snow in the middle of July Wonder why Never did understand you My sorrow is hanging in the grey sky [Chorus] In the summer days we flew to the sun On melting wings But the seasons change so fast Leave us all behind Blind [Verse 2] But then the stone fell on the water Putting end to summer's daughter And me, I turn away remembering All the seasons, such a sad thing It started to rain in the middle of the sun Winter's begun Never did understand you My sorrow is hanging in the grey sky [Chorus] In the summer days we flew to the sun On melting wings But the seasons change so fast Leave us all behind Blind |
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| Deep Purple – Blind Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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Well, currently they have the lyrics to "When A Blind Man Cries" (by Ian Gillan), not the lyrics to "Blind" (by Jon Lord from the "Deep Purple" album). Jon's lyrics are very poetic - it's a shame he didn't (to my knowledge) write lyrics after this album, I think they let the singer write them afterwards. This song is very sad/melancholy and maybe represents the loss/separation of a romantic love or maybe just someone important in one's life. (E.g. loss of a parent). Never knew you were needed Till I found myself standing here alone |
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| Iron Maiden – When Two Worlds Collide Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| @[ZioShirai:34568] Some of Blaze's songs turned up in Bruce's later tours - Clansman, Sign of the Cross, Lord of the Flies, Man on the Edge, and Futureal. I agree - Bruce doesn't always sound great on them. Both singers sound best in their own range! (I have a bootleg of the Virtual XI tour, and Blaze sounds better live on his own material than Bruce sometimes does on his own!) | |
| Iron Maiden – When Two Worlds Collide Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| @[ZioShirai:34567] Although the Catholics did crusade (the Albigensian Crusades) against the Cathars (a non-Catholic sect) in 1244, which gave us the Iron Maiden song "Montsegur"! (It also destroyed the Occitan nobility which supported the medieval troubadours, so it had a musical plus and minus, I guess). | |
| Iron Maiden – When Two Worlds Collide Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| @[ZioShirai:34566] Although the Catholics did crusade (the Albigensian Crusades) against the Cathars (a non-Catholic sect) in 1244, which gave us the Iron Maiden song "Montsegur"! (It also destroyed the Occitan nobility which supported the medieval troubadours, so it had a musical plus and minus, I guess). | |
| Iron Maiden – Cross-Eyed Mary (Jethro Tull cover) Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| The original Jethro Tull song was from the album Aqualung, which had a running theme about these lower-class characters (e.g. the homeless man Aqualung, or the underage prostitute Cross-eyed Mary). The point of the lyrics was generally that these people we look down on are real human beings with souls and they're just doing what they have to to get through life. | |
| Iron Maiden – Como Estais Amigos Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| The title is Spanish for "How Are You, Friends." Steve Harris (in the "Run to the Hills" book) mentions is was written by Blaze regarding the Falklands War. (A war between Britain and Argentina in 1982). Iron Maiden had toured Argentina, and Blaze was impressed at how nice the people were there, so it was a statement of friendship towards people whose nation had recently been on the opposite side of a war. | |
| Iron Maiden – Charlotte The Harlot Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| As far as I know, this was the only Dave Murray lyric to make it on an Iron Maiden album (or single/B-side)! He wrote some great music, afterwards, though! | |
| Iron Maiden – Another Life Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| I always had the impression of a somewhat depressed/suicidal person. (I mean, "I'm so tired of living, I might as well end today." are pretty clear!) Maybe someone who wants to do something but is fighting with failure or depression. | |
| Iron Maiden – Another Life Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| @[logikmtr:34565] Well, teenagers tend to be moody and lie on their bed a lot! Also, this song was from Killers (1981), but probably written in the earlier days - so Steve Harris was probably barely more than 20 when he wrote it. Thus, more likely to write the thoughts of a teenager than those of an old man! | |
| Iron Maiden – Justice Of The Peace Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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This song was written by Steve Harris (lyrics, I assume) and Dave Murray of Iron Maiden, not "Ian Hunter" as listed here (unless there was some copyright infringement I don't know about). This song is about the same thing as "Age of Innocence" from about a decade later - a mixture of nostalgia for a simpler time and frustration at the leniency of the law on criminals. My observations - The nostalgia is probably somewhat inaccurate, like most nostalgia. (Remember all those songs and album/single covers from Iron Maiden's early days? Those seemed to show a world with criminal danger). The frustration of leniency on criminals is a common observation of the aging, now-parent, person - although it may seem a little ironic coming from a "dangerous, heavy metal band!" |
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| Iron Maiden – Age Of Innocence Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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I don't know if this song was inspired by a particular incident or not, but you're always hearing stories of criminals who sue people for defending themselves. (Or a burgler who trips in a house and sues, or the like). This song addresses the anger at a legal system that gives criminals more protection than law-abiding citizens. To me this sounds like the lyrics of someone who is getting older and more conservative. No more the dangerous hooligan who wrote songs of killers and seeking "sanctuary from the law," but an older, well-off parent who doesn't like shady hooligans hanging around his house! Every generation thinks "things aren't as good as they were when I was young." (Not trying to create a political debate, here, just thinking that Steve Harris probably wouldn't've written these lyrics in his 20s!). |
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| Iron Maiden – Afraid To Shoot Strangers Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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From the live album intro by Bruce and other sources (Iron Maiden books, interviews, the B-side to "Be Quick or Be Dead") I think it's pretty clear this is about the Gulf War, which was very recent to the writing for this song. The lyrics describe the soldier on "our side" (the US/Britain/etc.). The soldier is nervous about entering in combat, as well as unsure of the "rightness" of killing the opposing forces. They're just people, too! (As Bruce points out in the "A Real Live One" intro, the wars are caused/started by wealthy, powerful people, but the regular people fight and die). But also, the enemy (Hussein/Iraq, in this case) have been doing bad things and someone needs to stop them, as this verse says: But how can we let them go on this way? The reign of terror corruption must end And we know deep down there's No other way No trust, no reasoning, no more to say So, overall, the song relates the thoughts of a soldier in the Gulf War (but, pertainable to many conflicts) who has doubts and fears, but is going to do their duty. |
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| Iron Maiden – Afraid To Shoot Strangers Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| @[UpTheIrons:34564] I think "Como Estais Amigos" from 1998 was the one about the Falklads war - that was after the band started touring South America more due to the decline of heavy metal popularity in the US. "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" was inspired by the early 90's Gulf War. | |
| Iron Maiden – Afraid To Shoot Strangers Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| @[UpTheIrons:34563] I think "Como Estais Amigos" from 1998 was the one about the Falklads war - that was after the band started touring South America more due to the decline of heavy metal popularity in the US. "Afraid to Shoot Strangers" was inspired by the early 90's Gulf War. | |
| Iron Maiden – Caught Somewhere In Time Lyrics | 3 years ago |
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Reading the lyrics now, it does make me think of Dr. Who. Iron Maiden grew up with Dr. Who - I've seen them mention the show in interviews, and it fits with their general taste in Sci-Fi and classic British TV (like "The Prisonor" TV show, which inspired two songs). Dickinson even bought a Dalek when the band made him rich (I think he mentions it in the "Live After Death" DVD documentary). The verse about "hiding your deepest sins" doesn't click with Dr Who (unless it's with a particular episode or plot arc I can't remember), but one thing to remember is that song lyrics don't have to be about just one thing, sometimes they mix in various ideas. (For instance, "Flight of Icarus" is about the myth, but Bruce changed the ending of the story, while "Number of the Beast" was inspired by both the movie "The Omen" and the poem "Tam O Shanter"). |
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| Iron Maiden – Speed of Light Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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Stealthweasle seems to be on the right track - I think Bruce is having fun with wordplays relating to black holes and such. A couple observations: "I'm not particular" - light behaves as both a wave and a particle (one of the confusing things in physics) "you won't be tracking me by sight" - single particles like electrons are too small to track - not just by eye, but since we "see" things by bouncing other things (like light or other electrons off of them), if you bounce an electron off of another electron, you bump the electron you're trying to "track", so you can't figure out where it is . . . "I'll say a mass for you and wave" can mean "I'll say a prayer for you and wave goodbye", but in physics "mass" also refers to physical presence - which can be converted to energy (E=MCsquared), which travels in waves something falling into a black hole emits gamma rays ("shooting plasma from my grave") a black hole would look like a "shadow in the stars" - it's a dark spot in the starry sky similarly, the night isn't black (well, unless it's cloudy) - it's full of stars. A black hole is BLACK - no light reflects off of it, its gravitational pull swallows light, so it is "blacker than the night" |
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| Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| Kind of like the song "Black Sabbath," this one is has a Satanic theme but is pretty much about being AFRAID of the devil, not embracing evil. Pretty much a horror-movie inspired nightmare about Satanic cults. I see the final verse as the cries of the vanquished demon (Iron Maiden did a lot of changes of point-of-view in the songs on this album). | |
| Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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@[FRYEGUY:15298] - Well, you can get into a million arguements about it, but when I was young they said that Zeppelin invented metal. Considering Sabbath came after and was obviously HEAVILY influenced by Zep, as well as other early metal bands from the same time (e.g. Purple, Heep), whatever. It's just a continuing circle of influence, each new wave taking from the last, and trying to push it further - where you draw the lines and labels are pretty subjective. Anyway, Metallica most certainly WAS influenced by Maiden - as well as the rest of that scene (Diamond Head, Venom, etc. being strong influences). I think they've often been pretty vocal about it. Sabbath made metal dark and exciting, Purple made it fast and exciting, Priest combined the both and made it faster, Maiden even faster, Metallica even faster . . . Each one was pretty exciting to many fans of their era. Maiden were HUGE when Metallica was getting started, but Metallica went mainstream in the 90s and so more casual fans know it. But Zeppelin, Priest, Van Halen, Def Leppard, Quiet Riot had all straddled the pop and metal line long before Metallica. Maiden just never really crossed over - they've generally been a metal fan's metal band. |
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| Iron Maiden – Gangland Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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Another great song - don't know why so many people criticize it. I think the lyrics are very evocative, they really tell a story and put you in it. Anyway, a pretty straight-forward thriller/adventure story based on Gangster films and such - just some guy on the run from the mob. Some of the books on Iron Maiden have pointed out this whole album seems to be about "escape" of one form or another, and this song certainly fits the bill. |
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| Iron Maiden – Flash Of The Blade Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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"The house in smoking ruins and the bodies at your feet" always makes me think of Luke Skywalker looking at his burnt aunt and uncle in Star Wars (or "A New Hope" for the fans). Anyway, it's a great line - it conveys a lot of story and feeling in a short space. Love this song - the whole Powerslave album is just one masterpiece after another. |
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| Iron Maiden – Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[katharos:15297] Funny enough, the main difference to my ears was that Bruce sang it different on his original version, while Iron Maiden pretty much plays it similar to his solo band. | |
| Iron Maiden – Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[EvilLawyer:15296] Well, a song that would get mainstream success is often not the one the fans like. It mainly got to #1 because they released it at a time of year not many singles were released, and it's pretty AC/DCish but not very Iron Maidenish. | |
| Iron Maiden – Losfer Words (Big 'Orra) Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[Heavymetalharp:15295] Oh, and she was "big" because she was pregnant. | |
| Iron Maiden – Losfer Words (Big 'Orra) Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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Considering Steve Harris's wife, "Lorraine," was pregnant at this time with his child, I kind of figured he was at a "loss for words" at the wonder of being a father. I figured "'Orra" was short for (L)Orra(ine). Or, maybe not? Great piece of music, either way. |
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| Iron Maiden – Lord of Light Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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Somewhere (maybe on the DVD that came with the CD?) Bruce mentioned something about how, what if the Christian God wasn't the only god, what if there were other options? Anyway, it seems to be pretty clearly about Lucifer (e.g. Satan). After decades of being called Satanists, this may be the only actual "Satanic" song they have, to my knowledge (stuff like "Number of the Beast" and "Moonchild" seem to me to paint the devil as an antagonist, this one not so much). This song is probably the closes Maiden has come since the 80s to recapturing that old, metal magic - I think in part, because it doesn't "try" to hard to do so. (I like their 2000s stuff a lot, but this one is closest to their old sound, to my ears). |
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| Iron Maiden – Lightning Strikes Twice Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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There's the (scientifically false) phrase that "lightning never strikes the same place twice." And, I think what this song is kind of referring to, is the hope of Steve Harris that maybe it could - in as far as maybe they could regain the success they had in their older days. They somewhat have, although it took a few more years rejoining with Bruce and Adrian (everyone underestimates Adrian, but it seems to me he's as important as Bruce to the band) to do so. Mind you, I do really enjoy the Blaze albums with Maiden (his solo stuff is great, too - it has a more metal guitar sound than his work with Maiden. Much of the criticism to the Blaze years of Maiden don't take into account the other things the band was doing in the late 90s - like their Rush/Queensryche subdued guitar sound and Adrian's absence). Anyway, I liked this song from the first listen of the album. |
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| Iron Maiden – Lightning Strikes Twice Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[TheJoeInMe:15294] I've never heard Bruce do this one. I always thought it would be interesting to hear Bruce (in his heyday, the greatest singer of metal) sing the Blaze era stuff, but his live versions on the following live albums didn't always blow me away. Admittedly, Bruce live sounds a bit strained at times, but the fact is - Bruce and Blaze have very different vocal ranges. They each sound better on their own material for the most part. | |
| Iron Maiden – Face In The Sand Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| @[emmerder:15293] I think it was"New Frontier" Nikko co-wrote, about cloning and stuff. This one's credited to Dickinson, who tends to take influence from Christianity, occultism, and anywhere else he sees fit, so who knows? | |
| Iron Maiden – Don't Look To The Eyes Of A Stranger Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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Steve Harris, in the book "Run to the Hills" - which was written right when this album came out - says it's about how, now that he's older and has kids, he worries about the dangerous world they're growing up in. The song is about how strangers are now dangerous and you don't want to make eye contact anymore. Basically the typical tendency of older people with kids to look back and think how safe things used to be, but the world is now more dangerous. (Although, to my understanding, statistics actually show the world to be safer now, but people have been scared by seeing to much media about terrible things). |
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| Iron Maiden – When Two Worlds Collide Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| Maiden's songs often have a sci-fi/horror/history/adventure theme to them. Sometimes they might just be about what they seem to be, sometimes there's a subtext or double-meaning (e.g. all the songs about "running on and on" or "marching on and on" that popped up after their massive Powerslave tour). This song, on the surface, is a sci-fi story about an large asteroid hitting the earth and causing destruction, but (according to Steve Harris in the first edition of the "Run to the Hills" book), Blaze (who wrote the lyrics) was probably also making a comment of how his previous life suddenly "collided" with the world of being in a major rock band when he joined Iron Maiden and was thrust in to the big league. | |
| Iron Maiden – Die With Your Boots On Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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I think the message is the very Iron Maidenish "live your life, fight the good fight, never give up" kind of thing. One thing I realized, during the Bush era of the early 2000s,- the whole thing about the "prophet of disaster . . .predicting wars for millions in the hope that one appears". That was a perfect analysis of the "War on Terror." Bush (and, I'm assuming the British leaders, who seem to be in sync with America's often enough) was always reminding us to watch out for the terrorists - and keeping the country in constant fear made people support him and give him more power than if nobody was afraid of such "the enemy". In the early 80s, when this was written, America (and, I assume, also Britain?) had a similar issue with terrorists from "the eastern sands" (as well as the cold-war threat of Communists), and the government was always reminding us about the impeding doom. |
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| Iron Maiden – The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner Lyrics | 7 years ago |
| Can't believe "slipper"'s the only poster who thinks this song is about more than the surface meaning. Iron Maiden have a habit of stealing titles from movies/books and writing about horror/history/sci-fi/etc. BUT, that doesn't mean there's no deeper meaning to the songs (sometimes, maybe - I don't think "Phantom of the Opera" is anything more than a cool story). This song simply has a DOUBLE meaning. Yes, it's probably influenced by the story of the same name (book or movie), but it's also a metaphor for their enormously long tours. Remember, at this time Iron Maiden had just finished a massive year-and-a-half tour for Powerslave. Adrian Smith's talked about going to visit his parents and he knocked on the wrong door! Most of "Somewhere in Time" is about that - the feeling that much of the rest of their lives was abandoned for that time ("Wasted Years"), and tales of traveling the world despite weariness ("Alexander the Great"). But,as Iron Maiden's schtick is telling exciting tales of adventure and horror, they're not gonna sing about "bein' on the road again, touring". They're going to write a metaphorical song that's about "run, on and on" to also refer to "gig, on and on". | |
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