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Heroes End Lyrics
I heard a human voice who sang like no one else
I heard a proud lady singing loud
Lived her life as she liked, didn't give a damn
But soon she found she was underground and wasted
I watched her hitting notes as she strutted stage
Her body shook oh, she did her stuff
She screamed and quake, give and take, maybe took too much
If you take the smooth you gotta take the rough
Why do you have to die to be a hero
It's a shame a legend begins at its end
Why do you have to die if you're a hero
When there's still so many things to say unsaid
I heard a man's guitar electrify a crowd
I felt the sound shower 'round
And he would take you with him where no music's been before
As you merged the power surge together
His music knew no limits if you were in it's wake
You had no choice, no, but hear its voice
And you would listen hypnotized, and in a dream
But once so strong survive or become weak
Why do you have to die to be a hero
It's a shame a legend begins at its end
Why do you have to die if you're a hero
When there's still so many things to say unsaid
If you gaze across timeless years you'll find them always there
And many gods will join the list compiled with dying care
Hungry mouths are waiting to bite the hand that feeds
And so the living dead carry on immortal deeds
I saw on silver screen an actor's rise to fame
But fast car user lose
That legend's born from death and that is such a shame
'cos ev'ry year new ones appear
Why do you have to die to be a hero
It's a shame a legend begins at its end
Why do you have to die if you're a hero
When there's still so many things to say unsaid.
Song Info
Submitted by
idan On Jun 21, 2001
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"The song was originally blamed for the suicide deaths of two teens in the mid '80s, as the prosecution tried to say the lyrics glorified death as heroic, but the Judge ruled the lyrics were protected by the First Amendment Right of free speech."
You have this song mixed up with "Better by You, better than Me", off the same album.
This song basically says that just about every legend and hero is only recognized after his/her death.
Three fallen "heroes" of the arts - one a singer (Janis Joplin), one a guitarist (Jimi Hendrix) and one an actor (James Dean).
The song was originally blamed for the suicide deaths of two teens in the mid '80s, as the prosecution tried to say the lyrics glorified death as heroic, but the Judge ruled the lyrics were protected by the First Amendment Right of free speech.
Far from glorifying a desire to die, the song simply asks the question: Why do people have to die before they are recognized as heroes for their efforts?
No, actually he's right. This was the song they tried to sue Priest for. But when they found out that they couldn't sue them becuase the First Amendment protected the lyrics they came up with the idea of backwards messages in "Better By You, Better Than Me" instead.
As for the meaning, I think thetrooperr got it right.
The last line in the second verse is wrong.
"But once so strong survive or become weak" should be "But one so strong so long becomes weak"
I've always loved this tune and thetrooperr pretty much nailed it. I can't believe that anybody could think that this song glorifies death. "That legend's born from death and that is such a shame" doesn't smack of glorification to me.
@RushAss This is all very interesting. I have wondered for so many years what Rob was actually singing in the line you mentioned, RushAss, and now I know, I can tell that your submission of the correct lyrics are indeed correct just by listening to this song in my head. The one word I always knew was incorrect is "survive" - it's so clearly obvious that Rob does not sing the word "survive" anywhere in that line - yet that is just exactly what I see written in these song lyrics from every last source that I have ever been...
@RushAss This is all very interesting. I have wondered for so many years what Rob was actually singing in the line you mentioned, RushAss, and now I know, I can tell that your submission of the correct lyrics are indeed correct just by listening to this song in my head. The one word I always knew was incorrect is "survive" - it's so clearly obvious that Rob does not sing the word "survive" anywhere in that line - yet that is just exactly what I see written in these song lyrics from every last source that I have ever been to. It just blows my mind how many song lyrics there are on the internet that are just riddled with mistakes, much of them absolutely pathetic mistakes, and I can't help but to wonder, is there any source on the face of the earth one can turn to in order to find song lyrics that are totally 100% accurate? I'm thinking probably not, but I'll still get my ass kicked straight into the next week by the Priest Beast for the rest of my metalmad life! :-)