Wasting Love

It really seems to me like this song is about depression that comes from a failed relationship, romantic rejection, chronic failure, or the loss of a loved one. My evidence is as follows:

Verse 1: "Maybe one day I'll be an honest man / Up till now I've done the best i can"

• The narrator is lamenting his inability to live up to society's (or a certain lady or personal influence) standards of a 'decent person'.

"Long roads, long days of sunrise to sunset / Sunrise to sunset"

• He feels like life is passing him by and he has no chance to live life the way he wants to.

"Dream on brothers while you can / Dream on sisters, I hope you find the one"

• He wishes his family will have better lives than he has had.

"All of our lives covered up quickly / By the tides of time" He believes that life is insignificant and he will just be forgotten and meaningless.

Verse 2: "Dream on brothers while you can / Dream on sisters, I hope you find the one"

• The narrator reiterates his desire to see his family members live their dreams and find love and happiness. 

"All of our lives covered up quickly / By the tides of time"

• He still feels insignificant and mortal.

"Sands are flowing, and the lines are in your hands"

• He feels time passing him by and he feels like his misery is predestined.

"In your eyes I see the hunger, / And the desperate cry that tears the night"

• He is desperate to have a life of happiness and meaning.

Chorus: "Spend your days full of emptiness / Spend your years full of loneliness"

• The narrator feels like it's his lot in life to suffer and be unloved.

"Wasting love in a desperate caress / Rolling shadows of night"

• He feels like his love is being wasted because he's trying to cling onto someone/something that is leaving him, and all he's left with is coldness, pain, and fear.

This song is beautiful. It was my favourite IM song for a while and it's just amazing. Helps me get through the hard times..

There are some fantastic lyrics here. The lines "Wasting love, in a desperate caress/ Rolling shadows of nights" say it all. I think it's about the dark side of love - perhaps a passionless marriage or relationship, and the hopelessness of it all. It's quite a dark song for me, and I think the video reflects that. If you haven't seen it, check it out on YouTube.

Bruce was rejected by a girl whom he loved very much,he loved her and still loves her more than life,but she rejected him,she didn't want to be with him and he sings about his loneliness,emptiness and hopeless days and nights.This girl is the true love that he's been looking for all his life and she is everything to Bruce,but seems like she doesen't love him.Bruce is very unhappy man despite all his money,wealth and fame.the most of greatest music stars are very unhappy in love but they keep it deep inside and they're expressing their feelings through the songs they write and that way they feel a little better.anyway,this song is a legendary song,it's got a lot of feeling and I love this song very much.

... wait what? I was saying that people never seem to know this song and always think I'm talking about Wasted Years... and I'm not....

I know what this song is about... wtf?

Spend your days full of loneliness, spend your days full of emptiness (from emptying your seed in a "desperate caress" of masturbating in the dark). It's clearly about being a horny single guy. Getting old and having nothing else but your hand to keep you satisfied.

Nobody commented on this song yet?!? WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU ALL?!? THIS is a damn good song. One of the best from Iron Maiden.

This is one of those hidden jems that Maiden has, I have to say. Very passionate, I love this song.

Love it

This was the first Iron Maiden song I heard, actually the first heavy metal song I heard in my life and it's been my favorite IM song ever since. Weird, my friends who are fans of IM say that this song is insignificant compared to other IM songs coz it doesn't talk about anything. I don't think that. I love "Rolling shadows of nights", especially in the live version.

One of the best Maiden songs ever, every time i hear it makes me wonder about my life