The Legacy

I can't believe more people haven't commented on this song by now. This is one of the best tracks on "A Matter of Life and Death".

I see this song as a polemic against religious-inspired war, and nihilism .

"Tell tale of the men All dressed in black That most of them Not coming back

Sent off to the war To play little games And on their return Can't name no names

Some strange yellow gas Has played with their minds Has reddened their eyes Removed all the lies

And strange as it sounds Death knows no bounds How many get well Only time will tell Only time will tell"

The man dressed in Black is a priest, and "most of them not coming back" are soldiers. They were sent off to war to "play little games" on the behalf of the Church. The "strange yellow gas" is mustard gas, which can cause psychosis and blindness--hence, "has played with their minds and reddened their eyes". Through their injuries and the general carnage of war, the soldiers realize how pointless and ghastly war is, thus the mustard gas has "removed all the lies".

"You lie in your death bed now But what did you bring to the table Brought us only holy sin Utter trust is a deadly thing

To the prayer of holy peace We didn't know what was lying underneath So how could we be such fools And to think that we thought you the answer"

So now the priest is lying on his death bed, but the narrator points out that despite his outward appearance of piety, the priest actually did nothing to improve the lives of those who placed sacred trust in him. The narrator then reflects that he and his fellow countrymen/parishoners (soldiers?) were fools to place so much blind trust in the clergy, to believe so fervently that their religious war was justified.

"I can't begin to understand in all the lies But on your death bed I can see it in you eyes Just as clear as all the sweat upon your brow It really makes sense I can see it clearly now

Nothing that we could believe To reveal the façade of faceless men Not a thing that we could foresee Now a sign that would tell us the outcome "

He sees the priest as he's dying; he's sweating and there is fear in his eyes, signifying that the priest knew he had lied and used religion to manipulate those who trusted him, now he is terrified of facing the consequences when he dies. In life he likely justified all of his lies and manipulation with the rationale that it was in the end all for the greater good of God, but now that he is close to facing God, he must pay for the suffering that was conducted in God's name. But the narrator doesn't stop at just the priest; the whole religious institution is corrupt, led by "faceless men" who'se outward demeanor of wisdom and religioisty are an empty display, a facade--inside, they are all powerhungry and self-serving.

"You had us all strung out with promises of peace But all along you cover plan was to deceive Can it put to rights now only time will tell Your prophecies will send us all to hell as well"

The "promises of peace" were the rhetoric the clergy used to persuade the people to commit attrocities and violence. Soldiers were led to wage war, and people were willing to let it happen, because they were brainwashed into thinking of those acts of violence as "neccessary evils" that would eventally bring about peace. However, the true motive behind the war was soley for the clergy's/religious instution's personal gain. Perhaps it was to acquire more wealth, land, and power. This wasn't uncommon in the past, esp. in Catholocism and Islam (though I doubt Iron Maiden had any particular religion in mind, rather than just religious fundamentalism and blind trust in general). The religious men who instigated such horrors are bound for damnation, but the people who were duped into following their orders suffer damnation as well, albeit of a differnt kind (the damnation of having both endured and committed horrible acts in the name of war, as opposed to divine punishment).

"Left to all our golden sons All to pick up on the peace You could have given all of them A little chance... at least

Take the world to a better place Given them all just a little hope Just think what a legacy You know... will leave"

Whilst the clergy pontificated about the need for the war and how it was divinely ordained, it was the young men themselves who had to fight it. The burden of so-called peace was placed upon their shoulders. However, the war was totally futile and unneccessary--the soldiers had "no chance". The clergy occupied this position of immense authority and trust; they could have used their power of authority to make the world a better place. Instead, the left a legacy of pain, suffering, and lies.

The second part of the song transitions from the clergy to the people themselves. They are the ones who allow such corrupt men to exist, because they themselves are angry and nihilistic. There could be peace if we but tried to understand one another and treated each other with respect. Instead, Mankind embraces destruction. Just imagine what a legacy we'd leave to future generations if we could let go of our hateful and war-mongering setiments.

OK, so that's my analysis. feel free to disagree, but please be respectful about it, eh?