The Book of Souls

OK, I don't believe I have anything really insightful or deep to say about this song, but it probably deals with the history of the Mayan empire and its eventual downfall, brought about by the "alien invasion" referenced in the last few verses. The Maya peoples engaged a long series of bitter battles against the Spaniards but were ultimately defeated and conquered by them.

i saw them on sunday in vienna. Before they played this song bruce said what it is about. It is about empires in every kind you know them (religious, military, companies and so on) He said that history has told us that all empires, doesn't matter how big they were, alway fall. And so it will be in the future, we need not to be afraid of empires because we know that there time is always runnig out.

I concur with BenjaminBreeg. Bruce also talked at the show I saw, about how all world leaders just plain suck and this song is about how they all just want to rule and seek power over others

"The Book of Souls" is a musical sequel to Powerslave.

Both draw heavily from Egyptian mythology laid out in the Book of the Dead.

Fittingly, there were several versions of the Egyptian Book of the Dead representing the fall of the Egyptian Kingdoms when the Book was rewritten for the new Egyptian Kingdom

The underlying message in these lyrics is that the cause of the fall of ALL empires (countries, religious, military, companies) is "HYPOCRISY."

"They were praying to the gods of nature And were living in the cities of stone"

This would go along with the parts about living incongruently with the laws of nature.

"A life that’s full of all the wealth and riches Can never last for an eternity"

I flew to ROME to see them, and Bruce started off the song talking about how Rome was a great empire but fell, and that all empires fall; USA, Europe, Rome, Etc. He really wanted to make that point. Hypocrisy seems to fit within the fall of all empires to some degree. Rome got to a point that they had a "facade" they were powerful but in reality they were lazy.

The Mayan civilization is used as a metaphorical analyzation of other societies. The Book of Souls just means the history of the souls in all societies. All societies have an end, and every fallacy pertained by each led them to a heavy demise.

"Sacrifices buried with kings Accompany them on a journey with no end To an afterlife that's rich with fruit of all the gods And to face the demons Of their underworld haunts"

The song begins with a foreshadowing of its end. A ruler is buried along with their followers. Many ancient societies had this custom-slaves and followers were often sacrificed in the belief that the ruler would be afford ed a place of honor in the afterworld and would want/need servants to rule over. That and to sacrifice should they end up in their version of Hell. It was a cruel way of hedging their bets.

"The sentient is sent to seek out all the truth A flight to earth that is a given from his birth To rise from ashes of the dead Out of the fire is sent to full fill man's desire"

A 'sentient' or clever/wise/smart person rises to power. Whether they are or are just seen as wise and/or a savior they're granted power over others in part because those they rule over feel they'll be given what they want, too.

"The power day and night and death he ruled them The sky and earth and the fires too Two headed reptile symbol of his reign Universes of the underworld"

This refers to the Aztec ruler Moctezuma. The two-headed serpent was a symbol of his reign.

"A life that's full of all the wealth and riches Can never last for an eternity After living in a golden paradise The ultimate sacrifice"

When Cortés arrived in Mexico from Spain he was greeted by Moctezuma. "Some sources report that Moctezuma thought that Cortés was the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl and treated him accordingly. Cortés was given a number of valuable gifts, which included turquoise sculptures, and possibly this serpent. Despite the gifts and the peaceful reception, Moctezuma was taken prisoner by Cortés and his troops took Moctezuma's capital, Tenochtitlan, by 1521. The Aztecs were brutally and systematically enslaved and murdered, in spite of their generosity. They then fell victim to smallpox and other European diseases brought to Mexico by Cortés and his troops." -Wikipedia

"Prophecy of sky gods, the sun and moon Passing of old ways will come true soon

Falling of ages, forest of kings The search for the truth, the book of souls"

Many cultures have made prophecies about the end times. Many cultures have also fallen, thus fulfilling those prophecies. The 'book of souls' is the record of all the civilizations lost.

The rest of the song is a metaphor for both the fall of the Aztec civilization as well as a metaphor for all kingdoms. As others have said and Bruce has stated explicitly this happens to all kingdoms and empires no matter how benevolent. Time passes, the people become greedy or disastisfied or some invader or disease comes along and they fall. It's a tale as old as time itself.