Yeah
Here we stand or here we fall
History won't care at all
Make the bed, light the light
Lady Mercy won't be home tonight

You don't waste no time at all
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call
It comes to you as to us all
Yeah, we're just waiting for the hammer to fall, yeah

Oh every night, and every day
A little piece of you is falling away
But lift your face the Western way
Build your muscles as your body decays, yeah

Tow the line and play their game
Yeah, let the anesthetic cover it all
'Til one day they call your name
You know it's time for the hammer to fall

Rich or poor or famous
For your truth it's all the same
(Oh no, oh no)
Oh, lock your door but rain is pouring
Through your window pane
(Oh no)
Hey yeah, baby, now your struggle's all in vain, yeah

For we who grew up tall and proud
In the shadow of the Mushroom Cloud
Convinced our voices can't be heard
We just wanna scream it louder and louder and louder

What the hell are we fighting for?
Ah, just surrender and it won't hurt at all
You just got time to say your prayers
Yeah, while you're waiting for the hammer to, hammer to fall

Hey, yes
Let's get on the floor, yeah
Hammer
You know
Hammer to fall

Yeah

Hey, woo hoo
Ha ha, ha ha

I've been waiting for the hammer to fall
Give it to me one more time


Lyrics submitted by jhines0042

Hammer To Fall Lyrics as written by Brian May

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

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Hammer To Fall song meanings
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    General Comment

    This is about death and that it is just a matter of time (hence waiting for the hammer to fall). However, this is specifically about Brian being a child in the 1950s when they would have "fall out drills" in school and thought of nuclear war was ever present (and still within the minds of the people who were alive during WWII and Hiroshima). The fear of imminent death was instilled in even the young in the 1950s. Although fall out drills were no longer happening in schools, myself, being a child of the 80s with Reagan and the Cold War when this song was written, the nuclear threat was very present. I dreamed about seeing mushroom clouds and there were many nuclear war films such as War Games and The Day After out around the time Brian wrote this. I feel like this was Brian's discussing the current Cold War with images and the fears he had as a youth in the 1950s.

    GeoWhovianon January 06, 2020   Link

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