Ugh, morons. This is without a doubt the most depressing song Maiden have ever recorded, and arguably the most moving (the other being Como Estais Amigos). The reason for its tremendous emotional impact is simple, it's a pretty damn true story. Not of a fictional character like Charlotte or Benjamin, but of a real person.
It refers to a total loss of innocence and naivety, the realisation that 'yep, this really is it.'
It also takes in the mood of the early hours of morning, when everyone else is sound asleep, it's a whole new dimension of loneliness.
Unlike the aforementioned Como Estais Amigos, Wasting Love or No Prayer For The Dying, there is nothing metaphorical or spiritual about 2AM, like The Trooper it's one-dimensional and needs no explanation, and is all the stronger as a result.
Also, unlike most Maiden songs, or indeed most Metal songs generally (particularly Manowar), 2AM seems to offer no happy ending, indeed, its quiet, downbeat fading out of 'here I am again, on my own,' is one of the chief reasons for it being Maiden's most depressing song. DON'T listen to this if you're in one of those moods, it makes it much worse!
But this is something I love about the song, it doesn't claim to have the answers, won't offer false hope, it is simply the reflections of a man with nothing to live for.
Look a little deeper though, and this song has the greatest light at the end of the tunnel of all. Look who wrote the lyrics. Read p.306 of Run To The Hills (The Authorised Biography, 3rd edition, by Mick Wall, MPG Books, Bodmin, 2004), particularly the line 'my life is going nowhere at all, absolutely nowhere.' This is me reading between the lines a little, but I really don't think it's much of a leap to suggest that this man wondering if 'these walls' were all there was in his life went on to find something much more... he became the lead singer of Iron Maiden.
Ugh, morons. This is without a doubt the most depressing song Maiden have ever recorded, and arguably the most moving (the other being Como Estais Amigos). The reason for its tremendous emotional impact is simple, it's a pretty damn true story. Not of a fictional character like Charlotte or Benjamin, but of a real person.
It refers to a total loss of innocence and naivety, the realisation that 'yep, this really is it.'
It also takes in the mood of the early hours of morning, when everyone else is sound asleep, it's a whole new dimension of loneliness.
Unlike the aforementioned Como Estais Amigos, Wasting Love or No Prayer For The Dying, there is nothing metaphorical or spiritual about 2AM, like The Trooper it's one-dimensional and needs no explanation, and is all the stronger as a result.
Also, unlike most Maiden songs, or indeed most Metal songs generally (particularly Manowar), 2AM seems to offer no happy ending, indeed, its quiet, downbeat fading out of 'here I am again, on my own,' is one of the chief reasons for it being Maiden's most depressing song. DON'T listen to this if you're in one of those moods, it makes it much worse!
But this is something I love about the song, it doesn't claim to have the answers, won't offer false hope, it is simply the reflections of a man with nothing to live for.
Look a little deeper though, and this song has the greatest light at the end of the tunnel of all. Look who wrote the lyrics. Read p.306 of Run To The Hills (The Authorised Biography, 3rd edition, by Mick Wall, MPG Books, Bodmin, 2004), particularly the line 'my life is going nowhere at all, absolutely nowhere.' This is me reading between the lines a little, but I really don't think it's much of a leap to suggest that this man wondering if 'these walls' were all there was in his life went on to find something much more... he became the lead singer of Iron Maiden.