Lyric discussion by TheDrifter 

Cover art for Moonchild lyrics by Iron Maiden

THIS IS MY MEGA METAL MENTALITY ON THIS MASTERPIECE

Ok. This song is the opening title for the album "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son". This album is a concept album that follows the life of the seventh son of a seventh son. In ancient times, this person was regarded to have powers such as clairvoyance. The character in the album expresses that he does not want these powers and that he never asked for them, however, he must live with them. He must pick which side he desires: the good or the evil, which path will he take (Seventh Son of a Seventh Son song lyrics). In this song, Moonchild, the person talking is the "devil" character.
"I am he the bornless one The fallen angel watching you Babylon, the scarlet whore I'll infiltrate your gratitude Don't you dare to save your son Kill him now and save the young ones Be the mother of a birth strangled babe Be the devils own, Lucifer's my name"

The devil wants the mother to kill her child (strangling him) so that the seventh son will not grow and defeat Lucifer, the devil character.

"I count the heads of those unborn The accursed ones I'll find them all And if you die by your own hand As a suicide you shall be damned And if you try to save your soul I will torment you - you shall not grow old With every second and passing breath You'll be so alone your soul will bleed to death"

Lucifer is saying he will kill all of the Seventh Sons. When he is talking about suicide, he is saying that if the Son kills himself, he will be damned to a life in hell. If he tries to escape the devil's hold, he will be tormented and tortured by the devil forever.

"The twins they are exhausted, seven is this night Gemini is rising as the red lips kiss to bite Seven angels seven demons battle for his soul When Gabriel lies sleeping, this child was born to die"

The twins, I believe refer to the Gemini astrological sign as mentioned in the next line. The seven angels and seven demons represent the question of whether he will choose to do good or evil. Gabriel is a reference to the angel from the bible who delivered Mary the news that she would give birth to Jesus. Since Gabriel is sleeping, there is no one to deliver the news. Therefore, the child will not die.

"One more dies one more lives One baby cries one mother grieves For all the sins you will commit You'll beg forgiveness and none I'll give A web of fear shall be your coat To clothe you in the night A lucky escape for you young man But I'll see you damned in endless night"

I believe this is the devil once more speaking about how the mother must kill the Seventh Son. When Harris (the writer) is speaking about all the sins the Son will commit and how he will beg for forgiveness but receive none, I believe, is saying that when the Son does wrong to the devil, but then comes crawling back for forgiveness, the devil will not take him and will damn him to hell. This web of fear is possibly referring to how the devil will torment and frighten the Son due to the fact that the son escaped his grasp and escaped him. Harris is then saying that the Son's escape was very lucky, but the devil will one day find him and make the Son wish he stayed with the devil.

I hope I have helped :) UP THE IRONS!

Song Meaning