Rob Halford is gay. He was into underground homosexual bar culture in the era of this album. That’s where the whole leather/motorcycle thing came from. He came out as gay on MTV in 1998.
Most of the song is self explanatory once you know that.
“Iron feet” is obscure reference to Daniel 2:33 — living in two worlds — dreaming of a man. (More flamboyantly, “Dragging iron feet” might mean gays in drag marching through the street.)
“Disease” — yeah, that’s an unfortunate irony. AIDS was first discovered the year after this release.
“Fearing for our lives” he really says “LIES” — he annunciates that pretty clearly, to my ears, and it makes perfect sense.
“Death” is Shakespearean era euphemism for orgasm. The last stanza is literally about receiving a blow-job.
All those silly teen boys who loved Priest in the 80s and 90s had NO IDEA they were chanting gay mantras all those years - myself included. [No-gay.] In 2013 it’s hilarious. In 1980 I probably would have gotten into a fistfight with someone who pointed it out to me.
Rob Halford is gay. He was into underground homosexual bar culture in the era of this album. That’s where the whole leather/motorcycle thing came from. He came out as gay on MTV in 1998.
Most of the song is self explanatory once you know that.
“Iron feet” is obscure reference to Daniel 2:33 — living in two worlds — dreaming of a man. (More flamboyantly, “Dragging iron feet” might mean gays in drag marching through the street.)
“Disease” — yeah, that’s an unfortunate irony. AIDS was first discovered the year after this release.
“Fearing for our lives” he really says “LIES” — he annunciates that pretty clearly, to my ears, and it makes perfect sense.
“Death” is Shakespearean era euphemism for orgasm. The last stanza is literally about receiving a blow-job.
All those silly teen boys who loved Priest in the 80s and 90s had NO IDEA they were chanting gay mantras all those years - myself included. [No-gay.] In 2013 it’s hilarious. In 1980 I probably would have gotten into a fistfight with someone who pointed it out to me.