Iron Maiden (UK-1) : Live After Death

Les paroles

DISC 1


1. INTRO (CHURCHILL'S SPEECH)

We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France. We shall fight on the seas and oceans. We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills.
WE SHALL NEVER SURRENDER!

Winston Churchill, 4th June 1940


2. ACES HIGH

There goes the siren that warns of the air raid
Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak
Out for the scramble we've got to get airborne
Got to get up for the coming attack

Jump in the cockpit and start up the engines
Remove all the wheel blocks, there's no time to waste
Gathering speed as we head down the runway
Gotta get airborne before it's too late

Running, scrambling, flying
Rolling, turning, diving, going in again
Running, scrambling, flying
Rolling, turning, diving
Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Won't you... run, live to fly, fly to live, aces high

Move in to fire at the mainstream of bombers
Let off a sharp burst and then turn away
Roll over, spin round and come in behind them
Move to their blindsides and firing again

Bandits at 8 o'clock move in behind us
Ten ME-109's out of the sun
Ascending and turning our Spitfires to face them
Heading straight for them I press down my guns

Rolling, turning, diving
Rolling, turning, diving, going in again
Rolling, turning, diving
Rolling, turning, diving
Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Won't you... run, live to fly, fly to live, aces high


3. 2 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT

Kill for gain or shoot to maim
But we don't need a reason
The golden goose is on the loose
And never out of season
Blackened pride still burns inside
This shell of bloody treason
Here's my gun for a barrel of fun
For the love of living death

[Chorus #1]
The killer's breed or the demon's seed
The glamour, the fortune, the pain
Go to war again, blood is freedom's stain
Don't you pray for my soul anymore

[Chorus #2]
Two minutes to midnight
The hands that threaten doom
Two minutes to midnight
To kill the unborn in the womb

The blind men shout let the creatures out
We'll show the unbelievers
Napalm screams of human flames
For a prime time Belsen feast... yeah !
As the reasons for the carnage cut
Their meat and lick the gravy
We oil the jaws of the war machine
And feed it with our babies

[Chorus #1]

[Chorus #2]

The body bags and little rags
Of children torn in two
And the jellied brains of those who remain
To put the finger right on you
As the madmen play on words
And make us all dance to their song
To the tune of starving millions
To make a better kind of gun

[Chorus #1]

[Chorus #2]

Midnight, midnight, midnight... It's all night ! (x2)
Midnight... All night !


4. THE TROOPER

You'll take my life but I'll take yours too
You'll fire your musket but I'll run you through
So when you're waiting for the next attack
You'd better stand, there's no turning back

The bugle sounds and the charge begins
But on this battlefield no one wins
The smell of acrid smoke and horse breath
As I plunge into a certain death

[Chorus]
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh !
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh !

The horse he sweats with fear, we break to run
The mighty roar of the Russian guns
And as we race towards the human wall
The screams of pain as my comrades fall

We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground
And the Russians fire another round
We get so near, yet so far away
We won't live to fight another day

[Chorus]

We get so close, near enough to fight
When a Russian gets me in his sights
He pull the trigger and I feel the blow
A burst of rounds takes my horse below

And as I lay there gazing at the sky
My body's numb and my throat is dry
And as I lay forgotten and alone
Without a tear I draw my parting groan

[Chorus]


5. REVELATIONS

"O God of Earth and Altar
Bow down and hear our cry
Our earthly rulers falter
Our people drift and die
The walls of gold entomb us
The swords of scorns divide
Take not my thunder from us
But take away our pride"
(G.K. Chesterton, English Hymnal)

Just a babe in a black abyss
No reason for a place like this
The walls are cold and souls cry out in pain
An easy way for the blind to go
A clever path for the fools who know
The secret of the hanged man - The smile on his lips

[Chorus]
The light of the blind - You'll see
The venom tears my spine
The eyes of the Nile are opening - You'll see

She came to me with a serpent's kiss
As the eye of the sun rose on her lips
Moonlight catches silver tears I cry
So we lay in a black embrace
And the seed is sown in a holy place
And I watched, and I waited for the dawn

[Chorus]

Blind all of us together
Ablaze with hope and free
No storm or heavy weather
Will rock the boat you'll see
The time has come to close your eyes
And still the wind and rain
For the one who will be king
The watcher in the ring
It is you ... oh, it is you ...


6. FLIGHT OF ICARUS

As the sun breaks, above the ground
An old man stands on the hill
As the ground warms, to the first rays of light
A birdsong shatters the still

His eyes are ablaze
See the madman in his gaze

[Chorus]
Fly, on your way, like an eagle
Fly as high as the sun
On your way, like an eagle
Fly and touch the sun

Now the crowd breaks and a young boy appears
Looks the old man in the eye
As he spreads his wings and shouts at the crowd
In the name of God my father I fly

His eyes seems so glazed
As he flies on the wings of a dream
Now he knows his father betrayed
Now his wings turn to ashes to ashes his grave

[Chorus]

Fly, on your way, like an eagle
Fly as high as the sun
On your way, like an eagle
Fly as high as the sun

On your way, like an eagle
Fly and touch the sun
On your way, like an eagle
Fly... Fly as high as the sun !


7. RIME OF THE ANCIENT MARINER

Hear the rime of the ancient mariner
See his eye as he stops one of three
Mesmerizes one of the wedding guests
Stay here and listen to the nightmares of the sea

And the music plays on, as the bride passes by
Caught by his spell and the mariner tells his tale

Driven South to the land of the snow and ice
To a place where nobody's been
Through the snow and fog flies on the albatross
Hailed in God's name, hoping good luck it brings

And the ship sails on, back to the North
Through the fog and ice, and the albatross follows on

The mariner kills the bird of good omen
His shipmates cry against what he's done
But when the fog clears, they justify him
And make themselves a part of the crime

Sailing on and on and north across the sea
Sailing on and on and north 'til all is calm

The albatross begins with its vengeance
A terrible curse a thirst has begun
His shipmates blame bad luck on the mariner
About his neck, the dead bird is hung

And the curse goes on and on and on at sea
And the curse goes on and on for them and me

"Day after day, day after day, we stuck nor breath nor motion
As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean
Water, water everywhere and all the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere, nor any drop to drink"
(Samuel Taylor COLERIDGE, 1798-1834)

There calls the mariner, there comes a ship over the line
But how can she sail with no wind in her sails and no tide
See... Onward she comes, onward she nears, out of the sun
See... She has no crew, she has no life, wait but there's two

Death and she life in death, they throw their dice for the crew
She wins the mariner and he belongs to her now
Then... Crew one by one, they drop down dead, two hundred men
She... She life in death, she lets him live, her chosen one

"One after one by the star dogged moon, too quick for groan or sigh
Each turned his face with a ghastly pang and cursed me with his eye
Four times fifty living men (and I heard nor sigh nor groan)
With heavy thump, a lifeless lump, they dropped down one by one"
(Samuel Taylor COLERIDGE, 1798-1834)

The curse it lives on in their eyes
The mariner he wished he'd die
Along with the sea creatures
But they lived on, so did he

And by the light of the moon
He prays for their beauty not doom
With heart he blessed them
God's creatures all of them too

Then the spell starts to break
The albatross falls from his neck
Sinks down like lead into the sea
Then down in falls comes the rain !

Hear the groans of the long dead seamen
See them stir and they start to rise
Bodies lifted by good spirits, none of them
Speak and they're lifeless in their eyes

And revenge is still sought, penance starts again
Cast into a trance and the nightmare carries on

Now the curse is finally lifted
And the mariner sights his home
Spirits go from the long dead bodies
Form their own light and the mariner's left alone

And then a boat came sailing towards him
It was a joy he could not believe
The pilot's boat, his son and the hermit
Penance of life will fall onto him

And the ship it sinks like lead into the sea
And the hermit shrieves the mariner of his sins

The mariner's bound to tell of his story
To tell his tale wherever he goes
To teach God's word by his own example
That we must love all things that God made

And the wedding guest a sad and wiser man
And the tale goes on, and on, and on, and on...


8. POWERSLAVE

Into the abyss I'll fall... the eye of Horus
Into the eyes of the night... watching me go
Green is the cat's eye that glows... in this temple
Enter the risen Osiris... risen again

[Chorus]
Tell me why I had to be a powerslave
I don't wanna die, I'm a God, why can't I live on ?
When the life giver dies, all around is laid waste
And in my last hour I'm a slave to the power of death

When I was living this lie... fear was my game
People would worship and fall... drop to their knees
So bring me the blood and red wine... for the one to succeed me
For he is a man and a God... and he will die too

[Chorus]

Now I am cold but a ghost... lives in my veins
Silent the terror that reigned... marbled in stone
The shell of a man God preserved... for a thousand ages
But open the gates of my Hell... I'll strike from the grave

[Chorus]

Slave to the power of death (x2)


9. THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST

"How to you, oh Earth and Sea, for the devil sends the Beast with wrath, because he knows the time is short... Let him who hath understanding reckon the number of the Beast for it is a human number, its number is six hundred and sixty six"
(Revelations, chapter XIII, V. 18)

I left alone, my mind was blank
I needed time to get the memories from my mind
What did I see, can I believe that what I saw
That night was real and not just fantasy
Just what I saw in my old dream were they
Reflections of my warped mind staring back at me
'Cause in my dreams it's always there,
The evil face that twists my mind and brings me to despair

Night was black, was no use holding back
'Cause I just have to see was someone watching me
In the mist, dark figures move and twist
Was all this for real or just some kind of Hell

666, the number of the Beast
Hell and fire was spawned to be released

Torches blazed and sacred chants were praised
As they start to cry, hands held to the sky
In the night the fires are burning bright
The ritual has begun, Satan's work is done

666, the number of the Beast
Sacrifice is going on tonight

This can't go on, I must inform the law
Can this still be real or some crazy dream
But I feel drawn towards the chanting hordes
They seem to mesmerize me... Can't avoid their eyes

666, the number of the Beast
666, the one for you and me

I'm coming back, I will return
And I'll possess your body and I'll make you burn
I have the fire, I have the force
I have the power to make my evil take its course


10. HALLOWED BE THY NAME

I'm waiting in my cold cell when the bell begins to chime
Reflecting on my past life and it doesn't have much time
'Cause at five o'clock they take me to the gallows pole
The sands of time for me are running low... running low...

When the priest comes to read me the last rites
I take a look through the bars at the last sights
Of a world that has gone very wrong for me

Can it be there's been some sort of error
Hard to stop the surmounting terror
Is it really the end not some crazy dream

Somebody please tell me that I'm dreaming
It's not easy to stop from screaming
But words escape me when I try to speak

Tears flow but why am I crying
After all I'm not afraid of dying
Don't I believe that there never is an end

As the guards march me out to the courtyard
Somebody cries from a cell "God be with you"
If there's a God then why has he let me go ?

As I walk all my life drifts before me
And though the ends is near I'm not sorry
Catch my soul 'cause it's willing to fly away

Mark my words please believe my soul lives on
Please don't worry now that I have gone
I've gone beyond to see the truth

When you know that your time is close at hand
Maybe then you'll begin to understand
Life down here is just a strange illusion

Yeah... Hallowed be thy name (x2)


11. IRON MAIDEN

Won't you come into my room
I want to show you all my wares
I just want to see your blood
I just want to stand and stare

See the blood begin to flow
As it falls upon the floor
Iron Maiden can't be fought
Iron Maiden can't be sought

Oh well, wherever, wherever you are
Iron Maiden's gonna get you, no matter how far
See the blood flow, watching it shed
Up above my head, Iron Maiden wants you for dead

(all the song played 3 times)


12. RUN TO THE HILLS

White man came across the sea
He brought us pain and misery
He killed our tribes, he killed our creed
He took our game for his own need

We fought him hard, we fought him well
Out on the plains, we gave him Hell
But many came, too much for Cree
Oh, will we ever be set free ?

Riding through dust clouds and barren wastes
Galloping hard on the plains
Chasing the redskins back to their holes
Fighting them at their own game
Murder for freedom, the stab in the back
Women and children and cowards attack

[Chorus]
Run to the hills, run for your lives
Run to the hills, run for your lives

Soldier blue in the barren wastes
Hunting and killing their game
Raping the women and wasting the men
The only good Injuns are tame
Selling them whiskey and taking their gold
Enslaving the young and destroying the old

[Chorus] (x3)


13. RUNNING FREE

Just sixteen, a pick up truck
Out of money, out of luck
I've got nowhere to call my own
Hit the gas and here I go

[Chorus]
I'm running free yeah, I'm running free
I'm running free yeah, I'm running free

Spend the night in an L.A. jail
Listen to the sirens wail
But they ain't got a thing on me
I'm running wild, I'm running free... yeah !

[Chorus]

Get out of my way !

[Chorus]

Pulled her at the Bottle Top
Whisky dancing, disco hop
And all the boys are after me
And that's the way it's gonna be... yeah !

[Chorus] (x3)


DISC 2


1. WRATHCHILD

I was born into a scene
Of angriness and greed
Of dominance and persecution

My mother was a queen
My dad I've never seen
I was never meant to be

[Chorus #1]
Now I spend my time looking all around
For a man that's nowhere to be found
Until I find him, I'm never gonna stop searching
I'm gonna find my man, gonna travel round

[Chorus #2]
'Cause I'm a wrathchild
Well, I'm a wrathchild
Yeah, I'm a wrathchild
I'm coming to get you, oh yeah, yeah !

Some say I shouldn't matter
Ain't nothing gonna alter
The course of my destination

But I know I've gotta find
Some serious peace of mind
Or I know I'll just go crazy

[Chorus #1]
[Chorus #2]


2. 22 ACACIA AVENUE

If you're feeling down depressed and lonely, I know a place were we can go
22 Acacia Avenue, meet a lady that I know
So if you're looking for a good time and you're prepared to pay the price
Fifteen quid is all she asks for, everybody's got their vice

If you're waiting for a long time for the rest to do their piece
You can tell her that you know me, you might even get it free
So any time you're down the East End, don't you hesitate to go
You can take my honest word for it, she'll teach you more than you can know

Charlotte can't you get out from all of this madness
Can't you see it only brings you sadness
When you entertain your men
Don't you know the risk of getting disease

Some day when you're reaching the age of forty
I bet you'll regret the days when you were laying
Nobody then will want to know
You won't have any beautiful wares to show anymore

22, the Avenue, that's the place where we all go
You will find, it's warm inside, the red light's burning bright tonight

Charlotte isn't it time you stopped this mad life
Don't you ever think about the bad times
Why do you have to live this way
Do you enjoy your lay or is it the pay

Sometimes when you're strolling down the avenue
The way you walk it makes men think of having you
When you're walking down the street
Everybody stops and turns to stare at you

22, the Avenue, that's the place where we all go
You will find, it's warm inside, the red light's burning bright tonight

Beat her, mistreat her, do anything that you please
Bite her, excite her, make her get down on her knees
Abuse her, misuse her, she can take all that you've got
Caress her, molest her, she always does what you want

You're running away, don't you know what you're doing
Can't you see it'll lead you to ruin
Charlotte you've taken your life and you've thrown it away
You believe that because what you're earning

Your life's good, don't you know that is hurting
All the people that love you, don't cast them aside
All the men that are constantly drooling
It's no life for you, stop all that screwing

You're packing your bags, you're coming with me...


3. CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED

He's walking like a small child
But watch his eyes burn you away
Black holes in his golden stare
God knows he wants to go home

[Chorus]
Children of the damned (x4)

He's walking like a dead man
If he had lived, he would have crucified us all
Now he's standing on his last step
He thought oblivion well it beckons us all

[Chorus]

Now it's burning his hands, he's turning to laugh
Smiles as the flames sears his flesh
Melting his face, screaming in pain
Peeling the skin from his eyes
Watch him die, according to plan
He's dust on the ground, what did we learn ?

You're children of the damned
Your back's against the wall
Your turn into the light
You're burning in the night
You're children of the damned
Like candles watch them burn
Burning in the light
You'll burn again tonight
Children of the damned...


4. DIE WITH YOUR BOOTS ON

Another prophet of disaster
Who says this ship is lost
Another prophet of disaster
Leaving you to count the cost
Taunting us with visions
Afflicting us with fear
Predicting war for millions
In the hope that one appears

[Chorus #1]
No point asking when it is
No point asking who's to go
No point asking what's the game
No point asking who's to blame
'Cause if you're gonna die, if you're gonna die
If you're gonna die, if you're gonna die

[Chorus #2]
If you're gonna die, die with your boots on
If you're gonna try, well stick around
Gonna cry, just move along
If you're gonna die, you're gonna die...
...Gonna die, die with your boots on
If you're gonna try, well stick around
Gonna cry, just move along
If you're gonna die, you're gonna die !

Thirteen the beast is rising
The Frenchman did surmise
Through earthquakes and starvation
The warlord will arise
Terror, death, destruction
Pours from the eastern sands
But the truth of all predictions
Is always in your hands

[Chorus #1]

[Chorus #2]

They die, with their boots on... It's the game... They die !
They die, with their... with their boots on... They die !
We die ! We die ! We die ! We die ! We die !

[Chorus #1]

[Chorus #2]
If you're gonna die... die !


5. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

I've been looking so long for you now, you won't get away from my grasp
You've been living so long in hiding, in hiding behind that false mask

You know and I know that you ain't got that long to last
Your looks and your feelings are just the remains of your past

Standing in the wings there, you wait for the curtain to fall
Knowing the terror and holding you have on us all

And I know that you're gonna scratch me and maim me and maul
And you know I'm helpless from your mesmerizing cat call

Keep your distance, walk away
Don't take this bait, don't you stray, don't fade away

Watch your step, he's out to get you, come what may
Don't you stray from the narrow way

I'm running and hiding, in my dreams you are always there
You're the phantom of the opera, you're the devil, you're just out to scare

You damaged my mind and my soul just floats through the air
You haunt me, you taunt me, you torture me back at your lair

...Torture me back at your lair !



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