Nothing from POM besides QFF gets lower then an 8 from me, but this song is not one of my favorites. It's a fun, high energy song, but those gang vocals are pretty cheesy. Low 8.
Lyrically, I think it's great. Musically, the verses are only average and the chorus is terribly boring. This is one of the few Maiden songs that I just can't get into.
A great song. Good lyrics and an Amazing performance by Bruce. There is just something missing from it though. 8/10
8. I don't really like the "if you're gonna die" part and I agree that the word die is pretty overused. It's still catchy, nice rocker song.
9/10, This song has always been a personal favourite of mine, as for the lyrics... one of my favourite Maiden tracks.
The way i'm rating this tracks goes like this : i'm not being overly objective, i score by the opinion i have right now about the particular track, and i'm referring and comparing by Maiden standards, eg, how the song scores against others in discography. My score guidlines are these : 10 - brilliant 9 - almost there 8 - a very good song 7 - good song, but something missing, can be filler also if it's well constructed 6 - typical filler or unfinished business, serious flaws in some compartment (arrangement, music, lyrics) 5 - not good at all, but with listenable parts 4...1 - one of worst tracks in discography Ok, Die With Your Boots on. I'm between 7 and 8. Intro is excellent, lyrics are excellent, if i'm not mistaken it's one of first social commentary tracks they've rolled out. However, the verse riffs are too simple, chorus is...don't know, sometimes i feel like i like it, sometimes i feel like i don't. The second excellent part is "they've died..." followed by H's solo. I like how the vocal tempo doubles up on final chorus. Still feel like there's space for improvement, eg. it's missing several elements. Hence, 7.
7/10 Solid, but not one of my favourites. Something about the riffs seems a little too obvious, even though there are clever touches here and there.
I know this topic hasn't been posted in for a while, but nevertheless here are a few of my thoughts on the song: I'd give it a 7/10, it's got some pretty awesome parts, but compared to other songs on the album like Revelations and To Tame a Land it doesn't quite stand up. Looking at the lyrics it's (as others have concluded) a criticism of false prophets, politicians and media types throughout time who have spread lies and propaganda throughout time, the "Frenchman" could refer to Nostradamus who made lots of prophecies and claimed to dabble in the occult. The line "the truth of all predictions, is surely in your hands" quite clearly expresses the view that our actions determine the courses of our lives and that if we resigned ourselves to believeing all the bad news we hear on a daily basis then we would surely be doomed. A slightly dull and repetitive chorus brings the song down a little in my opinion, but I do quite like the lyrics!