According to Dickinson, the lyrics refer to his epidemic
AIDS, which, since its inception, has radically changed the way
which sexual intercourse is treated, having established its fear
HIV infection. As inspiration for the lyrics, he mentioned him
death of Queen singer Freddie Mercury (1946 - 1991)
from AIDS, which the Maiden were informed of during the period
composed the songs of the album. As
inspiration also Dickinson mentioned the
example of Ervin "Magic" Johnson (1959-
), the American star player of the NBA, o
who in 1991 announced that he is a player
of HIV.
Although the lyrics are not related to
plot of the book of the same name (1961)
Alistair MacLean (see "Where Eagles Dare"),
the general lesson of the book is that the
fear, in the right hands, can
be a powerful weapon of control. The
book was also transferred to a film of the same name
in 1973.