Holy Smoke

How good is Holy Smoke on a scale of 1-10?


  • Total voters
    10
A

Anonymous

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Despite what you may think, this isn't about the misprint of the Holy Smoke lyrics in the remake of No Prayer for the Dying, though I agree that was a bit rubbish.

According to the leaflet, the first line is "Believe in me and send us money", but I swear to God he says "Believe in me and no money". Does anyone else think this too?
 
'holy Smoke'

It looks, my friend, like you didn't check [a href=\'http://www.maidenfans.com/imc/?url=album08_npftd/lyrics08_npftd&link=albums&lang=eng#track2\' target=\'_blank\']my transcription of the 'Holy Smoke' lyrics[/a]. There are a few other mistakes in other songs too, btw [!--emo&:)--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'smile.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
'holy Smoke'

Jimmy Reptile and all his friends
Say they gonna be with you at the end
Burning records burning books
Holy soldiers Nazi looks
Crocodile smiles just wait a while
Till the TV Queen gets her make up clean
I've lived in filth I've lived in sin
And I still smell cleaner that the shit you're in


Jimmy Swaggart, the most famous US TV preacher of the time, scoring some $150mil per year from religious freaks. He used to organise record burnings. he went down in flames when he was caught red handed with a hooker! the story is too funny. Jimmy went from TV station to TV station, crying and begging god for forgiveness. The hooker made the Penthouse cover!

[img src=\'http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/religion/televangelists/jimmy-swaggart/Penthouse_Jul88.jpg\' border=\'0\' alt=\'user posted image\' /]

[a href=\'http://www.rotten.com/library/bio/religion/televangelists/jimmy-swaggart/\' target=\'_blank\']more...[/a]


there's sth about it [a href=\'http://www.google.com.gr/search?q=cache:pTU6oDzNyuYJ:website.iron.maiden.free.fr/paroles%2520html/no%2520prayer%2520fr.htm+%22jimmy+swaggart%22+%22iron+maiden%22&hl=el&ie=UTF-8\' target=\'_blank\']here[/a] too, but it's in french, maybe you can help me out on traducing it!
 
'holy Smoke'

Nice article! Thanks Gor!

As for the bit in French, I wrote it. There's nothing much to it, except that I explain to the French audience who Jimmy Swaggart is (he's virtually unknown in France).
 
'holy Smoke'

also, he wrote a book called "music: the new pornography", with steve harris on the cover! a fan sent bruce a copy (according to bruce), maybe that's were he got his spark from!
 
'holy Smoke'

say mav, since you wrote the french article, can you tell me why the Lincoln car is mentioned?
 
'holy Smoke'

[!--QuoteBegin-gor+Mar 28 2004, 12:24 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(gor @ Mar 28 2004, 12:24 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--] say mav, since you wrote the french article, can you tell me why the Lincoln car is mentioned? [/quote]
It is in fact a translation of the lyrics, accompanied by footnotes. And the Lincoln IS mentioned in those lyrics! [!--emo&^_^--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/happy.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'happy.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
'holy Smoke'

Now you can read other visitors' comments on 'Holy Smoke' as well as post your own. Any contribution to the commentary will be much appreciated, may it be cultural references relevant to the song (links to related websites, interpretations that may have been overlooked in the Commentary, and the like) or personal essays related to the topic of the song. Just be aware that messages that are either off-topic or too wacky may be deleted.
 
'holy Smoke'

One of their more happy tunes, but I don't think it fits all too well with the band. It certainly doesn't fit the lyrics. One of the best songs on the album, but compared to other albums it's just sub-par.
 
'holy Smoke'

[!--QuoteBegin-Maverick+Mar 5 2004, 08:07 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Maverick @ Mar 5 2004, 08:07 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]It looks, my friend, like you didn't check [a href=\'http://www.maidenfans.com/imc/?url=album08_npftd/lyrics08_npftd&link=albums&lang=eng#track2\' target=\'_blank\']my transcription of the 'Holy Smoke' lyrics[/a]. There are a few other mistakes in other songs too, btw  [!--emo&:)--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/smile.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'smile.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
[snapback]55752[/snapback]​
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Great work, and now the lyrics really make sense.

It's interesting that the first verse is actually written from the mouth of Jesus.

"Believe in me and send no money" - this is actually what Jesus wants from men.

"But my so-called friends are making me a joke, they missed out what I said like I never spoke, they choose what they wanna hear - don't tell a lie" - the tv evangelist are exploiting the religion by using some words in bible but dismissing some others which they don't like.

Great lyrics for sure.

But I don't really like the music, the guitar lines beneath Bruce's vocals are too rough, it sounds like something Bruce wrote on accoustic guitar in a few minutes. And Steve's melodies are a bit too cheesy. They work with the lyrics though, which is cool. But all in all it is not really maidenesque.
 
'holy Smoke'

I don't agree that this song has a 'happy feel' to it. Lyrics are spoken fast, that's why it may feel happy. I agree that for most part NPFtD and FotD are not sung with the same deliberate, deep emotion as other Dickinson material, but that's because they tried something new. These two CDs sound angrier, perhaps to fit the times they were written in. You can't fault them for doing different things.

Anyway, I like Holy Smoke. It took me a while to get into it, but now I dig it.

















EDIT:  I just heard a news report on Ted Haggard's accusations about drugs, sex -- gay sex with a prostitute.  Heh!  Everytime some far-right evangelical preacher in high profile gets slammed with accusations like this, it proves time and again how hypocritical religious extremists truly are.

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1554908,00.html
 
Re: 'holy Smoke'

Hey guys

Anyone has a clue on what "trick of the tail" means? I searched all over the internet, and everything I could find is a Genenis album with this name.

Also, if "Lincoln" refers to the car, what does "bed" have to do with it? Or maybe 'bed' may also means something like "garage"?

Sorry, I'm not a english native-speaker, so I would really appreciate if someone helps me out. Thank you!
 
Re: 'holy Smoke'

Imagine lying in the Lincoln Bed, and thinking..."George W. Bush had sex here."

It'd be enough to make me resign the presidency.
 
Daily Song: Holy Smoke

Welcome to the Daily Vote Thread! Rules are here.

Remember, only a decent review will count towards the contest.

Today's song: Holy Smoke

Yesterday's song remains open for voting! You can find it here.


A catchy little tune with an important message, but it is rather upbeat and happy. Still, I like it, if for the music video, but it's not on my list of "super great songs". Something like a 7.25, so I will give it a 7.
 
Re: Daily Song: Holy Smoke

The lyrics may not have aged as gracefully as some, but they were deliciously biting at the time for any of us who had grown up through the devil-worshipping accusations of the televangelistic hypocrisy of the’80s. The melody is very catchy, but more than a little annoying. The music…well I’m not enough of a musician to say this definitively, but I would be surprised is there is a simpler song in the catalogue. I get why Maiden saw the need to strip things down after the pomp of Seventh Son, but this isn’t gritty, it’s fluff. Five
 
Re: Daily Song: Holy Smoke

It's catchy, the lyrics are great (I assume by Bruce), and even the music video is funny.  I like this song more than most people, I think, but I still can't give it higher than 7.5, rounded down to 7.
 
Re: Daily Song: Holy Smoke

Funny video, good message, but the song is not a favorite of mine. 6 out of 10...
 
Re: Daily Song: Holy Smoke

I actually had Dave's solo as my ringtone a while.

I like how the song is catchy and so. But still, the solo lifts the song from a simple 7 to an 8
 
Re: Daily Song: Holy Smoke

When compared to the number 2 tracks from the albums preceding No Prayer For the Dying (Infinite Dreams, Wasted Years, 2 Minutes, Revelations etc) Holy Smoke seems a little anaemic in regards to any heavyiness and epicness.  But it's not a bad song at all, Davey's solo is one of his finest from the 90s, and if the band chose to throw this number into next years setlist I don't think I'd be the only one in the crowd raising devil horns.

7
 
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