Iron Maiden lyrics tournament final: Empire of the Clouds rises above all

[mckindog]

and:

FOR THE GREATER GOOD OF GOD

Spoiler

Are you a man of peace or man of holy war
Too many sides to you, don't know which any more
So many full of life, but also filled with pain
Don't know just how many will live to breathe again

A life that's made to breath destruction or defense
A mind that's vain corruption, bad or good intent
A wolf in a sheep's clothing, or saintly or sinner
Or someone that would believe, a holy war winner

They fire off many shots and many parting blows
Their actions beyond a reasoning only god would know
And as he lies in heaven or it could be in hell
I feel he's somewhere here or looking from below
But I don't know, I don't know

Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is

More pain and misery in the history of mankind
Sometimes it seems more like the blind leading the blind
It brings upon us more of famine death and war
You know religion has a lot to answer for

Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is

And as they search to find the bodies in the sand
They find its ashes that are scattered across the land
And as their spirits seem to whistle on the wind
A shot is fired somewhere another war begins

And all because of it you'd think that we would learn
But still the body count the city fires burn
Somewhere there's someone dying in a foreign land
Meanwhile the world is crying stupidity of man
Tell me why, tell me why

Please tell me now what life is
Please tell me now what love is
Well tell me now what war is
Again tell me what life is

For the greater good of God

He gave his life for us he fell upon the cross
To die for all of those who never mourn his loss
It wasn't meant for us to feel the pain again
Tell me why, tell me why

versus

OUT OF THE SHADOWS

Spoiler

Hold a halo round the world, golden is the day
Princes of the Universe, your burden is the way
So there is no better time, who will be born today?
A gypsy child at day break, a king for a day

Out of the Shadows and into the sun
Dreams of the past as the old ways are done
Oh there is beauty and surely there is pain
But we must endure it to live again

Dusty dreams in fading daylight flicker on the walls
Nothing new your life's adrift, what purpose to it all?
Eyes are closed and death is calling, reaching out its hand
Call upon the starlight to surround you

Out of the Shadows and into the sun
Dreams of the past as the old ways are done
Oh there is beauty and surely there is pain
But we must endure it to live again

A man who casts no shadow has no soul...

 

[Stardust]

Wasted Years and For The Greater Good Of God.

Easy choices, here.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Wasted Years and For The Greater Good Of God.

Easy choices, here.

Easy choices indeed.

I've always been a big fan of Wasted Years' lyrics. It's simple, it's obvious, but it still has some poetry and emotional weight to it. That, IMO, is the benchmark of a well-written lyric.

As for the other matchup, FTGGOG has some lyrical awkwardness here and there (as most Steve epics do), but the overall tone, fit, and message is very good. Out of the Shadows loses immediately for that abysmally-rhymed/not-rhymed first verse.

 

[mckindog]

Hmm...
I thought these were solid matchups with songs that could/should advance.
I think Shadows is quite beautiful and Be Quick quite biting.

Not sure where I'm going yet.

 

[mckindog]

Wasted Years (9-0) and For the Greater Good of God (6-3) advance

Next battles:

BOOK OF SOULS

Spoiler

Sacrifices buried with kings
Accompany them on a journey with no end
To an afterlife that’s rich with fruit of all the gods
And to face the demons of their underworld haunts

The sentient is sent to seek out all the truth
A flight to earth that is a given from his birth
To rise from ashes of the dead
Out of the fire is sent to fulfill man’s desire

By power day and night and death he ruled them
The sky and earth and the fires too
Two headed reptile symbol of his reign
Universes of the underworld
A life that’s full of all the wealth and riches
Can never last for an eternity
After living in a golden paradise
The ultimate sacrifice

Prophecy of sky gods, the sun and moon
Passing of old ways will come true soon
Falling of ages, forest of kings
The search for the truth, the book of souls

The rulers of planets and stars
The power of the kings of traders and the wars
Planetary cycles and the phases of the moon
Is in the document a kingdom they will learn

They were praying to the gods of nature
And were living in the cities of stone
Towers reaching upward to the heavens
Sacred wonders for the world unknown
Make their lives be a mystery no more
Records kept and the passing of laws
Sacred gods to the book of lies
When a civilization dies

Prophecy of sky gods, the sun and moon
Passing of old ways will come true soon
Falling of ages, forest of kings
The lost book of souls, destruction begins

Ascending the throne wearing feathers and shells
He brought back their lives from the void
Alien invasion brings nothing but death
Mass exodus and plant life destroyed

Domain of the Earth to the journey of truth
The underworld caves, Mayan slaves
Defeat of the dark Lords
The ultimate proof
In the place where the ancestors rule

The book of souls

versus

THE CLAIRVOYANT

Spoiler

Feel the sweat break on my brow
Is it me or is it shadows that are dancing on the walls?
Is this dream or is it now
Is this a vision or normality I see before my eyes?

I wonder why I wonder how
That it seems the powers getting stronger every day
I feel a strength an inner fire
But I'm scared I won't be able to control it anymore

There's a time to live and a time to die
When it's time to meet the maker
There's time to live but isn't it strange
That as soon as you're born you're dying.

Just by looking through your eyes
He could see the future penetrating right in through your mind
See the truth and see your lies
But for all his power couldn't foresee his own demise

There's time to live and time to die
When it's time to meet the maker
There's time to live but isn't it strange
That as soon as you're born you're dying...

...and reborn again??

 

[mckindog]

...and

DANCE OF DEATH

Spoiler

Let me tell you a story to chill the bones
About a thing that I saw
One night wandering in the everglades
I'd one drink but no more

I was rambling, enjoying the bright moonlight
Gazing up at the stars
Not aware of a presence so near to me
Watching my every move

Feeling scared and I fell to my knees
As something rushed me from the trees
Took me to an unholy place
And that is where I fell from grace

Then they summoned me over to join in with them
To the dance of the dead
Into the circle of fire I followed them
Into the middle I was led

As if time had stopped still
I was numb with fear but still
I wanted to go
And the blaze of the fire did no hurt upon me
As I walked onto the coals

And I felt I was in a trance and my spirit
Was lifted from me
And if only someone had the chance
To witness what happened to me

And I danced and I pranced and I sang with them
All had death in their eyes
Lifeless figures they were undead all of them
They had ascended from hell

As I danced with the dead
My free spirit was laughing and howling down at me
Below my undead body
Just danced the circle of dead

Until the time came to reunite us both
My spirit came back down to me
I didn't know if I was alive or dead
As the others all joined in with me

By luck then a skirmish started
And took the attention away from me
When they took their gaze from me
Was the moment that I fled

I ran like hell faster than the wind
But behind I did not glance
One thing that I did not dare
Was to look just straight ahead

When you know that your time has come around
You know you'll be prepared for it
Say your last goodbyes to everyone
Drink and say a prayer for it

When you're lying in your sleep, when you're lying in your bed
And you wake from your dreams to go dancing with the dead
When you're lying in your sleep, when you're lying in your bed
And you wake from your dreams to go dancing with the dead

To this day I guess I'll never know
Just why they let me go
But I'll never go dancing no more
'Til I dance with the dead

versus

THE GREAT UNKNOWN

Spoiler

Winter softly falling to the ground
Calmly waiting don't you hear a sound
When the world has fallen to the depths below
Where the future's open and the fear has grown
And the path to follow to the great unknown
Where the dark has fallen and the seed is sown

In the selfish hearts of some
The nightmare's coming
With the spilling blood of others
Now wringing through

Now the cup is spilling over
Wake to news of death
And the prophecy of sages
Destiny is met

To the depths of human mind
The cry is burning
With the mentor's anger
Of the lesson ringing true

And for those who live by
and are dying by the sword
They will take their ideals with them
Justify their end

Where the fools are lying
And the meek are crying
Where the wolves are preying
On the weak alone
Where the sons are dying
Hear their mothers crying
And the distant sound of fire
Begins again

Never ending the desires of men
It'll never be the same or calm again
In a time of changing hearts
And great unknown
It'll be the damnation and end of us all

Where the fools are lying
And the meek are crying
Where the wolves are preying
On the weak alone
Where the sons are dying
Hear their mothers crying
And the distant sound of fire
Begins again

Never ending the desires of men
It'll never be the same or calm again
In a time of changing hearts
And great unknown
It'll be the damnation and end of us all

When the world has fallen
And we stand alone...

 

[Lampwick 43]

The Janick songs.

 

[Brigantium]

I'll have to think this over and come back to it. Book of Souls from the first pair, but I'm undecided about the second. Dance of Death has great storytelling, dancing and prancing aside, but I'm fond of Great Unknown.

 

[mckindog]

I'm with Brigs.
Great Unknown is good — the lyrics do a great job complementing the ominous, edge-of-the-precipice, anxious feel of the music.
But Dance tells a great tale.

 

[Mosh]

First one is tough, but I really like how TBOS meshes with the music.

Second is a no brainer. Great Unknown has some good ideas and a definite meaning, but it is one of several lyrics on TBOS from Steve that feel sloppily put together without much sense of direction. DoD is the total opposite. Masterful storytelling that actually doesn't suffer from the usual flaws of a Steve lyric.

 

[frus]

ouch, this was tough, but TBOS wins. DoD was an easier choice

 

[Brigantium]

Book of Souls and Dance of Death. I did think long and hard about Great Unknown, but while the lyrics are well crafted and thoughtful, Dance of Death is first class storytelling.

 

[CriedWhenBrucieLeft]

Nae danger.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Book of Souls, easily.

Second pairing is hard. I love both lyrics for completely different reasons. Dance of Death is simple, evocative storytelling. It feels like a campfire ghost tale in the very best way. Great Unknown is...a great unknown of meaning with really fantastic lyricism. It's dark and poetic and has amazing fit to the music.

I shall go with DOD, however, as I generally prefer the story.

 

[Whooten]

Prancing has NO place in Iron Maiden.

 

[Stardust]

Neither does constantly repeating the same lyrics over and over. Isn't that right, Killers?

 

[Whooten]

Killers doesn't have repetitive lyrics. Or even the same lyrics, if we're counting Live at the Rainbow.

 

[mckindog]

Book of Souls (8-4) and Dance of Death advance.

Next up

BRAVE NEW WORLD

Spoiler

Dying swans twisted wings, beauty not needed here
Lost my love, lost my life, in this garden of fear
I have seen many things, in a lifetime alone
Mother love is no more, bring this savage back home

Wilderness house of pain, makes no sense of it all
Close this mind dull this brain, Messiah before his fall
What you see is not real, those who know will not tell
All is lost sold your souls to this brave new world

A brave new world, in a brave new world
In a brave new world, a brave new world

Dragon kings dying queens, where is salvation now
Lost my life lost my dreams, rip the bones from my flesh
Silent screams laughing here, dying to tell you the truth
You are planned and you are damned in this brave new world

A brave new world, in a brave new world
In a brave new world, a brave new world

Dying swans twisted wings, bring this savage back home

versus

TEARS OF A CLOWN

Spoiler

All alone in a crowded room
He tries to force a smile
The smile it beamed or so it seemed
But never reached the eyes, disguise
Masquerading as the funny man do they despise?

The false smile maketh of the man
Glass empty or half full
Try to make some sense or sorrows drown
All looks well on the outside
Underneath the solemn truth
There’s something that inside has died

Tomorrow comes tomorrow goes
But the cloud remains the same
Wonder why he’s feeling down
Tears of a clown
Maybe it’s all just for the best
Lay his weary head to rest
Was forever feeling drowned
Tears of a clown

Who motivates the motivator
Facade it has to go
He knows it sooner or later
Smile for cameras all OK
But tomorrow is another day he must get through

He had a longer way to run
Or so the story goes
Life full of fun where did it go
We saw the sadness in his eyes
It came as no surprise
And now of course we’ll never know

Tomorrow comes tomorrow goes
But the cloud remains the same
Wonder why he’s feeling down
Tears of a clown
Maybe it’s all just for the best
Lay his weary head to rest
Was forever feeling drowned
Tears of a clown

 

[mckindog]

...and

BLOOD BROTHERS

Spoiler

And if you're taking a walk through the garden of life
What do you think you'd expect you would see?
Just like a mirror reflecting the moves of your life
And in the river reflections of me

Just for a second a glimpse of my father I see
And in a movement he beckons to me
And in a moment the memories are all that remain
And all the wounds are reopening again

We're blood brothers, we're blood brothers
We're blood brothers, we're blood brothers

And as you look all around at the world in dismay
What do you see, do you think we have learned
Not if you're taking a look at the war-torn affray
Out in the streets where the babies are burned

We're blood brothers, we're blood brothers
We're blood brothers, we're blood brothers

There are times when I feel I'm afraid for the world
There are times I'm ashamed of us all
When you're floating on all the emotion you feel
And reflecting the good and the bad

Will we ever know what the answer to life really is?
Can you really tell me what life is?
Maybe all the things that you know that are precious to you
Could be swept away by fate's own hand

We're blood brothers, we're blood brothers
We're blood brothers, we're blood brothers

When you think that we've used all our chances
And the chance to make everything right
Keep on making the same old mistakes
Makes untipping the balance so easy
When we're living our lives on the edge
Say a prayer on the book of the dead

We're blood brothers, we're blood brothers
We're blood brothers, we're blood brothers

And if you're taking a walk through the garden of life....

versus

PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

Spoiler

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 and hiding behind that false mask.
And you know and I know that you ain't got long now to last.
Your looks and your feelings are just the remains of your past.

You're standing in the wings, there you wait for the curtain to fall.
Knowing the terror and holding you have on us all.
Yeah, I know that you're gonna scratch me, maim me and maul.
You know I'm helpless from your mesmerizing cat call.

Keep your distance, walk away, don't take his 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're 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 it just floats through the air.
Haunt me, you taunt me, you torture me back at your lair.

 

[MrKnickerbocker]

Brave New World has a wonderfully magical, yet biting tone to it. I find the whole song incredible poetic. I like the concept/message of Tears of a Clown, but the phrasing is awkward and a little stunted, plus those shifts in past/present tense bug the crap out of me.

Blood Brothers...well, I like it, but the song starts with "and", which I simply cannot abide. It's also quite rambling considering the heavy material. Phantom of the Opera shows a wonderful sense for fit and has some interesting worldplay that I wouldn't expect out of a first album song. It might be the one time where Steve's obsession with cramming lyrics to fit the rhythm works out perfectly.