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The breakup of Yugoslavia as seen by The Internet

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I like the last part of the lyrics and how Bruce delivers those, but everything before "he's the ruler of the staaaaaaars ..." has two flaws, as I see it:
  • Too many words, making it difficult to sing (not the only song Steve has written that suffers from this, and I guess a frequent point of arguing between Steve and Bruce during recording!)
  • Not much poetic value, as it just refers a lot of things from Dune. Words like stillsuit, sand miners, Kwizatz Haderach and so on ... they mean absolutely nothing to someone who hasn't read the book. To compare with Alexander the Great: The latter also lists a lot of things, but it is easier to relate. Ancient Greece, conquest, battles against Persia ... all those things are things people have heard of and can relate to, and thus create pictures in their head.
 
When I was a child and walking back from the shops with my dad we would play a game where we had to walk without rhythm to stop the sandworms catching us. Then about 12 years later I started listening to Iron Maiden and when I read what 'To Tame A Land' was about I realized what my dad was referring to.
 
Black Wizard said:
When I was a child and walking back from the shops with my dad we would play a game where we had to walk without rhythm to stop the sandworms catching us. Then about 12 years later I started listening to Iron Maiden and when I read what 'To Tame A Land' was about I realized what my dad was referring to.
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No, just Scotland is riddled with weird stuff like sandworms.
 
The problem with "To Tame a Land" is really just the lyrics. They end up being completely nonsensical to those unfamiliar with the book, and thus fails to grab one's attention. "Rime" is an example of a literary adaptation done right: it lures you into the story by laying out all the key points so you can fully comprehend what is going on. On "To Tame a Land", Bruce is essentially babbling meaningless made-up words.
 
Number 6 said:
The problem with "To Tame a Land" is really just the lyrics. They end up being completely nonsensical to those unfamiliar with the book, and thus fails to grab one's attention. "Rime" is an example of a literary adaptation done right: it lures you into the story by laying out all the key points so you can fully comprehend what is going on. On "To Tame a Land", Bruce is essentially babbling meaningless made-up words.
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That's how Maiden's lyrics have always been for the most part. With some songs, you know exactly what they're singing about, some you have to really think about it and you can usually figure it out, and some you have no idea what the song is about and can never figure it out.
 
Travis The Dragon said:
That's how Maiden's lyrics have always been for the most part. With some songs, you know exactly what they're singing about, some you have to really think about it and you can usually figure it out, and some you have no idea what the song is about and can never figure it out.
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I disagree because every other Maiden songs have a meaning to me. They tell me a story, they talk to me about something. There's always something in the lyrics which leads you in the direction it wants. "Starblind" is a very clear example of this, the lyrics don't make much sense at first, but after you get past the weird initial imagery, you see it's actually an extremely thoughtful and important message. It's open for interpretation by anyone who wants to read it. "To Tame a Land", however, requires you to have read the book prior to the lyrics so you can fully comprehend their meaning, plus even people who've read the book before couldn't completely understand where the lyrics are going. It's a forced attempt to include references to a book Steve liked, and it's a shame because, as I stated before, he's done that so well otherwise ("Phantom", "Rime", "Still Life").
 
There are quite a few bands I love that I have no idea what they're singing about, but as long as the music is great, I'm personally not too worried about the lyrics. However, if a song does have great lyrics that tell a story, then I do get enjoyment out of that as well. Also, a song could have the most amazing lyrics ever, but if it sucks musically, I still wouldn't like it. If my most favorite Maiden songs had say Justin Bieber's lyrics it probably would't bother me because the music and Bruce's singing would still be just as amazing. At least that's how I think it would be, but I'd actually have to hear it to know for sure.
 
Lyrics play a big part in the song for me. I like songs from which I can learn things, or think about stuff. Of course, it's different when a song is built not to have lyrics ("Genghis Khan", for example, doesn't need any lyrics to put the images inside your head). But if a song is going to have lyrics, then do them right dammit! :P
 
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