No Prayer For the Dying

How good is No Prayer For the Dying on a scale of 1-10?


  • Total voters
    12
A

Anonymous

Guest
In the Commentaries it mentions that he did not understand why the title applies to the song.


I believe No Prayere for the Dying is about someone preying to god and iis one of those forgotten, just waiting in a hospital to die. He finds safe haven by turning to Religon as a last resort.

To show hes in a hospital.

"With an ache in my heart
But never feeling the pain"

It suggests his body and mind are numbed from medication

That he is dying

"And if you would tell me
Just what my life means
Walking a long road
Never reaching the end"

It shows he wants to die but it seems to jsut drag on.

He begs for god to listen and answer what he was meant to do

"God give me the answer to my life
God give me the answer to my dreams
God give me the answer to my prayers
God give me the answer to my being"
 
'no Prayer For The Dying'

intresting thread after a long time here... it's one of the few maiden songs i still don't know it's inspiration origins.... steve harris in an interview said he was influenced by the film or the book called "a prayer for the dying". the problem is that the book and the film have totally different storylines, and i can't tell which one steve took his inspiration from. i remember he characteristically said that he changed the title from "a prayer..." to "no prayer..." because "Eddie wouldn't give a single prayer!" in his words...

[a href=\'http://endeavor.med.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/o.nan1557-des-.html\' target=\'_blank\']Book summary[/a]

[a href=\'http://entertainment.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?m=124277\' target=\'_blank\']Film summary[/a]

your interpratation of the lyrics is very very intresting though...
 
'no Prayer For The Dying'

[!--QuoteBegin-tabor+Mar 21 2004, 09:56 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(tabor @ Mar 21 2004, 09:56 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--] I heard Steve wrote the song after the Waco (texas) incident. [/quote]
not likely, it happened on February 28, 1993
 
'no Prayer For The Dying'

it was Actually Bruce who said it on a live album maybe the dedicated the song after the incident.. It was a B side recording
 
'no Prayer For The Dying'

Now you can read other visitors' comments on 'No Prayer For The Dying' 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.
 
'no Prayer For The Dying'

[!--QuoteBegin-tabor+Mar 22 2004, 03:15 AM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(tabor @ Mar 22 2004, 03:15 AM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--] it was Actually Bruce who said it on a live album maybe the dedicated the song after the incident.. It was a B side recording [/quote]
intresting. you must mean the from here to eternity bside. they must have dedicated it to the occasion after it had written....
 
'no Prayer For The Dying'

Agreed, this song is somewhat underrated. I really like the guitars on this one. Ok, Bruce's voice sounds horrible, but it still fits into the topic of the song. To me it's the best song on the album, all in all a solid and good song.
 
'no Prayer For The Dying'

[!--QuoteBegin-gor+Nov 24 2003, 07:28 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(gor @ Nov 24 2003, 07:28 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]intresting thread after a long time here... it's one of the few maiden songs i still don't know it's inspiration origins.... steve harris in an interview said he was influenced by the film or the book called "a prayer for the dying". the problem is that the book and the film have totally different storylines, and i can't tell which one steve took his inspiration from. i remember he characteristically said that he changed the title from "a prayer..." to "no prayer..." because "Eddie wouldn't give a single prayer!" in his words...

[a href=\'http://endeavor.med.nyu.edu/lit-med/lit-med-db/webdocs/webdescrips/o.nan1557-des-.html\' target=\'_blank\']Book summary[/a]

[a href=\'http://entertainment.msn.com/movies/movie.aspx?m=124277\' target=\'_blank\']Film summary[/a]

your interpratation of the lyrics is very very intresting though...
[snapback]43131[/snapback]​
[/quote]
The inspiration for the title is most likely to come from the film (released in 1987) than from the book (published in 1999). [!--emo&^_^--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/happy.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'happy.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
 
'no Prayer For The Dying'

[!--QuoteBegin-Maverick+May 15 2005, 02:16 PM--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE(Maverick @ May 15 2005, 02:16 PM)[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]The inspiration for the title is most likely to come from the film (released in 1987) than from the book (published in 1999).  [!--emo&^_^--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/happy.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'happy.gif\' /][!--endemo--]
[snapback]104648[/snapback]​
[/quote]

That's right, although the lyrics have nothing to do with the film. Steve probably liked the title so much and decided to "maidenize" it.
 
'no Prayer For The Dying'

That's what Mav said [!--emo&:blink:--][img src=\'style_emoticons/[#EMO_DIR#]/blink.gif\' border=\'0\' style=\'vertical-align:middle\' alt=\'blink.gif\' /][!--endemo--]

[!--QuoteBegin--][div class=\'quotetop\']QUOTE[/div][div class=\'quotemain\'][!--QuoteEBegin--]The inspiration for the title is most likely to come from the film[/quote]
 
'no Prayer For The Dying'

A brilliant song. Fantastic intro, great riffs, fabulous solo's and the mixture between raw and clean vocals fits in quite nicely.

Certainly the best song next to Run Silent Run Deep for me..
 
Re: 'no Prayer For The Dying'

Has anyone else realized that the guitar interludes are VERY reminiscent of Fear of the Dark?
 
Re: 'no Prayer For The Dying'

Rather the other way around, wouldn't you say?
Incidentally this actually is mentioned in the Commentary.
 
Re: 'no Prayer For The Dying'

This has one the 5 longer Maiden solos nearly one minute, and a genious one: one of my very favourites.

I remember this song to been welcomed very warmly from then fans
-one of the few No Prayer tracks that really impressed, -considering that the same month
we had Sabbath's Tyr & Judas Priest's Painkiller (especially the second that was a bomb inside metal community)

I used not to like Bruce's voice, but now I like everything in this song.
 
Re: 'no Prayer For The Dying'

I find this song rather mystical. Lyrics are very hmm...general, but they seem extremely sincere, music is completely pinned down to the whole meaning of the song, with melancholic start, and then the blast going into one of the best Maiden build-ups.

I somewhat think there's a deep story behind this song, it's not just crafted lyric about a general issue (someone looking for a meaning of life). We are dissecting all Maiden songs here, and we still don't know anything about this one.

In essence, it's a 5/5.
 
Re: 'no Prayer For The Dying'

8 out of 10... This is an ass kicking rock n roller that is highlighted by Janick's smokin' solo. Adrian's departure was a huge blow but lead work like that showed that this guy was more than capable of holding his own within the band. Janick bashing pisses me off... some of my favorite guitar pieces within the band's catalogue are his.
 
Daily Song: No Prayer For the Dying

Welcome to the Daily Vote Thread! Rules are here.

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

Today's song: No Prayer For the Dying

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


Quite a good song. Really good music, I love the airy sounds it creates, and Bruce sings very well on this track. A hint of rasp works well here. Had he sung it like Tailgunner, it may not have been so good. 9/10.
 
Re: Daily Song: No Prayer For the Dying

In my opinion, this is where the album starts to become good. It's got a beautiful melody and a great atmosphere. I know Foro is going to want to stone me for this, but I think this is the only song from the album that lives up to the classics, old or new (although Bring Your Daughter... comes very close). 10/10.
 
Re: Daily Song: No Prayer For the Dying

I do enjoy this song quite a bit and Bruce gives a wonderful vocal performance, but it still doesn't rank up there with their very best. 7/10.
 
Back
Top