The Man Of Sorrows

How good is The Man of Sorrows on a scale of 1-10?

  • Total voters
    17
This song has grown a lot on me, but it still feels like something isn't right. I enjoy it, I think some of the parts are great, but the sum of the parts doesn't make a great song. It's a weird one. It's again a little different for Maiden, and I hope they do more songs like this in the future. If it clicks, it's bound to be special.

7/10
 
Love the first couple of minutes, I'm a big fan of the bluesy intros! But then there's that weird key change at 2.25. That and the other dreamy keyboard section toward the end really bog this down. (Anyone else think the keyboards are too prominent on the album full stop?)

7
 
Probably the weirdest track on the album. The key changes are very weird, and I'm torn if I think it works or not. I really love the experimenting thou. Earliest in the tracklist this song would totally kill the flow, but here ist works, and I appreciate it being on the album. Bruce's articulation bothers me thou, I really struggle to hear what he is saying. Im in-between a 6 and 7 for this, but in the end of the day I like the ideas going on and the parts are really cool, so I will give it a....

7/10
 
7/10

The Man of Sorrows starts off nicely enough with (surprise, surprise) a haunting, mournful Murray guitar lead over a simple arpeggio. Bruce’s voice sounds phenomenal here and everything is looking great until the full band kicks in. The Man of Sorrows is not a bad song, but it’s definitely the worst on the album. The verse from 1:55-2:25 is shameful: it’s one note, over and over and over again, with Bruce sounding constricted because there’s nowhere for the melody to go. The next chord choice is bizarre and the vocal laid over it feels misplaced, as does the change at 3:18. Dave Murray wrote this song and, like some Murray-penned songs in the past, it seems like he doesn’t care much for music theory. The transitions are awkward. Solos are once again awesome, but by this point the song has lost my interest. It’s too plodding and random to reach greatness, despite a killer performance by Bruce. The ending is just as nice as the intro, however, and at least takes things out on a strong note.
 
Lots of people apparently love the ending, but I'm kind of 'it's cool' to the whole thing. That said, I love the intro, and the song as a whole is great. Quite possibly a highlight of the album. 8/10.
 
Another underrated David Murray contribution. The introductory solo is very melodic and soulful. Bruce Dickinson matches that with another emotionally charged performance of his own. The riff work in the rest of the song is catchy and easy to bob my head/tap my foot to. The use of modulation is also lovely and gives almost a psychedelic flavor to the sound. This song deserves more attention I think, unless Dave prefers to keep his pieces the hidden gems on their respective albums, similar to Still Life on Piece of Mind, DejaVu on Somewhere In Time and The Prophecy on Seventh Son. 8.5/10 (which i'll round up to a 9)
 
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Mariner2 said:
The Man of Sorrows – Great song and lyrics!
I need someone to save me….Humanity won’t save us…the red and the black text leads me to the Man of Sorrows…and into life eternal with Him.
Find the meaning in the red and the black ancient word.
Sad that this song may probably never be played on Christian radio because of stereotypes and branding here in the states.

A man of sorrows (Isaiah 53:3 NASB translation)

Like a man without a home (Matt 8:20 …nowhere to lay his head)
Watching people come and go
Carry on their daily lives
Without a thought for the ones alone
(Matt 25: 41-46, Jesus showed love to the forgotten people – lepers, the disabled, widows)

Cast the dream aside like throwing
A pebble into the ocean tide
And I'm feeling so alone again

Free the angry from their pain
Free the captives from the chains
Cast aside the doubt that
Nothing good can come their way again
(Isaiah 42:7, Isaiah 61:1 and Luke 4:16-21 NIV translation)

Living in a world of lies
No matter how or hard we try
Living life without a dream today
(2 Cor 4:4, John 8:44 The evil one…the father of lies, ruler of this world, the deceiver)

Looking through a mist of truth
That we believe an elusive cloud
(1 Cor 13:12 MSG)

The things we find are hard to say now
That we live through day to day
Find it hard to force the reasons
Why we find it hard to die

Now we need to know the truth now (John 8:32)
Open our eyes that we can see (Acts 26:18)

So we live and breathe again
Better days for you and me
(John 14:6)

Can we even hope to deliver this
We are so far away

As one turns against the other
With a brother against brother (Matt 10:21...brother against brother)
Situation like no other, it's a picture of despair (Matt 24:21...great tribulation like none other)

As we look to see the man of sorrows
Passing knowledge to those who don't know (Matt 11:25-27, Eph 3:19)

As we watch all our friends passing over
As they pass through the edges of time (John 5:24...life eternal)

And we see what's ahead that awaits us
That no longer do we feel afraid
(Philippians 3:10-11, Philippians 4:7)

So we look to see the man of sorrows
And the light is the darkness no more (1 John 1:5, Rev 22:5)
Click to expand...

Thank you for posting this. New to the forum and was about to post a similar reply but then saw yours. Can't add much to it. Nice job.

EDIT: Actually, one thing to add. "And the light is the darkness no more" represents moving from the kingdom of darkness to light. The phrase about light being darkness is used in Matthew 6:22-24: "The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!" Deep thought-provoking lyrics fitting for the best music fans in the world.
 
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I was a little disappointed when I first heard it. It sounded awkward and very disjointed. I'm sure there's a masterpiece hidden somewhere inside it and that's the lowpoint of it: it's frustrating because it could've been made so much better. However, I've come to learn to enjoy this song for what it is, and after listening to it after some time, I found it to be so much better than I remembered. Back then, I'd give it a 6. Now, I give it an 8.
 
A melancholy opening leads into a great bittersweet verse. This kicks into a strong pre-chorus 1, then switches over to a less appealing pre-chorus 2 that modulates down before breaking into a nice but awkwardly phrased chorus. Bruce strains a bit on the pre-choruses, and the vocal melody on the chorus is kind of rote.

We then cut into a pair of very nice harmonized sections, a pretty solo, and a more aggressive one. Another chorus and we get a decent solo, followed by a dreamy atmospheric section to close things out.

There are a few great and unexpected parts here, but other parts are more pedestrian, and there are some phrasing and straining issues with the vocals in places too. 7/10 overall.
 
"The Man of Sorrows" is another rather atypical song for Maiden, but it's actually pretty decent, with nothing bad going on here. It just doesn't stand out as much as it should, and feels more like a great holdover before we reach the album's real highlight. 6
 
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