Live After Death
(Iron Maiden - 1985)







1. Intro: Churchill's Speech
2. Aces High
3. 2 Minutes To Midnight
4. The Trooper
5. Revelations
6. Flight Of Icarus
7. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner
8. Powerslave
9. The Number Of The Beast
10. Hallowed Be Thy Name
11. Iron Maiden
12. Run To The Hills
13. Running Free






1. Intro: Churchill's Speech







2. Aces High

[Harris]

There goes the siren that warns of the air raid
Then comes the sound of the guns sending flak
Out for the scramble we've got to get airborn
Got to get up for the coming attack.

Jump in the cockpit and start up the engines
Remove all the wheelblocks
theres no time to waste
Gathering speep as we head down the runway
Gotta get airborne before it's too late.

Running, scrambling, flying
Rolling, turning, diving, going in again
Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Run, live to fly, fly to live, Aces high.

Move in to fire at the mainstream of bombers
Let of a sharp burst and then turn away
Roll over, spin round and come in behind them
Move to their blindsides and firing again.

Bandits at 8 O'clock move in behind us
Ten ME-109's out of the sun
Ascending and turning our spitfires to face them
Heading straight for them I press down my guns.

Rolling, turning, diving
Rolling, turning, diving, going in again
Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Run, live to fly, fly to live, Aces high.






3. 2 Minutes To Midnight

[Smith, Dickinson]

Kill for gain or shoot to maim
But we don't need a reason
The Golden Goose is on the loose
And never out of Season.
Some blackened pride still burns inside
This shell of bloody treason
Here's my gun for a barrel of fun
For the love of living death

[Chorus:]
The killer's breed or the Deamon's seed,
The glamour, the fortune, the pain,
Go to war again, blood is freedom's stain,
But don't you pray for my soul anymore.
2 minutes to midnight,
The hands that threaten doom.
2 minutes to midnight,
To kill the unborn in the womb.

The blind men shout let the creatures out
We'll show the unbelievers,
The Napalm screams of human flames
Of a prime time Belsen feast...YEAH!
As the reasons for the carnage cut their meat
and lick the gravy,
We oil the jaws of the war machine
and feed it with our babies.

[Chorus:]

The body bags and little rags of children torn in two,
And the jellied brains of those whow remain
to put the finger right on you.
As the Madmen play on words and make us all
dance to their song,
To the tune of starving millions
to make a better kind of gun.

[Chorus:]
Midnight...all night...
[repeat]






4. The Trooper

[Harris]

You'll take my life but I'll take yours too
You'll fire your musket but I'll run you through
So when you're waiting for the next attack
You'd better stand there's no turning back.

The Bugle sounds and the charge begins
But on this battlefield no one wins
The smell of acrid smoke and horses breath
As I plunge on into certain death.

The horse he sweats with fear we break to run
The mighty roar of the Russian guns
And as we race towards the human wall
The screams of pain as my comrades fall.

We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground
And the Russians fire another round
We get so near yet so far away
We won't live to fight another day.

We get so close near enough to fight
When a Russian gets me in his sights
He pulls the trigger and I feel the blow
A burst of rounds take my horse below.

And as I lay there gazing at the sky
My body's numb and my throat is dry
And as I lay forgotten and alone
Without a tear I draw my parting groan.






5. Revelations

[Dickinson]

"O God of Earth and Altar,
Bow down and hear our cry,
Our earthly rulers falter,
Our people drift and die,
The walls of gold entomb us,
The swords of scorn divide,
Take not thy thunder from us,
But take away our pride."
[G.K Chesterton: English Hymnal]

Just a babe in a black abyss,
No reason for a place like this,
The walls are cold and souls cry out in pain,
An easy way for the blind to go,
A clever path for the fools who know
The Secret of the Hanged Man - the smile on his lips.

The light of the Blind - you'll see,
The venom that tears my spine,
The Eyes of the Nile are opening - you'll see.

She came to me with a serpent's kiss,
As the Eye of the Sun rose on her lips,
Moonlight catches silver tears I cry,
So we lay in a black embrace,
And the Seed is sown in a holy place
And I watched, and I waited for the Dawn.

The light of the Blind - you'll see,
The venom that tears my spine,
The Eyes of the Nile are opening - you'll see.

Blind all of us together,
Ablaze with Hope and Free,
No storm or heavy weather
Will rock the boat you'll see.
The time has come to close your eyes
And still the wind and rain,
For the one who will be King
Is the Watcher in the Ring.
It is You.






6. Flight Of Icarus

[Smith Dickinson]

As the sun breaks, above the ground,
An old man stands on the hill.
As the ground warms, to the first rays of light
A birdsong shatters the still.

His eyes are ablaze,
See the madman in his gaze.

Fly, on your way, like an eagle,
Fly as high as the sun,
On your way, like an eagle,
Fly and touch the sun.

Now the crowd breaks and a young boy appears
Looks the old man in the eye
As he spreads his wings and shouts at the crowd
In the name of God my father I fly

His eyes seem so glazed
As he flies on the wings of a dream.
Now he knows his father betrayed
Now his wings turn to ashes to ashes his grave.

Fly, on your way, like an eagle,
Fly as high as the sun,
On your way, like an eagle,
Fly as high as the sun.






7. Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

[Harris]

Hear the rime of the Ancient Mariner
See his eye as he stops one of three
Mesmerises one of the wedding guests
Stay here and listen the nightmares
of the Sea.

And the music plays on, as the bride passes by
Caught by his spell and
the Mariner tells his tale.

Driven south to the land of the snow and ice
To a place where nobody's been
Through the snow fog flies on the albatross
Hailed in God's name,
hoping good luck it brings.

And the ship sails on, back to the North
Through the fog and ice and
the albatross follows on

The mariner kills the bird of good omen
His shipmates cry against what he's done
But when the fog clears, they justify him
And make themselves a part of the crime.

Sailing on and on and North across the sea
Sailing on and on and North 'til all is calm

The albatross begins with its vengeance
A terrible curse a thirst has begun
His shipmates blame bad luck on the Mariner
About his neck, the dead bird is hung.

And the curse goes on and on at sea
And the curse goes on and on for them and me.

"Day after day, day after day,
we stuck nor breath nor motion
As idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean
Water, water everywhere and
all the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere nor any drop to drink."
[SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE(1798-1834)]

There, calls the Mariner,
there comes a ship over the line
But how can she sail with no wind
in her sails and no tide.

See...onward she comes
Onward she nears, out of the sun
See...she has no crew
She has no life, wait but there's two.

Death and she Life in Death.
they throw their dice for the crew
She wins the Mariner and he belong to her now.
Then...crew one by one
They drop down dead, two hundred men
She...She Life in Death.
She lets him live, her chosen one.

[Narrative]
"One after one by the star dogged moon,
too quick for groan or sigh
each turned his face with a ghastly pang,
and cursed me with his eye
four times fifty living men
(and I heard nor sigh nor groan),
with heavy thump, a lifeless lump,
they dropped down one by one."
[SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE (1798-1834)]

The curse it lives on in their eyes
The Mariner he wished he'd die
Along with the sea creatures
But they lived on, so did he.

And by the light of the moon
He prays for their beauty not doom
With heart he blesses them
God's creatures all of them too.

Then the spell starts to break
The albatross falls from his neck
Sinks down like lead into the Sea
Then down in falls comes the rain.

Hear the groans of the long dead seamen
See them stir and they start to rise
Bodies lifted by good spirits
None of them speak
and they're lifeless in their eyes.

And revenge is still sought, penance starts again
Cast into a trance and the nightmare carries on.

Now the curse is finally lifted
And the Mariner sights his home
Spirits go from the long dead bodies
Form their light and
the Mariner's left alone.

And then a boat came sailing towards him
It was a joy he could not believe
The Pilot's boat, his son and the hermit.
Penance of life will fall onto Him.

And the ship it sinks like lead into the sea
And the hermit shrieves the mariner of his sins.

The Mariner's bound to tell of his story
To tell his tale wherever he goes
To teach God's word by his own example
That we must love all things that God made.

And the wedding guest's a sad and wiser man
And the tale goes on and on and on...and on






8. Powerslave

[Dickinson]

Into the Abyss I'll fall - the eye of Horus
Into the eyes of the night - watching me go
Green is the cat's eye that glows
- in this Temple
Enter the risen Osiris - Risen again.

[Chorus:]
Tell me why I had to be a Powerslave
I don't wanna die, I'm a God,
why can't I live on?
When the Life Giver dies,
all around is laid waste.
And in my last hour,
I'm a Slave to the Power of Death.

When I was living this lie - Fear was my Game
People would worship and fall
- drop to their knees.
So bring me the blood and
red wine for the one to succeed me,
For he is a man and a God
- and He will die too.

[Chorus:]
Now I am cold but a ghost lives in my veins,
Silent the terror that reigned
- marbled in stone.
Shell of a man God preserved
- for a thousand ages,
But open the gates of my hell
- I will strike from the grave.

[Chorus:]
[Chorus:]

Tell me why I had to be a Powerslave
I don't wanna die, I'm a God,
why can't I live on?
When the Life Giver dies,
all around is laid waste.
And in my last hour,
I'm a Slave to the Power of Death.
Slave to the Power of Death...
Slave to the Power of Death...






9. The Number Of The Beast

[Harris]

I left alone my mind was blank
I needed time think to get the memories from my mind

What did I see can I believe that what I saw
that night was real and not just fantasy

Just what I saw in my old dreams were they
reflections of my warped mind staring back at me

Cos in my dreams it's always there
the evil face that twists my mind
and brings me to despair

The night was black was no use holding back
Cos I just had to see was someone watching me
In the mist dark figures move and twist
was this all for real or just some kind of hell
666 the number of the beast
Hell and fire was spawned to be released

Torches blazed and sacred chants were praised
as they start to cry hands held to the sky
In the night the fires burning bright
the ritual has begun Satan's work is done
666 the number of the beast
Sacrifice is going on tonight

This can't go on I must inform the law
Can this still be real or just some crazy dream
but I feel drawn towards the evil chanting hordes
they seem to mesmerise me...can't avoid their eyes
666 the number of the beast
666 the one for you and me

I'm coming back I will return
And I'll possess your body and I'll make you burn
I have the fire I have the force
I have the power to make my evil take it's course






10. Hallowed Be Thy Name

[Harris]

I'm waiting in my cold cell
when the bell begins to chime
Reflecting on my past life
and it doesn't have much time
Cos at 5 o'clock
they take me to the Gallows Pole
The sands of time
for me are running low

When the priest come to read me the last rites
I take a look through the bars at the last sights
Of a world that has gone very wrong for me

Can it be there's been some kind of error
Hard to stop the surmounting terror
Is it really the end not some crazy dream

Somebody please tell me that I'm dreaming
It's not easy to stop from screaming
But words escape me when I try to speak
Tears they flow but why am I crying
After all am I afraid of dying
Don't I believe that there never is an end

As the guards march me out to the courtyard
Someone calls from a cell "God be with You"
If there's a God the why has he let me die?

As I walk all my life drifts before me
And though the end is near I'm not sorry
Catch my soul it's willing to fly away

Mark my words please believe my soul lives on
Please don't worry now that I have gone
I've gone beyond to see the truth

When you know that your time is close at hand
Maybe then you'll begin to understand
Life down there is just a strange illusion






11. Iron Maiden

[Harris]

Won't you come into my room,
I wanna show you all my wares.
I just want to see your blood,
I just want to stand and stare.
See the blood begin to flow
as it falls upon the floor.
Iron Maiden can't be faught,
Iron Maiden can't be sought.

[Chorus:]
Oh Well, wherever, wherever you are,
Iron Maiden's gonna get you,
no matter how far.
See the blood flow
watching it shed up above my head.
Iron Maiden wants you for dead.

Won't you come into my room,
I wanna show you all my wares.
I just want to see your blood,
I just want to stand and stare.
See the blood begin to flow
as it falls upon the floor.
Iron Maiden can't be faught,
Iron Maiden can't be sought.






12. Run To The Hills

[Harris]

White man came across the sea
Brought us pain and misery
Killed our tribes killed our creed
Took our game for his own need

We fought him hard we fought him well
Out on the plains we gave him hell
But many came to much for Cree
Oh will we ever be set free?

Riding through dustclouds and barren wastes
Galloping hard on the plains
Chasing the redskins back to their holes
Fighting them at their own game
Murder for freedom the stab in the back
Women and children and cowards attack

Run to the hills run for your lives
Run to the hills run for your lives

Soldier blue in the barren wastes
Hunting and killing their game
Raping the women and wasting the men
The only good Indians are tame
Selling them whiskey and taking their gold
Enslaving the young and destroying the old
Run to the hills run for your lives
[Repeat to end]


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