iron maiden the phantom of the opera lyrics

Harris later confided that when the band performed the song, “it sounded so good as an instrumental that we never bothered to write lyrics for it”.Ĭonsequently it’s a track on which the musicians have the space to shine. Iron Maiden have released only a handful of tracks that don’t have vocals, and Transylvania wasn’t intended to be one of them.

If the song perhaps has a ‘bitty’ feel, the multi-tempo structure of Phantom is explained by the fact that Harris wrote it section by section before pulling everything together into one glorious patchwork whole. This homage to the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux begins with an eerie, fleet-fingered guitar motif before taking off like a runaway locomotive, with Di’Anno throwing himself into the role of a being that has lived so long ‘ in hiding behind that false mask’. The first of many songs written by Steve Harris that was inspired by historical and/or literary figures throughout the group’s catalogue, Phantom Of The Opera is the debut album’s epic piece, clocking in at more than seven minutes. Powered by Clive Burr’s unusual drum beat, it was an anthem to youthful revolt that connected squarely with its intended audience: a 16-year-old who was ‘ Out of money, out of luck’. But becoming a Special Education teacher instead.), I've grown to see many allusions to Christian scriptures and concepts, especially in 'Arry's writings.Another Harris/Di’Anno composition, Running Free is, as the singer suggests, “a rebellion song… It’s ‘fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me’.

As I've grown in Biblical knowledge (now actually holding a BA in Theology, having trained to be a Pastor. I see allusions to Christianity in 'don't stray from the Narrow Way,' and 'you're the devil.', and seeing in this song a warning that uses the STORY of Phantom of the Opera as a METAPHOR for life, and how the devil is always hiding around the corner, masked, the great deceiver.Īnd check the line 'and you know and I know that you aint got long now to last' - think about the Biblical verse at the beginning of Number of the Beast, REVELATION 12:12 '.Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.' (KJV)Īnd you know what, I was not a Christian when I discovered Iron Maiden in 1982, but in the late 80's I gave my heart to Christ. My bands always played it back in the 80's (I'm bassist/vocalist, and a huge 'Arry fan). General CommentI've loved this song since first hearing it in 1982.

Iron maiden the phantom of the opera lyrics