BRUCE DICKINSON LYRICS

1. King In Crimson

[Bruce Dickinson / Roy Z.]

In the darkness, the raven's head
In the courtyard clothed in fear
I see gates that are opening
There's only one way out of here

Daylight has come
The night has come

See his twisted sons and daughters
Writhing slowly in Satan's mire
If you only could see the visions
The trembling world I now despise

As the veil reveals the outer darkness
I am sucked into the walls of flame

Arise, awake

The King in Crimson comes

Arise awake

The King in Crimson, crimson comes
He knows the weakness that you can't fight
The stone of night that weighs you down
If only you could see the visions
His hand is death if you take it now

As you scream into the web of silence
There is nothing that can save you now

Arise, awake

The King in Crimson comes

Arise, awake

The King in Crimson comes

Arise, awake

The King in Crimson comes

Arise, awake

The King in Crimson, crimson comes
As you scream into the web of silence
There is nothing that can save you now

Arise, awake

The King in Crimson comes

Arise, awake

The King in Crimson comes

Arise, awake

The King in Crimson, crimson comes

To your window he comes

At your window I come

2. Chemical Wedding

[Bruce Dickinson / Roy Z.]

How happy is the human soul
Not enslaved by dull control
Left to dream and roam and play
Shed the guilt of former days

Walking on the foggy shore
Watch the waves come rolling home
Through the veil of pale moonlight
My shadow stretches out its hand

And so we lay, we lay in the same grave

Our chemical wedding day

And so we lay, we lay in the same grave

Our chemical wedding day
Floating in the endless blue
My seed of doubt I leave to you
Let it wither on the ground
Treat it like a plague you found

All my dreams that were outside
In living colour, now alive
And all the lighthouses
Their beams converge to guide me home

And so we lay, we lay in the same grave

Our chemical wedding day

And so we lay, we lay in the same grave

Our chemical wedding day

And so we lay, we lay in the same grave

Our chemical wedding day

And so we lay, we lay in the same grave

Our chemical wedding day

And so we lay, we lay in the same grave

Our chemical wedding day

And so we lay, we lay in the same grave

Our Chemical wedding day

3. The Tower

[Bruce Dickinson / Roy Z.]

There are twelve commandments
There are twelve divisions
Twelve are the pagans who have mapped the sky

In the outer circle
To the inner sanctum
From the octave at the end of time

The fountain, the trinity
The pilgrim is searching for blood
To look for his own free will
The stone of infinity, washed in the flood

Lovers in the tower

The moon and sun divided

And the hanged man smiles

Lovers in the tower

The moon and sun divided

Let the fool decide
In the atom circle
Where we break the stars
Hammer into anvil, stuffing out the sun

Witness all the killing
See the birth of Mars
Our religion thrown into the fire

The fountain, the trinity
The pilgrim is searching for blood
To look for his own free will
The stone of infinity, washed in the flood

Lovers in the tower

The moon and sun divided

The hanged man smiles

Lovers in the tower

The moon and sun divided

The magician laughs

Lovers in the tower

The moon and sun divided

And the priestess kneels

Lovers in the tower

The moon and sun divided

Let the fool decide

Lovers in the tower

The moon and sun divided

And the hanged man smiles

Lovers in the tower

The moon and sun divided

Let the fool decide

Lovers in the tower

The moon and sun divided

The priestess kneels to receive

Lovers in the tower

The moon and sun divided

The magician laughs

4. Killing Floor

[Bruce Dickinson / Adrian Smith]

So this is dreamtime, and all is quiet
So this is dreamtime, and all is night
You've never been held by the hand of God
Who's rocking the cradle, if he is not?

He turned the oil into his blood
Panzer divisions burning in the mud
The stain of freedom, he's washed it out
Who's rocking the cradle, I have no doubt

Sleeping eyes awake
To see his hooded gaze
Whispers on the wind
The darker side of ecstasy

Satan has left his killing floor

Satan has left his killing floor

Satan, his fires burn no more

Satan has left his killing floor
So now it's dreamtime for you tonight
So now it's dreamtime, and all is quiet
You've never been held by the hand of god
Who's rocking your cradle, if he is not?

Sleeping eyes awake
To see his hooded gaze
Whispers on the wind
The never-ending breath goodbye

Satan has left his killing floor

Satan has left his killing floor

Satan, his fires burn no more

Satan is coming back for more
Satan has left his killing floor

Satan has left his killing floor

5. Book Of Thel

[Bruce Dickinson / Roy Z. / Eddie Casillas]

The mark is on you now
The furnace sealed inside your head
Melting from the inside now
Waxy tears run down your face

The whore that never told her tale
Relives it every night with you
Far off stands the lamb and waits
For the wolf to come and end its life

Stand inside the temple
As the book of Thel is opening
The priestess stands before you
Offering her hand out, she's rising

Come the dawning of the dead
In famine and in war
Now the harlot womb of death
Spits out its rotten core

Serpent on the altar now
Has wrapped itself around your spine
So you look into its mouth
And you kiss the pearly fangs divine

Happy that your end is swift
The weeping virgin cries in bliss
The snake and priestess, they are one
The veil of flesh is ripped undone

Stand inside the temple
As the book of Thel is opening
The priestess stands before you
Offering her hand out, she's rising

Come the dawning of the dead
In famine and in war
Now the harlot womb of death
Spits out its rotten core

By the pricking of my thumbs
Something wicked this way comes
And when sleep takes you tonight
Will you wake to see the light...?

The burning sweat of poison tears
The river flowing red with blood
The cradle-robbing hand of death
Caresses every dreaming head

Waiting for the marriage hearse
To take you to the funeral pyre
So you burn the family tree
The generations burning higher

Stand inside the temple
As the book of Thel is opening
The priestess stands before you
Offering her hand out, she's rising

Come the dawning of the dead
In famine and in war
Now the harlot womb of death
Spits out its rotten core

By the pricking of my thumbs
Something wicked this way comes
And when sleep takes you tonight
Will you wake to see the light

By the dawning of the dead...
By the dawning of the dead...
By the dawning of the dead...
By the dawning of the dead...

What demon hath formed this abominable void...
This soul-shuddering vacuum?
Some said it is Urizen -
But unknown, abstracted, brooding secret
The dark power hid

6. Gates Of Urizen

[Bruce Dickinson / Roy Z.]

As above, so below
All things come from the one
Now you are the victim
Carried by the wind, rooted in the ground

If you want to learn the secrets
Close your eyes
The ladder falls away

At the gates of Urizen

Fallen eagles blaze

At the gates of Urizen

Eternal twins are damned

At the gates of Urizen

Separate lives begin
In every woman is a man
From the moon come silver ghosts
Spectres of the blood
From my spirit comes the darkness
From the void, the crimson fortress rises

At the gates of Urizen

The ladder falls away

At the gates of Urizen

Fallen eagles blaze

At the gates of Urizen

Eternal twins are damned

At the gates of Urizen

Separate lives begin

At the gates of Urizen

The ladder falls away

At the gates of Urizen

Fallen eagles blaze

At the gates of Urizen

Eternal twins are damned

At the gates of Urizen

Separate lives begin

At the gates of Urizen

The gates of Urizen

The gates of Urizen

At the gates...

7. Jerusalem

[Bruce Dickinson / Roy Z.]

And did those feet in ancient times
Walk upon England's mountains green?
Was the holy lamb of god
On England's pleasant pastures seen?

And did the countenance divine
Shine forth on our clouded hill?
Was Jerusalem built here
In England's green and pleasant land?

Let it rain
Let it rain
Wash the scales from my eyes
Let it rain
Let it rain
Let me see again...

Bring me my bow of burning gold
Bring me my arrows of desire
I shall not sleep till the clouds unfold
Bring me my chariot of fire

Let it rain
Let it rain
Tears of blood fall out of the sky
Let it rain
Let it rain
Wash me clean again...

From the frozen waters
The king will rise again
With two suns in the sky...

I shall not cease from mental flight
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land

Let it rain
Let it rain
Tears of blood fall out of the sky
Let it rain
Let it rain
Wash me clean again...

See the gleaming spires of the citadel
The king and queen will dwell
In our hearts...

Can Jerusalem be rebuilded here
In this trivial time, in this land of fear?
In Jerusalem, where the grail remains
Walk into the light and dissolve the chains

Jerusalem...

Here is her secret place
From hence she comes forth on the churches in delight
Here is her cup, filled with its poisons
In these horrid veils
And here, her scarlet veil, woven in pestilence and war
Here is Jerusalem, bound in chains
In the dense of Babylon...

8. Trumpets Of Jericho

[Bruce Dickinson / Roy Z.]

This is the maze of life
This is the maze of death
This is the matrix of eternity

The demon never sleeps
The demon never lies
He beats my heart and leaves no echo

What heavy burden holds me back
Every step along the track?
Fear that reaches deep inside of me

At the trumpets of Jericho

Still the walls remain

At the trumpets of Jericho

Avalon's in chains
This is the river of space
This is the river of time
Chase the dragons of infinity

Atlas stands and laughs
Throws his burden down
Rolls the earth in the inferno

Fingers holding onto cracks
The howling wind that blows us back
Sucked into the grinding wheels of hell

At the trumpets of Jericho

Still the walls remain

Blow the trumpets of Jericho

Still the walls remain

At the end of the rainbow

There the grail remains

Sound the trumpets of Jericho

Avalon's in chains
As they drag you down
In your clothes of lead
See the golden light
Flashing overhead
Mocking you

Do you know who you are
In your robes of skin?
How many creatures live inside you?

Man is born forever free
But is everywhere in chains
Trapped inside this earthly prison cell

At the trumpets of Jericho

Still the walls remain

At the trumpets of Jericho

Avalon's in chains

At the trumpets of Jericho

There the grail remains

At the trumpets of Jericho

Still the walls remain

Still the walls remain

Still the walls remain

Still the walls remain

The silence of the tomb

The wheel of fortune round

9. Machine Men

[Bruce Dickinson / Adrian Smith]

Bring the toys out for the boys
Let the children make their noise
See the monsters in their metal cages

Turn the lights down in your soul
Cut the power to your heart
See the carcass in its dying rages

Machine men, cannibals of rust

Machine men, iron bites the dust

Machine men, built with feet of clay

Are coming to sweep you all away
What bitter vampire made you this?
Gave you life with its deathly kiss
Ground your limbs to bloody stew
Made a new machine of you

Turned a nightmare into day
Sucks your breath, takes your life away
Beating harder through your veins
Someone else's cold remains

Machine men, cannibals of rust

Machine men, iron bites the dust

Machine men, built with feet of clay
Are coming to sweep you all away
They're coming to sweep you all away

Machine men, cannibals of rust

Machine men, iron bites the dust

Machine men, built with feet of clay

Are coming to take you all away

Machine men, cannibals of rust

Machine men, iron bites the dust

Machine men, built with feet of clay

Are coming to take you all away

They're coming to sweep you all away
Iron - in the soul

10. The Alchemist

[Bruce Dickinson / Roy Z.]

Wash away the blackness with the silver rain
Don't turn away - don't turn away
Wash away the blackness with the silver rain
Don't turn away - don't try to hide...

Sulphurous and burning, spitting out the sun
The beginning of creation, of the golden one
A window to the west, a blazing star above
In Taurus we begin it and the ladder has begun

Don't try and blame me for your sins
For the sun has burned me black
Your hollow lives - this world in which we live
I throw it back

Four-headed dragon for the four degrees of fire
Purify the insane, bring the solution ever higher
Bring me all the elements, spread them round my head
Bring me mad men's bodies, I will break them all like bread

Don't try and blame me for your sins
For the sun has burned me black
Your hollow lives - this world in which we live
I hurl it back

Don't try and blame me for your sins
For the sun has burned me black
Your hollow lives - this world in which we live
I throw it back

Don't try and blame me for your games
Your games are death
My world is light - the angels fill my eyes
With every breath...

And so we lay
We lay in the same grave
Our chemical wedding day

And so we lay
We lay in the same grave
Our chemical wedding day

And so we lay
We lay in the same grave
Our chemical wedding day

And so we lay
We lay in the same grave
Our chemical wedding day...

And all this vegetable world appeared on my left foot
As a bright sandal, formed immortal of precious stones and gold
I stooped down, and bound it on
To walk forward through eternity...

11. Return Of The King

[Japan-only bonus track]
[Bruce Dickinson / Adrian Smith]

A 100 years of toil and pain
To pull a stone upright again
Uproot from its mountain home
Taken to this sacred circle

Is there a secret in the stone?
A message in the hills
Is there a secret in the stones?
A message long ago

I know the king will come again

From the shadow to the sun

Burning hillsides from the beltane fires

I know the king will come again

When all that glitters turn to rust

Uther pendragon standing fast beside you
The sun the moon we worshipped here
A calendar of fear
Gazing across the channel sea
To see the beacons burning brightly

Is that a shadow on the hill?
Or a phantom in the mere
What is the meaning of these stones?
Why do they stand alone?

I know the king will come again

From the shadow to the sun

Burning hillsides with the beltane fires

I know the king will come again

When all that glitters turn to rust

Uther pendragon standing fast beside you
Is that a shadow on the hill?
Or a phantom in the mere
What is the meaning of these stones?
Why do they stand alone?

I know the king will come again

From the shadow to the sun

Burning hillsides with the beltane fires

I know the king will come again

When all that glitters turn to rust

Uther pendragon standing fast beside you
I know the king will come again
I know the king will come again







BRUCE DICKINSON LYRICS