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In a foreign field he lay
Lonely soldier, unknown grave
On his dying words he prays
Tell the world of Paschendale
Relive all that he's been through
Last communion of his soul
Rust your bullets with his tears
Let me tell you 'bout his years
Laying low in a blood filled trench
Kill tim 'til my very own death
On my face I can feel the falling rain
Never see my friends again
In the smoke, in the mud and lead
Smell the fear and the feeling of dread
Soon be time to go over the wall
Rapid fire and the end of us all
Whistles, shouts and more gun fire
Lifeless bodies hang on barbed wire
Battlefield nothing but a bloody tomb
Be reunited with my dead friends soon
Many soldiers eighteen years
Drown in mud, no more tears
Surely a war no-one can win
Killing time about to begin
Home, far away
From the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away
But the war, no chance to live again
The bodies of ours and our foes
The sea of death it overflows
In no man's land, God only knows
Into jaws of death we go
Crucified as if on a cross
Allied troops they mourn their loss
German war propaganda machine
Such before has never been seen
Swear I heard the angels cry
Pray to god no more may die
So that people know the truth
Tell the tale of Paschendale
Cruelty has a human heart
Every man does play his part
Terror of the men we kill
The human heart is hungry still
I stand my ground for the very last time
Gun is ready as I stand in line
Nervous wait for the whistle to blow
Rush of blood and over we go
Blood is falling like the rain
Its crimson cloak unveils again
The sound of guns can't hide their shame
And so we die on Paschendale
Dodging shrapnel and barbed wire
Running straight at the cannon fire
Running blind as I hold my breath
Say a prayer symphony of death
As we charge the enemy lines
A burst of fire and we go down
I choke a cry but no-one hears
Fell the blood go down my throat
Home, far away
From the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away
But the war, no chance to live again
See my spirit on the wind
Across the lines, beyond the hill
Friend and foe will meet again
Those who died at Paschendale
Lonely soldier, unknown grave
On his dying words he prays
Tell the world of Paschendale
Relive all that he's been through
Last communion of his soul
Rust your bullets with his tears
Let me tell you 'bout his years
Laying low in a blood filled trench
Kill tim 'til my very own death
On my face I can feel the falling rain
Never see my friends again
In the smoke, in the mud and lead
Smell the fear and the feeling of dread
Soon be time to go over the wall
Rapid fire and the end of us all
Whistles, shouts and more gun fire
Lifeless bodies hang on barbed wire
Battlefield nothing but a bloody tomb
Be reunited with my dead friends soon
Many soldiers eighteen years
Drown in mud, no more tears
Surely a war no-one can win
Killing time about to begin
Home, far away
From the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away
But the war, no chance to live again
The bodies of ours and our foes
The sea of death it overflows
In no man's land, God only knows
Into jaws of death we go
Crucified as if on a cross
Allied troops they mourn their loss
German war propaganda machine
Such before has never been seen
Swear I heard the angels cry
Pray to god no more may die
So that people know the truth
Tell the tale of Paschendale
Cruelty has a human heart
Every man does play his part
Terror of the men we kill
The human heart is hungry still
I stand my ground for the very last time
Gun is ready as I stand in line
Nervous wait for the whistle to blow
Rush of blood and over we go
Blood is falling like the rain
Its crimson cloak unveils again
The sound of guns can't hide their shame
And so we die on Paschendale
Dodging shrapnel and barbed wire
Running straight at the cannon fire
Running blind as I hold my breath
Say a prayer symphony of death
As we charge the enemy lines
A burst of fire and we go down
I choke a cry but no-one hears
Fell the blood go down my throat
Home, far away
From the war, a chance to live again
Home, far away
But the war, no chance to live again
See my spirit on the wind
Across the lines, beyond the hill
Friend and foe will meet again
Those who died at Paschendale
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Teh song had a great music and the lyrics were skillfully written with clever choices of words (symphony of death). Its so well told you can picture it like a movie. As i said not alot of artists pull off long songs too well but iron Maiden does all teh time maybe having 3 guitarists helps as there is more creativity just listen to the solos here you can listen to them all day adn not get bored.
Thank fuck we've got heavy metal bands writing songs about these wars.
Above and beyond that, though, I disagree that Maiden have any songs that truly glorify war. It seems to me that if you interpret a song like Aces High as being in any way positive, you're not really paying attention. The emotional charge of the song is ultimately terror and destruction -- running, scrambling, flying, rolling, turning, dying. IMO the only reason it sounds "happier" than, say, Paschendale, is because England won that battle, so there's a bit of a triumphant spin to it. There's also a triumphant edge to the last part of Montsegur, but that doesn't mean that Bruce Dickinson is in favor of what was done there or thinks that kind of thing should be done more often.
Ultimately, every Maiden war song has a negative slant about war itself. It may not be overt about it, instead allowing the listener to come to their own conclusion... but I don't understand how you can hear these songs, over and over, for years, really listening to and thinking about them, and come up with any other idea than that Maiden are ultimately anti-war. I think most people are ultimately anti-war when you get right down to it, though. And like someone else said above, you can understand the necessity of a military action without being in favor of war in general.
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intro is just great
It's way more powerful this way the trooper is the same way (though this is better)
Great song....if it sounds anti-war its because this was a meaningless battle with massive human loss.
Listen to Longest Day instead....very similar type of song but its about D-day a battle with meaning for a good cause. Completely different message. "Blood and Sand! WE WILL PREVAIL"
Well anyway, as everyone has said, it's about the Third Battle of Ypres, one of the bloodiest trench battles of WWI. This song makes many references to all the obstacles of war. The parts mentioning mud reference the horrendous conditions of the war. Also, it was one of the first wars that used propaganda, as mentioned in the line, "German war propaganda machine/Such before has never been seen."
Aaah. This song has to be the BEST Iron Maiden song in my humble opinion. It has it all, including that kickass guitar solo right before Bruce sings, "Blood is falling like the rain/It's crimson cloak unveils again/The sound of guns can't hide their shame/And so we die in Paschendale." My favourite verse is, "Cruelty has a human heart/Every man does play his part/Terror of the men we kill/The human heart is hungry still." Bruce Dickinson truly has the most passionate voice next to the obvious Robert Plant and Rob Halford, but all Robs aside, Bruce is the best. :D These have to be the best sets of lyrics ever to grace anyone's ears. Because of this song, I aced history. ;D Haha. My teacher was impressed I knew so much about Passchendaele.
All in all, a great Maiden song. A memorial to one of the darkest periods and events of all human history. Dickinson is a genius for bringing a topic like this to metal, and it will continue to be one of the best anti-war and memorial songs ever written.