Site
Home
Forum
Wiki
DC Hub
Donate
Links
Contact
About

Content
Albums
Articles
Bootleg DB
Concerts/Gigs
Collectables
Merchandise
Lyrics
Tabs
Tribute Albums
Videos
Ed Hunter
Concert Tickets

Downloads
Mobile
Wallpaper
Bootleg Manager
Other Downloads

Maiden World - Iron Maiden news, discussion, information and articles
Lyrics for Iron Maiden - Best of the Beast (1996)

You are here: Home > Lyrics > Lyrics for Iron Maiden - Best of the Beast (1996)
Cover of Best Of the Beast (1996)

Tracklist

Total length: 77:45
  1. The Number of the Beast (3:24)
  2. Can I Play With Madness (3:31)
  3. Fear of the Dark (Live) (7:11)
  4. Run to the Hills (3:54)
  5. Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter (4:45)
  6. The Evil That Men Do (4:34)
  7. Aces High (4:29)
  8. Be Quick or Be Dead (3:24)
  9. 2 Minutes to Midnight (5:59)
  10. Man on the Edge (4:13)
  11. Virus (6:14)
  12. Running Free (Live) (8:43)
  13. Wasted Years (5:07)
  14. The Clairvoyant (4:27)
  15. The Trooper (4:10)
  16. Hallowed Be Thy Name (7:14)

The Number Of The Beast

Steve Harris
I left alone, my mind was blank,
I needed time to 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
'Cause in my dreams it's always there,
The evil face that twists my mind and brings me to despair

Night was black,
Was no use holding back,
'Cause I just had to see
Was someone watching me
In the mist, Dark figures move and twist,
Was this all for real
Or 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

Solo

This can't go on,
I must inform the law,
Can this still be real
Or some crazy dream?
But I feel drawn toward the evil chanting hordes,
Seem to mesmerize 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 its course
Back to the top

Can I Play With Madness

Adrian Smith, Bruce Dickinson, Steve Harris
Can I play with madness

Give me the sense to wonder, to wonder if I'm free
Give me a sense of wonder, to know I can be me
Give me the strength to hold my head up, spit back in their face
Don't need no key to unlock this door, gonna break down the walls
Break out of this bad place

Can I play with madness - the prophet stared at his crystal ball
Can I play with madness - there's no vision there at all
Can I play with madness - the prophet looked and he laughed at me
Can I play with madness - he said you're blind too blind too see

I screamed aloud to the old man, I said don't lie don't say you don't know
I say you'll pay for your mischief in this world or the next
Oh and then he fixed me with a freezing glance, and the hell fires raged in his eyes
He said do you want to know the truth son - I'll tell you the truth
Your soul's gonna burn in a lake of fire

Can I play with madness - the prophet stared at his crystal ball
Can I play with madness - there's no vision there at all
Can I play with madness - the prophet looked and he laughed at me
Can I play with madness - he said you're blind too blind too see

Oh listen to me, said the prophet

Solo

Can I play with madness - the prophet stared at his crystal ball
Can I play with madness - there's no vision there at all
Can I play with madness - the prophet looked and he laughed at me
Can I play with madness - he said you're blind too blind too see

Can I play with madness
Back to the top

Fear Of The Dark (Live)

Steve Harris
I am a man who walks alone
And when I'm walking a dark road
At night or strolling through the park
When the light begins to change
I sometimes feel a little strange
A little anxious when it's dark

Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a constant fear that something's always near
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a phobia that someone's always there

Have you run your fingers down the wall
And have you felt your neck skin crawl
When you're searching for the light?
Sometimes when you're scared to take a look,
At the corner of the room
You've sensed that something's watching you

Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a constant fear that something's always near
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a phobia that someone's always there

Have you ever been alone at night,
Thought you heard footsteps behind
And turned around and no-one's there?
And as you quicken up your pace,
You find it hard to look again
Because you're sure there's someone there

Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a constant fear that something's always near
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a phobia that someone's always there

Solo

Fear of the dark, fear of the dark, fear of the dark, fear of the dark
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark, fear of the dark, fear of the dark

Watching horror films the night before,
Debating witches and folklore
The unknown troubles on your mind
Maybe your mind is playing tricks,
You sense and suddenly eyes fix
On dancing shadows from behind

Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a constant fear that something's always near
Fear of the dark, fear of the dark
I have a phobia that someone's always there

When I'm walking a dark road, I am a man who walks alone...
Back to the top

Run To The Hills

Steve Harris
The white man came across the sea,
He brought us pain and misery
He killed our tribes he killed our creed,
He 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 dust clouds 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

Chorus:
Run to the hills, run for your lives
Run to the hills, run for your lives

Soldiers blue in the barren wastes,
Hunting and killing the 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

Chorus

Solo

Chorus

Back to the top

Bring Your Daughter ... To The Slaughter

Bruce Dickinson
Honey its getting close to midnight, and all the myths are still in town
True love and lipstick on your linen, bite the pillow make no sound
If there's some living to be done before your life becomes your tomb
You'd better know that I'm the one, so unchain your back door invite me around

Bring your daughter, bring your daughter to the slaughter
Let her go, let her go, let her go
Bring your daughter, bring your daughter to the slaughter
Let her go, let her go, let her go
Let her go, yeah!

Honey its getting close to daybreak, the sun is creeping in the sky
No patent remedies for heartache, just empty words and humble pie
So get down on your knees honey, assume an attitude
You just pray that I'll be waiting cos you know I'm coming soon

Bring your daughter, bring your daughter to the slaughter
Let her go, let her go, let her go
Bring your daughter, bring your daughter to the slaughter
Let her go, let her go, let her go

So pick up your foolish pride, no going back
No where, no way, no place to hide

Solo

Bring your daughter, bring your daughter
Bring your daughter, bring your daughter
Bring your daughter, bring your daughter to the slaughter
Bring your daughter, fetch your daughter
Bring your daughter, fetch your daughter
Bring your daughter, fetch your daughter to the slaughter

Bring your daughter, bring your daughter to the slaughter
Let her go, let her go, let her go
Bring your daughter, bring your daughter to the slaughter
Let her go, let her go, let her go
Back to the top

The Evil That Men Do

Steve Harris, Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith
Love is a razor and I walked the line on that silver blade
Slept in the dust with his daughter, her eyes red with the slaughter of innocence
But I will pray for her, I will call her name out loud
I would bleed for her, if I could only see her now

Living on a razor's edge, balancing on a ledge
Living on a razor's edge, balancing on a ledge
Balancing on a ledge, living on a razor's edge
Balancing on a ledge, you know, you know

The evil that men do lives on and on
The evil that men do lives on and on
The evil that men do lives on and on
The evil that men do lives on and on

Circle of fire my baptism of joy at an end it seems
The seventh lamb slain, the book of life opens before me
And I will pray for you, someday I may return
Don't you cry for me, beyond is where I learn

Living on a razor's edge, balancing on a ledge
Living on a razor's edge, you know, you know

The evil that men do lives on and on
The evil that men do lives on and on
The evil that men do lives on and on
The evil that men do lives on and on

Solo

Living on a razor's edge, balancing on a ledge
Living on a razor's edge, you know, you know

The evil that men do lives on and on
The evil that men do lives on and on
The evil that men do lives on and on
The evil that men do lives on and on
The evil, the evil, the evil that men do
The evil, the evil, the evil that men do
Back to the top

Aces High

Steve Harris

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

Jump in the cockpit and start up the engines
Remove all the wheel blocks there's no time to waste
Gathering speed as we head down the runway
Got to get airborne before it's too late

Chorus:
Running, scrambling, flying
Rolling, turning, diving, doing it again
Running, scrambling, flying
Rolling, turning, diving...
Run, live to fly, fly to live, do or die
Run, live to fly, fly to live, Aces high

Solo

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

Chorus

Back to the top

Be Quick Or Be Dead

Bruce Dickinson, Janick Gers
Covered in sinners and dripping with guilt
Making you money from slime and from filth
Parading your bellies in ivory towers
Investing our lives in your schemes and your powers

You got to watch them - Be quick or be dead
Snake eyes in heaven - The thief in your head
You've got to watch them - Be quick or be dead
Snake eyes in heaven - The thief in your head...
Be quick! Or be dead!
Be quick! Or be dead!

See what's ruling all our lives,
See who's pulling the strings
See what's ruling all our lives,
See who pulls the strings
I bet you won't fall on your face,
Your belly will hold you in place

The serpent is crawling inside of your ear
He says you must vote for what you want to hear
Don't matter what's wrong as long as you're alright
So pull yourself stupid and rob yourself blind

You got to watch them - Be quick or be dead
Snake eyes in heaven - The thief in your head
You've got to watch them - Be quick or be dead
Snake eyes in heaven - The thief's in your head...
Be quick! Or be dead!
Be quick! Or be dead!

Solo

You got to watch them - Be quick or be dead
Snake eyes in heaven - The thief in your head
You've got to watch them - Be quick or be dead
Snake eyes in heaven - The thief's in your head...
Be quick! Or be dead!
Be quick!
Back to the top

2 Minutes To Midnight

Bruce Dickinson, Adrian Smith
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
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 demon'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

Solo

The body bags and little rags of children torn in two
And the jellied brains of those who 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, midnight, it's all night
Midnight, midnight, all night!

Back to the top

Man On The Edge

Blaze Bayley, Janick Gers
The freeway is jammed and it's backed up for miles
The car is an oven and baking is wild
Nothing is ever the way it should be
What we deserve we just don't get you see

A briefcase, a lunch and a man on the edge
Each step gets closer to losing his head
Is someone in heaven are they looking down
'Cause nothing is fair just you look around

Falling down, falling down, falling down
Falling down, falling down, falling down

He's sick of waiting of lying like this
There's a hole in the sky for the angels to kiss
Branded a leper because you don't fit
In the land of the free you just live by your wits

Once he built missiles a nation's defence
Now he can't even give birthday presents
Across the city he leaves in his wake
A glimpse of the future a cannibal state

Falling down, falling down, falling down
Falling down, falling down, falling down

Solo

The freeway is jammed and it's backed up for miles
The car is an oven and baking is wild
Nothing is ever the way it should be
What we deserve we just don't get you see

A briefcase, a lunch and a man on the edge
Each step gets closer to losing his head
Is someone in heaven are they looking down
Nothing is fair just you look around

Falling down, falling down, falling down
Falling down, falling down, falling down
Falling down, falling down, falling down
Falling down, falling down, falling down
Back to the top

Virus

Blaze Bayley, Dave Murray, Janick Gers, Steve Harris

There's an evil virus that's threatening mankind
Not state of the art, a serious state of the mind
The muggers, the backstabbers, the two faced elite
A menace to society, a social disease

Rape of the mind is a social disorder
The cynics, the apathy one-upmanship order

Watching beginnings of social decay
Gloating or sneering at life's disarray
Eating away at your own self esteem
Pouncing on every word that you might be saying

Rape of the mind is a social disorder
The cynics, the apathy one-upmanship order

Superficially smiling a shake of the hand
As soon as the back is turned treachery is planned

Rape of the mind is a social disorder
The cynics, the apathy one-upmanship order

Watching beginnings of social decay
Gloating or sneering... at life's disarray

When every good thing's laid to waste
By all the jealousy and hate
By all the acid wit and rapier lies

And every time you think you're safe
And when you go to turn away
You know they're sharpening all their paper knives

All in your mind
All in your head
Try to relate it

All in your mind
All in your head
Try to escape it

Without a conscience they destroy
And that's a thing that they enjoy
They're a sickness that's in all our minds

They want to sink the ship and leave
The way they laugh at you and me
You know it happens all the time

All in your mind
All in your head
Try to relate it

All in your mind
All in your head
Try to escape it

The rats in the cellar you know who you are....
Or do you?

Watching beginnings of social decay....

Back to the top

Running Free (Live)

Steve Harris, Paul Di'Anno
Just sixteen a pickup truck,
out of money out of luck
I've got nowhere to call my own,
hit the gas and here I go

Chorus:
I'm running free yeah, I'm running free
I'm running free yeah, Oh I'm running free

Spent the night in an L. A. jail
and listened to the sirens wail
They ain't got a thing on me,
I'm running wild I'm running free

Chorus

Pulled her at the Bottle Top,
whisky dancing disco hop
Now all the boys are after me
and that's the way it's gonna be

Chorus
Back to the top

Wasted Years

Adrian Smith
From the coast of gold, across the seven seas, I'm travelin' on, far and wide
But now it seems, I'm just a stranger to myself
And all the things I sometimes do, it isn't me but someone else

I close my eyes, and think of home, another city goes by in the night
Ain't it funny how it is, you never miss it 'til its gone away
And my heart is lying there and will be 'til my dying day

So understand
Don't waste your time always searching for those wasted years
Face up...make your stand
And realise you're living in the golden years

Too much time on my hands, I got you on my mind
Can't ease this pain, so easily
When you can't find the words to say it's hard to make it through another day
And it just makes me wanna cry and throw my hands up to the sky

So understand
Don't waste your time always searching for those wasted years
Face up...make your stand
And realise you're living in the golden years

Solo

So understand
Don't waste your time always searching for those wasted years
Face up...make your stand
And realise you're living in the golden years

So understand
Don't waste your time always searching for those wasted years
Face up...make your stand
And realise you're living in the golden years
Back to the top

The Clairvoyant

Steve Harris
Feel the sweat break on my brow,
Is it me or is it shadows that are dancing on the walls
Is this a dream or is it now,
Is this a vision or normality I see before my eyes

I wonder why I wonder how,
That it seems the powers getting stronger every day
I feel a strength an inner fire,
But I'm scared I won't be able to control it anymore

There's a time to live and a time to die, when it's time to meet the maker
There's a time to live but isn't it strange that as soon as you're born you're dying
There's a time to live and a time to die, when it's time to meet the maker
There's a time to live but isn't it strange that as soon as you're born you're dying

Solo

Just by looking in through your eyes,
He could see the future penetrating right in through your mind
See the truth and see your lies,
But for all his power couldn't foresee his own demise

There's a time to live and a time to die, when it's time to meet the maker
There's a time to live but isn't it strange that as soon as you're born you're dying
There's a time to live and a time to die, when it's time to meet the maker
There's a time to live but isn't it strange that as soon as you're born you're dying....

and reborn again?
Back to the top

The Trooper

Steve 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 toward 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

Solo

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

Back to the top

Hallowed Be Thy Name

Steve 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... running low...

When the priest comes 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 I'm not 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 then why has he let me go?

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

Solo

Hallowed be thy name, Hallowed be thy name
Back to the top


You are here: Home > Lyrics > Lyrics for Iron Maiden - Best of the Beast (1996)


All content, images and other resources are the property of their respective copyright holders
Specific website content & style is copyright © 2003-2018 maiden-world.com, All Rights Reserved
Admin E-mail: admin AT maiden-world DOT com , Site Design by Jon Simpson