Bruce Dickinson-10.Taking The Queen(Sao Paulo 1997)

Bruce Dickinson - Skol Rock Festival, Estadio Ibirapuera, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Nov. 15, 1997, during the ''Accident Of Birth Tour'' 1997.

Taking the Queen (Dickinson, Roy Z.)

Bruce Dickinson - Vocals
Adrian Smith - Guitar
Roy Z - Guitar
Eddie Casillas - Bass guitar
David Ingraham - Drums

[Lyrics]

Who stole your heartbeat in the night?
The acolytes fearful in the flickering light
They hold a mirror to catch the breath from your mouth
But your breath was stolen by the wind from the south
Another winter's tale is done
Your immortal lover - he's gone
The chalice stolen from her hand
Eternal life at her command
Now all that she rules must sleep...

The howling shriek of death in your eyes
The hawklord and the beast enter your room
The gold will turn to rust
Your empire follows you into your tomb

The wraiths of night caress
And whisper softly now, "We are the dead"
They bear your life away
They tear your heart in two
They've taken the queen

To some better place, so they think
As the flame burns low

Now the flame burns higher
And it purifies the love that died
stone rolls closed on a life
Back to the earth, sealing the tomb

Our skeletons rise through the veil of blood
Who summons us now from our graves?
"We are the dead"
The shriek of death in your eyes
The hawklord and the beast enter your room

The wraiths of night caress
And whisper softly now, "We are the dead"
They bear your life away
They've torn your heart in two
They've taken the queen
.....................................
''Taking the Queen'' is a song from Bruce Dickinson's solo album, Accident of Birth 1997.

The album, Accident of Birth is a heavy metal album released in 1997 by Bruce Dickinson.
This is the second album made in collaboration with guitarist/producer Roy Z and is therefore much different from Bruce's previous Skunkworks album. It marks Bruce's return to his more melodic style of singing.

Around the time he was creating the album, Bruce Dickinson's mother told him that he was the result of a "failed abortion." The album title and the title track are a reference to this revelation: Bruce was a birth that shouldn't have been. It is not clear whether it was an actual botched abortion or that his mother was expressing regret at not having aborted her pregnancy.

The cover art was done by Derek Riggs, best known for being the creator of Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie and the artwork on all Iron Maiden albums/singles/posters/tour brochures throughout 1980-1990. (Source : Wikipedia)

Bruce Dickinson, about the album: "The truth is never clear... until it clobbers you over the head. That's what happened when I decided to make the ultimate metal record. My favorite stuff, legends, sci-fi, fairy stories, dark deeds of the occult, set to slamming riffs, soaring vocals and great tunes."

One line is "Jesus had his day off when they pulled you through." The album was rife with anti-Christ lyrics (for instance, "Man of Sorrows" is about Satanist Aleisteir Crowley, "Road to Hell" implies that Jesus was a sinner [and makes reference to a "brave new world," the name of the first Maiden album after Dickinson's return in 1999], and "The Magician" contains the line "I'll put Jesus in his place"). Rod Smallwood, manager of Iron Maiden, never let him use such controversial content under his management.
Most of the songs on the album featured Roy Z on guitar. His real name is Roy Romeriz but, in his words, "back in the '80s it wasn't really all that cool to have an ethnic last name, so I flipped it around and it became 'Zerimar.' Eventually, people just started abbreviating it for convenience sake's and called me 'Z,' and it stuck." However, the song "Ghost of Cain" (which was featured on the single) had Adrian Smith on guitar. Smith was the guitarist for Iron Maiden from 1980-1990 until leaving for his solo project, ASAP (Adrian Smith And Project). "Ghost of the Navigator" was the name of a song on Brave New World, the first Maiden album released after Dickinson rejoined the band.