The band's membership has seen much turnover Read Full BioJudas Priest is an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band had struggled with indifferent record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when they rose to commercial success with the album British Steel.
The band's membership has seen much turnover, including a revolving cast of drummers in the 1970s and the departure of singer Rob Halford in 1992. Tim "Ripper" Owens, formerly of Winter's Bane, replaced Halford in 1996 and recorded two albums with Judas Priest, before Halford returned to the band in 2003. The current line-up consists of Halford, guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill and drummer Scott Travis. The band's best-selling album is 1982's Screaming for Vengeance, with their most commercially successful line-up featuring Hill, Halford, Tipton, guitarist K. K. Downing, and drummer Dave Holland. Tipton and Hill are the only two members of the band to appear on every album.
Halford's operatic vocal style and the twin guitar sound of Downing and Tipton have been a major influence on heavy metal bands. Judas Priest's image of leather, spikes, and other taboo articles of clothing were widely influential during the glam metal era of the 1980s. The Guardian referred to British Steel as the record that defines heavy metal. Despite a decline in exposure during the mid-1990s, the band has once again seen a resurgence, including worldwide tours, being inaugural inductees into the VH1 Rock Honors in 2006, receiving a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 2010, and having their songs featured in video games such as Guitar Hero and the Rock Band series. In 2022, Judas Priest were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judas_Priest
Studio albums
Rocka Rolla (1974)
Sad Wings of Destiny (1976)
Sin After Sin (1977)
Stained Class (1978)
Killing Machine (1978)
British Steel (1980)
Point of Entry (1981)
Screaming for Vengeance (1982)
Defenders of the Faith (1984)
Turbo (1986)
Ram It Down (1988)
Painkiller (1990)
Jugulator (1997)
Demolition (2001)
Angel of Retribution (2005)
Nostradamus (2008)
Redeemer of Souls (2014)
Firepower (2018)
Breaking the Law
Judas Priest Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning | Line by Line Meaning
All inside it's so frustrating as I drift from town to town
Feel as though nobody cares if I live or die
So I might as well begin to put some action in my life
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
So much for the golden future, I can't even start
I've had every promise broken, there's anger in my heart
You don't know what it's like, you don't have a clue
If you did you'd find yourselves doing the same thing too
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
You don't know what it's like
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Judas Priest’s song “Breaking the Law” was released in 1980 and is a classic metal tune that resonates with many listeners. The lyrics depict a feeling of frustration and desperation in the face of a seemingly hopeless situation. The protagonist of the song is out of work and feels like no one cares about him. He’s been let down by broken promises and is now filled with anger. In this state of mind, he decides that breaking the law is the only way to put some action in his life.
The chorus of the song is a repetition of the phrase “Breaking the law,” creating a sense of urgency and defiance. The lyrics suggest that the protagonist is aware of the consequences of his actions but chooses to break the law anyway. The line “So much for the golden future, I can’t even start” suggests that he feels like he has nothing to look forward to, making breaking the law a viable option.
Line by Line Meaning
There I was completely wasting, out of work and down
I was feeling hopeless and useless as I wandered aimlessly without a job
All inside it's so frustrating as I drift from town to town
My inner turmoil was mounting as I moved from place to place without any direction
Feel as though nobody cares if I live or die
I'm overwhelmed by the feeling of being completely alone and unnoticed by anyone
So I might as well begin to put some action in my life
I decided to take matters into my own hands and create some excitement in my dull existence
Breaking the law, breaking the law
I've decided to engage in illegal activity
So much for the golden future, I can't even start
The bright prospects that once existed now seem utterly unattainable
I've had every promise broken, there's anger in my heart
People have let me down so many times that I've started to feel bitter and resentful
You don't know what it's like, you don't have a clue
You can't possibly understand what I'm going through
If you did you'd find yourselves doing the same thing too
If you were in my shoes, you would also act in the same way
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Glenn Raymond Tipton, Kenneth Downing, Robert Halford
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Santiago Gómez
Lyrics
There I was completely wasting, out of work and down
All inside it's so frustrating as I drift from town to town
Feel as though nobody cares if I live or die
So I might as well begin to put some action in my life
You know what it's called
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
So much for the golden future, I can't even start
I've had every promise broken, there's anger in my heart
You don't know what it's like, you don't have a clue
If you did you'd find yourselves doing the same thing
You doing to me now
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
You don't know what it's like
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
LillyRocks
There I was completely wasted, out of work and down
All inside it's so frustrating as I drift from town to town
Feel as though nobody cares if I live or die
So I might as well begin to put some action in my life
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
So much for the golden future I can't even start
I've had every promise broken, there's anger in my heart
You don't know what it's like, you don't have a clue
If you did you'd find yourselves doing the same thing too
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
You don't know what it's like
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Dr Kuro_Saurio bIG_bLACK_pUP
There I was completely wasting, out of work and down
All inside it's so frustrating as I drift from town to town
Feel as though nobody cares if I live or die
So I might as well begin to put some action in my life
You know what it's called
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
So much for the golden future, I can't even start
I've had every promise broken, there's anger in my heart
You don't know what it's like, you don't have a clue
If you did you'd find yourselves doing the same thing
You doing to me now
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
You don't know what it's like
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
Breaking the law, breaking the law
juan carlos coral ruano
There I was, completely wasting
Out of work and down
All inside it's so frustrating
As I drift from town to town
Feel as though nobody cares
If I live or die
So I might as well begin
To put some action in my life
Breaking the law, breaking the law
So much for the golden future
I can't even start
I've had every promise broken
And there's anger in my heart
You don't know what it's like
You don't have a clue
If you did you'd find yourselves
Doing the same thing too
Breaking the law, breaking the law
You don't know what it's like
poopsniffer
The camera man is so brave. He filmed the whole robbery and didn't get killed.
Silva Dos Santos
He was part of it
Nintendo Editor
a true survivor
Andrey Kusanagi
they were there to rob the bank, not to kill the patrons.
Flickan i det krökta rummet
they used the secret weapon heavy metal on him too
DinoRocker 86
@Sean Hauth Yeah I might've heard of that movie in passing before, not really into 80's B-movies, unless ya don't consider any Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sly Stallone, Chuck Norris and Jean Claude Van Damme action movie from this time a B-movie, but yeah, Priest really blew me away when I first heard 'em, funny about what ya said about that film, that's what happened to that bowler wearin' bozo in the video for "You Got Another Thing Coming", so yeah you could say that, yeah the best Heavy Metal (early Saxon, Priest, Motorhead, early Maiden (Di Anno era) had the sound and feel of the action films of the guys I mentioned, full throttle, shoot from the hip, take no prisoners attitude.
Vlasis
53yrs old, still getting goosebumps, still feeling like Beavis and Butthead
Mark Spaltholz
😂 Yep awsome time of life. We used to break the law too.
Argento Kaos
@RUTHLESS UK Um, there's this letter between "W" and "Y"... :D :D
Argento Kaos
Cannot upvote this--- and change the number...