1) British hardrock ba… Read Full Bio ↴There is more than one artist with this name:
1) British hardrock band
2) Dutch guitarpop band
3) British folk group
1) Blue Murder was the hard rock brainchild of ex-Whitesnake and Thin Lizzy guitarist John Sykes. The original 1988 lineup of the band, also included ex-The Firm bass player Tony Franklin and drummer Cozy Powell (although he was almost immediately replaced by Carmine Appice). Ray Gillen was also briefly in the 1988 line-up before Sykes decided to take the vocal duties himself in addition to guitar.
Hoping to capitalize upon the success of Whitesnake's multi-platinum 1987, Geffen Records signed Sykes to form a new band. After auditioning several vocalists (including Tony Martin and Ray Gillen), Sykes was encouraged to handle vocal duties himself.
Their self titled debut did moderately well, peaking at #69 on the Billboard Top 200, and spawned the singles "Jelly Roll" (#15, Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks) and "Valley of the Kings", which received substantial airplay on MTV's Headbanger's Ball.
In 1993, the follow-up Nothing But Trouble was released. While the original lineup recorded much of the album, Sykes' hesitancy at handing the vocal chores resurfaced; he recruited Baton Rouge singer Kelly Keeling. After spending more than a year laying down the vocal tracks for the album, John was not convinced that the vocals were to his liking. He proceeded to go over the lead vocal tracks with his own until Kelly had only one lead vocal track left, "I'm On Fire".
Perhaps stemming from Keeling's ouster, Franklin and Appice left midway through the recording sessions, to be replaced by bassist Marco Mendoza and drummer Tommy O'Steen.
As Nothing But Trouble was released well after the grunge explosion of 1991, it received virtually no promotion from Geffen. The album's lead-off track "We All Fall Down" reached #35 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, but the album was a commercial failure.
A live recording, Screaming Blue Murder, was to be the band's final release before their 1992 split.
_______________
2) Blue Murder was a Dutch band formed after the split up of Soviet Sex back in 1982. The members on the first albums are:
MAARTEN VAN DER PLOEG: voc, guitar
PHIL VAN TONGEREN: voc, synthesizer
RYU TAJIRI: voc, synthesizer
ROGIER VAN DER PLOEG: guitar
ANNEMIEK LELYVELD: bass
MONIEK VOULON: drums
Also on drums on the latter albums: Jos den Brok, and in 1986 Kors Eijkelboom. In 1987 the group falls apart. In the Amsterdam Melkweg arena was their final concert.
Blue Murder plays guitarpop, like Talking Heads.
__________________
3) Blue Murder is an occasional folk supergroup, containing various members of Swan Arcade, Coope Boyes and Simpson, Waterson:Carthy and The Watersons.
03 Valley of the Kings
Blue Murder Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In his mind he could see a kingdom
With this king they could not reason
Enslaved in the wish and the dream of a man who's planned their destiny
There is no way out, there can be no doubt
All he wants is his dream fulfilled and until the day
When the kingdom's built
There is no way out, there can be no doubt
Chorus
The blood will flow, a thousand souls plead for mercy
A thousand times over
You'll hear it on the wind, these sinners never sinned
Stone on stone they built till the day their life is over
They control with the whips and chains
They bequeath us with a life of pain
No way out of this place you gotta work until it's over
See the fire in the sky, in glory die
Cry if you must but die you will
The valley of the kings will still be built
See the fire in the sky, in glory die
Chorus
The blood will flow, a thousand souls plead for mercy
A thousand times over
You'll hear it on the wind, these sinners never sinned
The king looks on and sees his dream arising
One's grave will found in the end, his spirit's lost
But one will be saved
And with him he will take it all jewels and gold will guard his soul
Feel the kiss on the wind, and the blood on the sand
It was built with flesh and blood
It wasn't built by any God
Feel the kiss on the wind, and the blood on the sand
Chorus
The blood will flow, a thousand souls plead for mercy
A thousand times over
You'll hear it on the wind, these sinners never sinned
The lyrics to Blue Murder's song "Valley of the Kings" are about a pharaoh who, in his mind, could see a kingdom. This pharaoh enslaved his people in order to fulfill his dream of building this kingdom. The people were forced to work until their life was over, and they were controlled with whips and chains. The chorus refers to the blood that flowed as the result of the pharaoh’s rule, and how the people who died were sinners who never had a chance to sin. The pharaoh would ultimately lose his spirit, but one person would be saved, taking with him the jewels and gold that guarded his soul.
The lyrics in "Valley of the Kings" are meant to demonstrate how power can corrupt and oppress. The pharaoh's desire for his dream came at the cost of other people's lives and freedom, ultimately leading to his downfall. The chorus of the song serves to drive home the point that the pharaoh's kingdom was built on blood and that many people died to bring it to life.
Line by Line Meaning
In a distant place in time a pharaoh wandered
Long ago, a pharaoh roamed a faraway land.
In his mind he could see a kingdom
The pharaoh had a vision of a powerful empire.
With this king they could not reason
The people couldn't reason with the stubborn ruler.
Enslaved in the wish and the dream of a man who's planned their destiny
The people were trapped in the pharaoh's dream and fate he planned for them.
There is no way out, there can be no doubt
There was no escape, and it was certain.
All he wants is his dream fulfilled and until the day
The pharaoh only cared about fulfilling his own vision, until the end of his days.
When the kingdom's built
When the empire was complete.
The blood will flow, a thousand souls plead for mercy
The workers would suffer and die in great numbers.
A thousand times over
The tragedy would repeat relentlessly.
You'll hear it on the wind, these sinners never sinned
Their cries of anguish would echo in the wind, even though they were innocent.
Stone on stone they built till the day their life is over
The people would build until the end of their lives.
They control with the whips and chains
The rulers controlled the workers with brute force.
They bequeath us with a life of pain
The pharaohs left a legacy of suffering.
No way out of this place you gotta work until it's over
There was no escape for the workers; they had to work until the end.
See the fire in the sky, in glory die
The workers would die in a blaze of glory.
Cry if you must but die you will
The workers would die no matter how much they cried.
The valley of the kings will still be built
The empire would still be created, no matter the cost.
The king looks on and sees his dream arising
The pharaoh watched as his vision became a reality.
One's grave will found in the end, his spirit's lost
In the end, the pharaoh would die, and his spirit would be lost.
But one will be saved
But one person would survive.
And with him he will take it all jewels and gold will guard his soul
That person would take all the riches, which would protect him.
Feel the kiss on the wind, and the blood on the sand
The tragedy's ghost would always haunt the land.
It was built with flesh and blood
The empire was built with human sacrifice and suffering.
It wasn't built by any God
The empire wasn't created by any divine power.
The blood will flow, a thousand souls plead for mercy
The workers would suffer and die in great numbers.
A thousand times over
The tragedy would repeat relentlessly.
You'll hear it on the wind, these sinners never sinned
Their cries of anguish would echo in the wind, even though they were innocent.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANTHONY PHILIP HARFORD, JOHN SYKES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Auscanbriusanzger
Who's still listening to this in 2024 ? I wish all of you all the best ! ✌️🤘😊👍👏 Rock on forever !!!
@paulvanappeven3340
I do. Keep on rocking. Im 59. 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
@flaerds8234
I am. Rock on brother
@dougmitchell2
I'm 60 in 2 dayz😊
@federicorubio5869
Here I am Buddy. Soon to be 50 ! Rock & Roll will never die!
@mariec3898
Me. I'm 61. I came to rock music very late.
I am always discovering new bands. I love 80's rock. 🎸🎸🤘🤘
It's the only music that excites me today.
I also like guys with long hair.
@BromsThePoetTV
I feel sorry for anyone who has never heard this song and never will in their lifetime.
@danielcampa2606
I just listened to the song and it is cool and I want to instill in my children to listen to this type of music because it is the best
@davemoskot7772
John Sykes is the most criminally underrated guitarist in the history of all things guitar. Blue Murders’ debut album was absolute perfection thanks to Bob Rock and JS. every single song on that record was smokin.
@paulbrandano3477
Your damn right..