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.
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
"Valley of the Kings" by Blue Murder is a powerful, yet mournful song that delves into the struggle of ancient civilization plagued by the whims of a mad pharaoh ruler. The lyrics speak of a pharaoh in a distant time and place, who is determined to see his kingdom and dream fulfilled, no matter the cost. The pharaoh, who is beyond reason, forces the people into slavery to build his kingdom, with no hint of mercy even when a thousand souls plead for it. The chorus echoes the cry for mercy, but it is a futile one because it will never come.
The song also highlights the harsh work conditions and the brutality that the people endure as they work on building the kingdom. The whips and chains used to control them are symbolic of how they have been enslaved and how they have been bequeathed a life of pain. The song speaks of their inevitable deaths, yet they continue to build until the very end. The Valley of the Kings will still be built, and all that will remain is the kiss on the wind and the blood on the sand.
The pharaoh's dream may have been fulfilled, but it came at a great cost, and in the end, his spirit was lost. The only one who will be saved is the one who took with him all the jewels and gold, in what looks like an indication of greed being the driving force behind the madness. The valley was built with flesh and blood and not by any god, showing that human life was valued less than the dream of a madman.
Line by Line Meaning
In a distant place in time a pharaoh wandered
A pharaoh wandered in a distant time and place.
In his mind he could see a kingdom
He envisioned a kingdom in his mind.
With this king they could not reason
They were unable to reason with this king.
Enslaved in the wish and the dream of a man who's planned their destiny
They were enslaved to a man with a predetermined destiny.
There is no way out, there can be no doubt
There is no way out and no doubt.
All he wants is his dream fulfilled and until the day
He wants his dream fulfilled until the day comes.
When the kingdom's built
When the kingdom is finally built.
Chorus
Repeat of the chorus.
Stone on stone they built till the day their life is over
They keep building until their lives end.
They control with the whips and chains
They're controlled through physical force.
They bequeath us with a life of pain
They leave them with a life of pain as a legacy.
No way out of this place you gotta work until it's over
There's no escape from this place and you have to work until it's over.
See the fire in the sky, in glory die
You'll see the fire in the sky and die gloriously.
Cry if you must but die you will
You'll die anyway, so cry if you need to.
The valley of the kings will still be built
The valley of the kings will still be built despite the cost.
The king looks on and sees his dream arising
The king sees his dream coming true before his eyes.
One's grave will found in the end, his spirit's lost
One will perish, and their spirit will be lost.
But one will be saved
One will escape.
And with him he will take it all jewels and gold will guard his soul
He will take all the treasures with him, and they will guard his soul.
Feel the kiss on the wind, and the blood on the sand
Feel the wind's kiss and the blood on the sand.
It was built with flesh and blood
The valley was built with the sacrifice of human lives.
It wasn't built by any God
The valley wasn't built by any deity.
Chorus
Repeat of the chorus.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
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..