Powerslave is the title track on fifth album by heavy metal band Iron Maide… Read Full Bio ↴Powerslave is the title track on fifth album by heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It is a tale about the demise of an Egyptian pharaoh. On live performances of this song, Dickinson wears a theatrical mask. The first guitar solo is played by Dave Murray, followed by a solo by Adrian Smith.

Powerslave
Iron Maiden Lyrics

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Into the Abyss I'll fall, the Eye of Horus
Into the eyes of the night, watching me go
Green is the cat's eye that glows
In this Temple
Enter the risen Osiris, risen again

Tell me why I had to be a Powerslave
I don't wanna die, I'm a god

Why can't I live on?
When the Life Giver dies
All around is laid waste
And in my last hour
I'm a slave to the Power of Death

When I was living this lie, fear was my game
People would worship and fall
Drop to their knees
So bring me the blood and red wine
For the one to succeed me
For he is a man and a god
And he will die too

Tell me why I had to be a Powerslave
I don't wanna die, I'm a god
Why can't I live on?
When the Life Giver dies
All around is laid waste
And in my last hour
I'm a slave to the Power of Death

Now I am cold but a ghost lives in my veins
Silent the terror that reigned
Marbled in stone
A shell of a man God preserved
For a thousand ages
But open the gates of my hell
I'll strike from the grave

Tell me why I had to be a Powerslave
I don't wanna die, I'm a god
Why can't I live on?
When the Life Giver dies
All around is laid waste
And in my last hour
I'm a slave to the Power of Death

Slave to the Power of Death
Slave to the Power of Death

Overall Meaning

The song Powerslave by Iron Maiden depicts the ancient Egyptian mythology of Osiris, the god of afterlife and rebirth, and his eternal battle with Set, the god of chaos and destruction. The singer appears to embody the spirit of a Pharaoh who, after death, is trapped in his own tomb, unable to escape and doomed to live a life of servitude as a Powerslave to the Power of Death. The imagery of "the Eye of Horus" and "green cat's eye that glows" reinforces the idea of the Pharaoh being trapped in an otherworldly abyss. He laments his fate and asks why he must be subjected to this eternal torment, insisting that he does not want to die because he is a god, a ruler, a living symbol of divinity. He is haunted by the terror of his own mortality, but there is a spark of rebellion in his soul that is willing to fight back and strike from the grave, opening the gates of his own hell.

The theme of death and rebirth is explored in Powerslave, which is especially significant considering the role of the Pharaohs as god-kings who embodied divinity and immortality. The song seems to express the fear of being forgotten and erased from history, and the desire to resist the inexorable power of decay and decay, even in death. The figure of Osiris, the messenger of immortality, represents the hope of resurrection and transcendence beyond the physical realm. The Powerslave, on the other hand, is doomed to suffer in obscurity forever, unless he can find a way to break the chains of death and make his name eternal. Ultimately, the song functions as a powerful meditation on the pitfalls of power, the transience of life, and the struggle for immortality in the face of mortality.

Line by Line Meaning

Into the Abyss I'll fall, the Eye of Horus
I am going to fall deep into the unknown abyss, entranced by the Eye of Horus.

Into the eyes of the night, watching me go
As I descend, the night is the only thing witnessing my fall.

Green is the cat's eye that glows In this Temple
The cat's eye - a symbol of divinity - glows in the midst of the Temple.

Enter the risen Osiris, risen again
Osiris, the god of rebirth, enters the scene once more.

Tell me why I had to be a Powerslave
I question why I was destined to be a slave to power.

I don't wanna die, I'm a god
I refuse to accept death, as I see myself as powerful and godly.

Why can't I live on?
I plead to enable my survival.

When the Life Giver dies
Once the giver of life passes away...

All around is laid waste
...chaos and destruction befalls everything.

And in my last hour
As I approach my death...

I'm a slave to the Power of Death
...I come to terms with being controlled by the concept of death.

When I was living this lie, fear was my game
When I was leading an inauthentic life, my game was to instill fear.

People would worship and fall Drop to their knees
People would worship me and fall to their knees before me.

So bring me the blood and red wine For the one to succeed me
Prepare me a ritual offering of blood and wine, for the one to take my place.

For he is a man and a god And he will die too
Because he is both man and god, he too will face the inevitability of death.

Now I am cold but a ghost lives in my veins
Even though I am now numb and lifeless, a ghostly presence still courses through me.

Silent the terror that reigned Marbled in stone
The once-terrifying presence has become silent and petrified.

A shell of a man God preserved For a thousand ages
Through the ages, only a preserved shell of a man with divine guidance remains.

But open the gates of my hell I'll strike from the grave
If the gates of my personal hell are opened, I will come back to life and strike from beyond the grave.

Slave to the Power of Death
In the end, we are all slaves to the Power of Death.

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Bruce Dickinson

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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