"Still Life" is inspir… Read Full Bio ↴From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piece_of_Mind:
"Still Life" is inspired by fantasy/horror writer Clark Ashton Smith's pre-World War II short story Genius Loci.
At the beginning of...Still Life, the band included a hidden message which could only be understood by playing the album backwards. This was a joke and an intended swing back at the critics who had accused Maiden of being satanic. The backwards-message features Nicko McBrain mimicking Idi Amin (or rather mimicking John Bird mimicking Idi Amin) uttering the following phrase "What ho said the t'ing with the three "bonce", do not meddle with things you don't understand...", followed by a belch. The phrase itself is taken from the satirical album The Collected Broadcasts of Idi Amin by Bird and Alan Coren. "What ho" and "What ho said the t'ing" are phrases that also crop up regularly on McBrain's "Listen With Nicko!" tracks from the First Ten Years collection.
Still Life
Iron Maiden Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In the dark depths there faces beckoning me
Can't you see them it's plain for all to see
They were there oh I know you don't believe me
Oh, I've never felt so strange
But, I'm not going insane
You don't say but it's in your eyes instead
Hours I spend out just gazing into that pool
Something draws me there I don't know what to do
Oh, they drain my strength away
Oh, they're asking me to stay
Nightmares, spirits calling me
Nightmares, they won't leave me be
All my life's blood is slowly draining away
And I feel that I'm weaker every day
Somehow I know I haven't long to go
Joining them at the bottom of the pool
Now, I feel they are so near
I, begin to see them clear
Nightmares, coming all the time
Nightmares, will give me peace of mind
Now it's clear and I know what I have to do
I must take you down there to look at them too
Hand in hand then we'll jump right into the pool
Can't you see not just me they want you too
Oh, we'll drown together
It, will be forever
Nightmares, forever calling me
Nightmares, now we rest in peace
The lyrics to Iron Maiden's "Still Life" are haunting and eerie, telling the story of a man who is drawn to a pool where he sees faces in the depths. Despite the disbelief of those around him, he continues to visit the pool, feeling his strength drain away and his mind becoming more and more consumed by the spirits calling him from the water. As he realizes he is dying and the spirits want him and the listener to join them in death, he takes his loved one's hand and jumps into the pool, ready to be at peace with the nightmares that have haunted him.
The images in the lyrics of "Still Life" are vivid and inspiring, evoking a feeling of despair and hopelessness. The man's obsession with the pool is almost hypnotic, drawing him in and draining his life away. The spirits calling him seem to be a manifestation of his own mortality, beckoning him to join them in death. The song is a meditation on the fear of death and the desire for release from the pain and suffering of life.
Line by Line Meaning
Take a look in the pool and what do you see
The singer sees faces in the dark depths of the pool
In the dark depths there faces beckoning me
The faces are calling out for him from the bottom of the pool
Can't you see them it's plain for all to see
The faces are obvious but others can't see them
They were there oh I know you don't believe me
The singer acknowledges that others don't believe him
Oh, I've never felt so strange
The singer feels uneasy and abnormal
But, I'm not going insane
He insists that he's not mentally unstable
I've no doubt that you think I'm off of my head
Others think he's crazy, but he knows what he sees
You don't say but it's in your eyes instead
He can tell that others don't believe him based on their facial expressions
Hours I spend out just gazing into that pool
He spends a lot of time looking at the faces in the pool
Something draws me there I don't know what to do
He feels compelled to go to the pool even though he knows it's not normal
Oh, they drain my strength away
The faces in the pool are somehow weakening him
Oh, they're asking me to stay
He feels like the faces want him to stay with them in the pool
Nightmares, spirits calling me
He's haunted by these spirits in his dreams
Nightmares, they won't leave me be
The nightmares won't stop bothering him
All my life's blood is slowly draining away
The spirits in the pool are slowly killing him
And I feel that I'm weaker every day
He can tell that he's getting weaker and closer to death
Somehow I know I haven't long to go
He's aware that he's going to die soon
Joining them at the bottom of the pool
He thinks he'll die and be with the spirits in the pool
Now, I feel they are so near
He feels like death is close
I, begin to see them clear
He starts to see the spirits more clearly
Nightmares, coming all the time
He's having more nightmares
Nightmares, will give me peace of mind
He thinks that dying will give him peace from the nightmares
Now it's clear and I know what I have to do
He's decided to take someone to see the spirits in the pool
I must take you down there to look at them too
He wants someone else to see the spirits so he's not alone
Hand in hand then we'll jump right into the pool
He wants to die with someone else so he's not alone
Can't you see not just me they want you too
He thinks the spirits want to take the other person as well
Oh, we'll drown together
He wants to die with the other person
It, will be forever
He wants to be with the spirits forever
Nightmares, forever calling me
Even in death, the nightmares will continue to haunt him
Nightmares, now we rest in peace
He thinks that dying will bring him peace from the nightmares
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: David Michael Murray, Stephen Percy Harris
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
George Dill
on The Number of the Beast
kicking it