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 Ian Hill, Rob Halford, Glenn 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)
Invincible Shield (2024)
Night Comes Down
Judas Priest Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the past days, that's where our memories run
And all of those times
Still race through my mind
I'm shattered inside to find
When the night comes down
And I'm here all alone
There's nowhere to go
Call me and I'll wait till the summer
You never understood
That I'll wait forever
For love that's only good
As the light starts to dim
The fear closes in
And the nightmares begin
When the night comes down
And I'm here all alone
When the night comes down
And there's no place to go
Oh no you won't be there tomorrow
Oh no say it isn't true
I can't take this pain and sorrow
Oh can't you see my heart is broken in two
Oh, say I'm trying inside to fight
When the night comes down
And I'm here all alone
When the night comes down
And there's no place to go
The lyrics of Judas Priest's song Night Comes Down talk about the pain of loneliness and heartbreak. The first verse talks about how memories of past times still race through the singer's mind, even as the sun sets on the present. The singer feels shattered inside because of the pain caused by the memory of lost love. The second verse talks about waiting for someone who never understood the depth of love the singer had for them. As the light starts to dim, the fear, and nightmares start to set in.
The chorus talks about the unbearable pain of being alone at night. When the night comes down, and there's no one around, including the lover who was once there, the singer feels lost and broken. The bridge talks about the struggle to keep on fighting despite the pain of heartbreak. The lyrics convey that love is significant and precious, and the loss of it can cause unbearable pain that must be fought against.
Overall, Night Comes Down is a poignant song that captures the pain of being alone and the struggle to fight against heartbreak despite the overwhelming despair that follows.
Line by Line Meaning
In the last rays of the setting sun
As the sun dips below the horizon, our thoughts turn to times gone by
And the past days, that's where our memories run
Our memories are stuck in the past, unable to move forward
And all of those times
All the moments we shared together
Still race through my mind
Those memories continue to play over and over in my head, never letting go
I'm shattered inside to find
I feel broken inside, unable to move on from those memories
When the night comes down
As darkness falls and the day comes to a close
And I'm here all alone
When I'm left to face my thoughts and feelings without anyone else to turn to
There's nowhere to go
I feel trapped and unable to escape from my own mind
Call me and I'll wait till the summer
If you contact me, I'll wait for you no matter how long it takes
You never understood
You never realized how much it meant to me
That I'll wait forever
My love for you is endless and I'll always be waiting
For love that's only good
I'm waiting for a love that will be worth it, even if it hurts me
As the light starts to dim
As the brightness fades away and darkness encroaches
The fear closes in
I feel scared and vulnerable
And the nightmares begin
My worst fears and anxieties come to life in my dreams
Oh no you won't be there tomorrow
I'm afraid that you won't be there for me in the future
Oh no say it isn't true
I desperately hope that my fears are unfounded and that you will be there
I can't take this pain and sorrow
The pain and sadness are too much for me to bear
Oh can't you see my heart is broken in two
My heart is shattered into pieces and I feel lost and alone
Oh, say I'm trying inside to fight
I'm doing my best to fight against my fears and sadness
And there's no place to go
I feel trapped and alone in my own thoughts and emotions
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GLENN RAYMOND TIPTON, KENNETH DOWNING, ROB HALFORD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@BarryTheBeef
In the last rays of the setting sun
And the past days, that's where our memories run
And all of those times
Still race through my mind
I'm shattered inside to find
When the night comes down
And I'm here all alone
When the night comes down
There's nowhere to go
Call me and I'll wait till the summer
You never understood
That I'll wait forever
For love that's only good
As the light starts to dim
The fear closes in
And the nightmares begin
When the night comes down
And I'm here all alone
When the night comes down
And there's no place to go
Oh no you won't be there tomorrow
Oh no say it isn't true
I can't take this pain and sorrow
Oh can't you see my heart is broken in two
Oh, say I'm trying inside to fight
When the night comes down
And I'm here all alone
When the night comes down
And there's no place to go
@vinaymulukutla358
Got my own story to tell here. Around the time when I first heard this song, and the event happened that led to my discovery of it.
I was in my late teens and we had a family reunion where I had met several of my cousins for the first time.
One of my cousins who I thought was really cool gave me the impression that she didn't want to talk to me or to know me and would do anything to get away from me. She would just seemingly disappear the moment I entered the room.
It felt pretty bad because it made me think that she found me disgusting and repulsive yet she would happily hang out with everyone else.
I felt unwanted and then when she did it one more time, I disappeared out of there. I never wanted to see her again, so I left the interaction and disappeared somewhere where nobody could find me for several hours.
Around the same time as a teenage metal fan, I had discovered Judas Priest and had loved them but I had only just gotten the Defenders album. In my depressed state, I took my Walkman and put this album on to feel better. It felt good but when I got to this song, it was unlike anything I had heard and given the song is about being rejected and loneliness, it was as if the song knew what I was feeling and it was soothing that pain. It couldn't have come at a better time. It just cleansed me of everything and assured me that I would get through this. After I heard it, I was smiling again and feeling better.
At the next event, I didn't care about my cousin anymore and just carried on. She was there but I wasn't concerning myself with her presence.
Strangely enough, she then came up to me and started talking to me. I wasn't expecting anything but here she was now trying to talk with me. She then asked me where I went the day before for several hours. I then asked why she was so interested in that. She was like ''I noticed your absence and I was worried that you were feeling left out or unwanted by us. I want you to know that we really care about you and we want you with us''. I almost collapsed. It turned out that she wouldn't talk to me because she was very shy. Today we are now very close.
Every time I hear this song, it is a reminder of how I felt at the time and how I got through it.
@jayzippo
Wow. Memories... Growing up, hanging with my friends, chillin listening to priest. I miss them.
@crok8349
Contact them, almost everyone have facebook today
@kapuda9364
yep...same
crazy how it brings back the memories
@C_mao
..that's when our memories run .. (:
@waywardson13
Life is for the living is a tuff pill to swallow
@gregorydauglas1108
Did the same bud we partied....
@anonymous-cs1gp
The opening riff makes me feel like I’m driving off into a radical 80s sunset in a pristine IROC-Z
@anthonyharmon9265
With long hair....denim jacket...kelly bundy in passenger seat....1985 forever!
@guitarcoachingoverseas1272
It went me 80's but i imaginated it night :D
@joelmonk1792
I remember the same images. My friend went from an 1981 Turbo Trans Am to a 1985 IROC Z during this time frame. I would be driving with the T Tops off, and a shower would come up and I would want to pull over to put them back on, he would say, drive faster. 100+mph and Priest blaring on the stereo. GREAT TIMES!!!!