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)
Savage
Judas Priest Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I have to leave this place my home
To you it's a jungle, to me it's a kingdom
Where my people are free there to roam
Born with the stars we are happy and peaceful
'Til now we were left undisturbed
But you rupture the forests our gardens
And fill them with filth from your cities unheard
Savage, who is savage
Leave your morals, stake your claim
Savage, you are savage
Modern man can take the blame
You poisoned my tribe with civilized progress
Baptizing our blood with disease
You christened our bodies with sadness and suffering
Saying then that your god is well-pleased
What have we done to deserve such injustice
Explain to us please if you can
But you can't, no you can't, we can see it in your eyes
Of us both who's the primitive man
Savage, who is savage
Leave your morals, stake your claim
Savage, you are savage
Modern man can take the blame
You poisoned my tribe with civilized progress
Baptizing our blood with disease
You christened our bodies with sadness and suffering
Saying then that your god is well-pleased
What have we done to deserve such injustice
Explain to us please if you can
But you can't, no you can't, we can see it in your eyes
Of us both who's the primitive man
Savage, savage
Savage, savage
(Who's the savage) modern man
(Who's the savage) modern man
The lyrics of Judas Priest's "Savage" describe the perspective of an indigenous people whose home and way of life are being threatened by modern civilized society. The singer questions the right of outsiders to come and claim their land and force them to leave, when to them it is not a savage jungle but rather a peaceful kingdom where they are free to roam. They express the frustration and sense of injustice that comes with the destruction of their natural environment, as outsiders rupture their forests and gardens with the filth from their cities. The indigenous people are portrayed as innocent and content until the arrival of the modern world, which "poisons" their tribe with disease and suffering and baptizes their blood with sadness. The irony is highlighted as this is all done by people who proclaim to be civilized and Christian, yet they are causing evident destruction and suffering.
The singer pleads for an explanation as to why their way of life must be destroyed for the sake of progress, as they are painted as the inferior primitive people in the situation. The last lines emphasize the question of who is really the savage - the indigenous people simply trying to preserve their way of life, or the modern people who come and destroy everything in their path in the name of progress.
Overall, the song is a commentary on the effects of colonialism, imperialism, and modernization on traditional and indigenous societies. It's a call to pay attention to the effects of "civilizing" actions and an invitation to consider how progress should be achieved with consideration of smaller societies' existence.
Line by Line Meaning
Who gives you the right to come here and tell me
Why do you feel entitled to come to my home and command me?
I have to leave this place my home
You seek to make me leave my habitat.
To you it's a jungle, to me it's a kingdom
My homeland is a prosperous, abundant kingdom to me, but to you, it's nothing more than a wild, untamed jungle.
Where my people are free there to roam
My people have the freedom to wander about in our home.
Born with the stars we are happy and peaceful
We were content and at peace since our birth under the stars.
'Til now we were left undisturbed
Up to this moment, we've been uninterrupted.
But you rupture the forests our gardens
You are tearing down our forests and gardens.
And fill them with filth from your cities unheard
Moreover, you are contaminating them with refuse unseen in our home.
Savage, who is savage
Who is the savage one?
Leave your morals, stake your claim
Abandon your values and assert your position.
Savage, you are savage
You, modern man, are the savage one.
Modern man can take the blame
Contemporary man should assume responsibility.
You poisoned my tribe with civilized progress
You tainted my community with so-called progress.
Baptizing our blood with disease
You made us ill with your diseases.
You christened our bodies with sadness and suffering
Your religion imparted in us grief and anguish.
Saying then that your god is well-pleased
You declare that your deity approves of this.
What have we done to deserve such injustice
How have we earned such mistreatment?
Explain to us please if you can
If viable, please clarify.
But you can't, no you can't, we can see it in your eyes
But it's evident to us just by looking at you that you can't.
Of us both who's the primitive man
Between us, who, if anyone, is the less advanced or sophisticated individual?
Savage, savage
Savage, savage
Savage, savage
Savage, savage
(Who's the savage) modern man
(Who is the savage?) Modern man
(Who's the savage) modern man
(Who is the savage?) Modern man
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ROBERT HALFORD, GLENN RAYMOND TIPTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind