Motörhead released 23 studio albums, 10 live recordings, 12 compilation albums and five EPs over a career spanning 40 years. Usually a power trio, they had particular success in the early 1980s with several successful singles in the UK Top 40 chart. The albums Overkill, Bomber, Ace of Spades and, particularly, the live album No Sleep 'til Hammersmith cemented Motörhead's reputation as a top-tier rock band. The band are ranked number 26 on VH1's 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock. As of 2016, they have sold more than 15 million albums worldwide.
Most often classified as heavy metal, Motörhead has been credited with being part of and influencing numerous musical scenes, thrash metal and speed metal especially. Lemmy, however, always insisted that they were a rock and roll band. He said that they had more in common with punk bands, but with their own unique sound, Motörhead is embraced in both punk and metal scenes. Their lyrics typically covered such topics as war, good versus evil, abuse of power, promiscuous sex, substance abuse and, most famously, gambling, the latter theme being the focus of their hit song "Ace of Spades".
Lemmy died on 28 December 2015 from cardiac arrhythmia and congestive heart failure, after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. The day after his death, drummer Mikkey Dee and guitarist Phil Campbell both confirmed that Motörhead had disbanded. By 2018, all three members of Motörhead's best-known line-up (Lemmy, Taylor and Clarke) had died.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motörhead
Discography
Motörhead (1977)
Overkill (1979)
Bomber (1979)
On Parole (1979)
Ace of Spades (1980)
Iron Fist (1982)
Another Perfect Day (1983)
Orgasmatron (1986)
Rock 'n' Roll (1987)
1916 (1991)
March ör Die (1992)
Bastards (1993)
Sacrifice (1995)
Overnight Sensation (1996)
Snake Bite Love (1998)
We Are Motörhead (2000)
Hammered (2002)
Inferno (2004)
Kiss of Death (2006)
Motörizer (2008)
The Wörld Is Yours (2010)
Aftershock (2013)
Bad Magic (2015)
Deaf Forever
Motörhead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gates open on the dark, dark night
Standing stone, skull and bone
Dead witness to an unseen fight
Beat the drum, beat the drum
Beat forever on the endless march
Stricken dumb, cut and run
Somebody's screaming and the sky is dark
Sword and shield, bone and steel
Rictus grin
Deaf forever to the battle's din
Deaf forever to the battle's din (hey)
March or croak, flame and smoke
Burn forever in eternal pain
Charge and fall, bugle call
Bone splinter in the driving rain
Horses scream, Viking dream
Drowned heroes in a lake of blood
Armored fist, severed wrist
Broken spears in a sea of mud
Sword and shield, bone and steel
Rictus grin
Deaf forever to the battle's din
Deaf forever to the battle's din (hey)
Deaf forever
Stone dead forever
Mother earth, mother earth
Enfold you in her cold embrace
Sinking down, killing ground
Worm crawling on your cold white face
Win or lose, naught to choose
All men are equal when their memory fades
No-one knows, friends or foes
If Valhalla lies beyond the grave
Sword and shield, bone and steel
Rictus grin
Deaf forever to the battle's din
Deaf forever to the battle's din
Deaf forever to the battle's din
Deaf forever to the battle's din (hey)
Motörhead's song "Deaf Forever" is a powerful and intense commentary on the horrors of war and its lasting effects on those who have witnessed it. The lyrics paint vivid images of the brutality of battle, with references to standing stones, bones, and severed limbs. The song opens with an eerie image of a stone-faced dog in a swirling fog, while a dead witness looks on from the scene of an unseen fight. The drumbeat echoes endlessly, while someone screams and the dark sky looms overhead. It is a haunting description of a battlefield, with all its chaos and violence.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "Deaf forever to the battle's din," emphasizing the lasting impact of war on those who have experienced it. The sounds of swords and shields, bone and steel, and bugle calls and battle cries all fade away, leaving those who have survived with a sense of deafness to the world around them. The verses describe the physical toll of battle, with burning flames, driving rain, and drowned heroes. The battlefield becomes a sea of mud, and bones splinter and sever.
The final verse of the song turns to the aftermath of war, with references to Mother Earth's cold embrace and the realization that all men are equal in death. The chorus repeats once more, driving home the message that the sounds of war can never truly be forgotten.
Overall, "Deaf Forever" is a poignant and visceral representation of the horrors of war and the lasting effects it has on those who have experienced it.
Line by Line Meaning
Stoneface dog, swirling fog
The setting is bleak with no human presence or warmth, only the atmosphere is tangible, which is obscured by thick fog.
Gates open on the dark, dark night
The darkness is oppressive and things are about to happen, opening with the gates indicates a sense of foreboding.
Standing stone, skull and bone
An ancient monument marks the site of the battle, with the skulls of the dead strewn amongst the bones.
Dead witness to an unseen fight
The evidence of a brutal fight is all around, but it is impossible to tell who the victors were or even who fought.
Beat the drum, beat the drum
The drums of war sound loud and ominous, signaling the beginning of the fight.
Beat forever on the endless march
The march to battle rages on continuously, death is inevitable and perpetual.
Stricken dumb, cut and run
The shock of battle has silenced them, crippled with fear, and running away is their only option.
Somebody's screaming and the sky is dark
Amidst the chaos and confusion, someone's screams break through the darkness, a cry of pain and anguish amidst the battle.
Sword and shield, bone and steel
The tools of war, swords and shields clash against each other, made from the bones of the dead and steel from the earth.
Rictus grin
The smile of death upon their faces, mocking the futility of the battle and its outcome.
Deaf forever to the battle's din
The aftermath of the battle, a state of deafness to the noise and chaos, as the survivors are numb to their surroundings.
March or croak, flame and smoke
A soldier's choices are limited, they can either march forward and risk dying or stay back and perish, amidst the smoke and flames of the battlefield.
Burn forever in eternal pain
Death after the battle does not bring relief, as the person is left burning in eternal agony for their sins.
Charge and fall, bugle call
The bugle call sounds as the soldiers charge into battle, knowing that they are likely to fall.
Bone splinter in the driving rain
In the chaos of the fight, bones and spears break and splinter, tossed about in the driving rain.
Horses scream, Viking dream
The Norsemen, known for their ferocity in battle, enter into their dream world, with the screams of their warhorses echoing in the background.
Drowned heroes in a lake of blood
The victors leave the heroes, once alive and strong on the battlefield, drowned in their own blood or in the lake nearby.
Armored fist, severed wrist
There is no limit to the violence of battle, as armored fists punch through the battle lines, and the wounded emerge with severed limbs.
Broken spears in a sea of mud
The instruments of war are broken and torn apart, strewn in the mud along with the dead bodies, with no hope of repair or reuse.
Mother earth, mother earth
Mother Earth, a comforting presence and contrast to the violence of battle, awaits to take in and welcome the dead to her embrace.
Enfold you in her cold embrace
In the end, there is only one destination for all the fallen and that is the welcoming and all-encompassing cold embrace of the earth.
Sinking down, killing ground
The end has come, with the bodies sinking into the ground, forever serving as a reminder of the terrible loss that war brings.
Worm crawling on your cold white face
Even in death there is no relief, as the bodies start to decay and are reduced to dust, with worms crawling on their faces.
Win or lose, naught to choose
The reality of war is that victory and loss are both meaningless in the end, and the price paid in human life is not worth it.
All men are equal when their memory fades
In the end, all men are equal, as their memories and achievements fade away, leaving nothing but their mortality behind.
No-one knows, friends or foes
The battle is not about friends or foes, but is a futile struggle against the inevitability of death and destruction.
If Valhalla lies beyond the grave
Even the hope of an afterlife does not bring any hope or relief, as the reality of war is far harsher than any kind of salvation after death.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ian Kilmister, Michael Burston, Peter Gill, Philip Campbell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
itsglen9646
Not many lyrics more heavy metal than these \m/
Randall Heath
Spot on! There are only a handful in this class... The Trooper comes to mind - both Maiden's version and Motorhead's superlative cover.
Tha Dood
My favorite Motorhead song from my favorite motorhead album
Mirror face
mine too!
Barny Thomas
Wow, mine too.
NaNa Nagasaki
Great, great track... and cracking backing vocals from Wurzel, who was an excellent vocalist in his own right ('Midnight in London')
Motorhead
I was there. Ripped on Jack and some good Redbud..... Rock In Peace Philthy \m/ \m/
Андрей Иванов
Yes, It's great song
Eric Bomberger
Helping those who can't help themselves 🤘 wasn't long after! Orgasmatron one of my favorite albums
Chris Harris
Heavy metal is dead and over without this band around, RIP