Although their earlier releases contained Satanic themes and imagery, from the third album on, the band's primary subject matter centered around pirates, sailing and other historical events. In 1987, the band released the album Under Jolly Roger, which was a switch to pirate-based and historical themes, creating and influencing the later named pirate metal subgenre of heavy metal in the 2000s in the process. While the historical lyrics were very superficial at first, the lyrics for later albums were intensively researched, by frontman Rolf Kasparek in particular.
After this album, from 1988 to 1992 (for the albums Port Royal, Death or Glory, Blazon Stone and Pile of Skulls), Running Wild mainly wrote historically based lyrics. In addition to lyrics about pirates, the band also addressed subjects like the Wars of the Roses, the Battle of Waterloo, or the colonization of the New World by the Conquistadors.
In April 2009, Kasparek announced that Running Wild had split up. Their intended last show was at Wacken Open Air in July that year. It was recorded for CD and DVD release and appeared as The Final Jolly Roger in 2011. The split would prove temporary as they reunited in 2012. Running Wild played live for the Wacken Open Air festival in 2015. As of 2021, the band have released 17 studio albums, with their most recent being Blood on Blood.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Running_Wild_(band)
Studio albums
Gates to Purgatory (1984)
Branded and Exiled (1985)
Under Jolly Roger (1987)
Port Royal (1988)
Death or Glory (1989)
Blazon Stone (1991)
Pile of Skulls (1992)
Black Hand Inn (1994)
Masquerade (1995)
The Rivalry (1998)
Victory (2000)
The Brotherhood (2002)
Rogues en Vogue (2005)
Shadowmaker (2012)
Resilient (2013)
Rapid Foray (2016)
Blood on Blood (2021)
Live albums
Ready for Boarding (1988)
Death or Glory Tour – Live (1989)
Live (2002)
The Final Jolly Roger (2011)
Compilation albums
The First Years of Piracy (1991)
The Story of Jolly Roger (1998)
The Legendary Tales (2002)
20 Years in History (2003)
Best of Adrian (2006)
Black Demons on Stage (2010)
Greatest Hits (2011)
Riding the Storm: Very Best of the Noise Years 1983-1995 (2016)
Singles and EPs
"Victim of States Power" (1984)
"Bad to the Bone" (1989)
"Wild Animal" (1990)
"Little Big Horn" (1991)
"Lead or Gold" (1992)
"The Privateer" (1994)
"The Rivalry" (1998)
"Revolution" (2000)
"Crossing the Blades" (2019)
Merciless Game
Running Wild Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The children can't cry anymore
Desperate parents with lean empty hands
Their bodies are too weak, too sore
Fat bottomed breathers keep talking about hunger
And don't even know what it means
Under the cloak of pain charity
They feather their nest with your dreams
Cry for innocent children who die
An indignified death, it's a shame
Political power's more important than life
Let's stop this merciless game
Superfluous victuals piled up to the edge
The stocks are filled up to the sky
Millions of dollars for storage each year
And a nickel for people to die
We can't deny it's a shame for our race
It's about time to begin
With a fight against poverty, distress and pain
To hesitate now is a sin
Cry for innocent children who die
An indignified death, it's a shame
Political power's more important than life
Let's stop this merciless game.
The lyrics of Running Wild's song "Merciless Game" tackle the issue of poverty and hunger that is rampant in the world today. The first verse paints a picture of a world where the fruits of the earth are dried up due to the harsh conditions of the sun, and children have lost their ability to cry due to starvation. Parents are unable to provide for their children, and charitable organizations are more concerned with grifting from well-meaning donors than actually supporting those in need. The second verse highlights the irony of a world where there is an abundance of food and resources, yet people are still dying of starvation due to political power structures that prioritize greed over human life. The lyrics call for action against poverty, hunger, and pain, insisting that it's time to stop playing a merciless game with the lives of innocent people.
The song manages to capture the complex nature of poverty and hunger, and how society's structure perpetuates it. The lyrics urge people to take action against this issue and fight for the rights and dignity of people living in poverty. It's a powerful message that resonates with people worldwide, especially those in underdeveloped countries who often bear the brunt of this problem.
Line by Line Meaning
The fruits of the earth are dried up in the sun
The crops are withering away due to extreme heat and lack of water
The children can't cry anymore
The children are suffering so much that they have lost their energy to cry
Desperate parents with lean empty hands
Poor and helpless parents with nothing to feed their children
Their bodies are too weak, too sore
The parents have become weak and exhausted due to hunger and malnourishment
Fat bottomed breathers keep talking about hunger
Wealthy and privileged people discuss poverty and hunger without a genuine understanding of the issue
And don't even know what it means
They lack empathy and are ignorant of the struggles that underprivileged people face
Under the cloak of pain charity
Organizations claiming to help the impoverished, but are actually using their desperation for selfish gains
They feather their nest with your dreams
These organizations line their own pockets while taking advantage of people's hope for a better life
Cry for innocent children who die
Feel sorrow for innocent children who perish due to poverty
An indignified death, it's a shame
It is a disgraceful thing that such children should suffer and die due to poverty.
Political power's more important than life
Leaders prioritize their own political gain over saving lives of their subjects
Let's stop this merciless game
We should put an end to this cruel cycle of poverty and exploitation
Superfluous victuals piled up to the edge
Luxury foods are stocked up in abundance just to maintain a facade of plenty
The stocks are filled up to the sky
There is an excess of wealth in some quarters while many are starving
Millions of dollars for storage each year
Large sums of money are spent on storage of unused, luxury food items
And a nickel for people to die
Whereas very little is spent on helping people who are dying due to poverty
We can't deny it's a shame for our race
It is a disgraceful fact about humanity that people suffer from poverty and exploitation
It's about time to begin
It is high time people start paying attention and taking action
With a fight against poverty, distress and pain
We must persevere and fight to remove the causes of poverty and suffering
To hesitate now is a sin
Not taking immediate action to reduce poverty and alleviate suffering is a grave error
Lyrics © CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: MICHAEL KUPPER, ROLF KASPAREK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind