Iron Maiden-5.The Longest Day(Dortmund 2006)

Iron Maiden - Westfalenhalle, Dortmund, Germany, Dec. 8, 2006, during A Matter of Life and Death World Tour 2006-2007, also known as A Matter of Life and Death World Tour - 1st leg-2006,and A Matter of the Beast Tour - 2nd leg-2007.
Special thanks goes to the owner for this DVD.

The Longest Day (Smith, Harris, Dickinson)

Bruce Dickinson:Vocals
Steve Harris:Bass
Janick Gers:Guitar
Dave Murray:Guitar
Adrian Smith:Guitar
Nicko McBrain:Drums

[Lyrics]

In the gloom the gathering storm abates
In the ships gimlet eyes await
The call to arms to hammer at the gates
To blow them wide, throw evil to its fate

All summer's long the drills to build the machine
To turn men from flesh and blood to steel
From paper soldiers to bodies on the beach
From summer sands to Armageddon's reach

Overlord, your master not your god
The enemy coast dawning grey with scud
These wretched souls puking, shaking fear
To take a bullet for those who sent them here

The world's alight, the cliffs erupt in flames
No escape, remorseless shrapnel rains
Drowning men, no chance for a warrior's fate
A choking death, enter hell's gates

Sliding we go, only fear on our side
To the edge of the wire and we rush with the tide
Oh the water is red with the blood of the dead
But I'm still alive, pray to God I survive

How long on this longest day 'til we finally make it through [x4]

The rising dead, faces bloated torn
They are relieved, the living wait their turn
Your number's up, the bullet's got your name
You still go on, to hell and back again

Valhalla waits, valkyries rise and fall
The warrior tombs lie open for us all
A ghostly hand reaches through the veil
Blood and sand, we will prevail

Sliding we go, only fear on our side
To the edge of the wire and we rush with the tide
Oh the water is red with the blood of the dead
But I'm still alive, pray to God I survive

How long on this longest day 'til we finally make it through [x4]
..........................
The Longest Day is a song from the album''A Matter of Life and Death'' by Iron Maiden,released on 25 August 2006.

In the same vein as "Paschendale", this fantastic war epic deals with Operation Neptune, the landings in Normandy -- representing the first step of a campaign code-named Operation Overlord (mentioned in the song) to gain a foothold on continental Europe -- on 6th June 1944. The music, along with Bruce's fantastic vocals, depicts vividly the approach of the landing crafts towards the beaches and the hellish confrontation of the invasion itself. Bruce's singing style brings up the crescendo perfectly until the explosive verses that make us visualise the fights on the beaches.
Unlike "Paschendale", however, "The Longest Day" has some victorious and hopeful melodies intertwined with the harsh riffing reminiscent of the advance of the troops. Indeed, the landings in Normandy were, despite the horrendous human losses, a first step towards the victory over an evil regime that needed to be erased for good, unlike the battle of Passchendaele, which was a useless bloodbath that benefited no one. Apart from this major difference in the mood of the melodies and the aim of the battles, both songs are similarly grandiose and typical Iron Maiden epics.

The weather was a decisive factor for the landings and, whereas May had seen fair weather, the beginning of June didn't have the optimal conditions, forcing the Allied troops to wait until "the gathering storm abates". A full moon was also necessary, both for light and spring tide that would facilitate the landings. Among many others, the German command made the mistake to believe that an attack was not possible due to the fairly rough weather at that time. The troops had trained for the landing, not "all summer's long" as the song says, but during many spring weeks, and postponing the landings another month would have also vastly affected the morale of the soldiers who were as ready as they could be for a large-scale assault of the coasts of German-occupied France.

The D-Day landings in Normandy.
After the initial approach of the landing crafts with their cargo of "wretched souls puking, shaking fear", five landing points saw the formation of beachheads by the Allies. The Canadians arrived at Juno Beach and suffered a very high casualty rate during the first wave. The British landed at Sword and Gold, the latter being also the scene of heavy losses, and the Americans at Utah and Omaha, this last one seeing the highest number of soldiers killed of all landing grounds. A number of Free French and Polish units also entered the battle after the initial phase, as well as contingents from Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Greece, the Netherlands, and Norway. Although the songs doesn't mention them, the airborne units also contributed significantly to the success of Operation Neptune.
(Sourse: ironmaidencommentary.com )

Category:

Music

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• The
• Longest
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• Iron
• Maiden
• Westfalenhalle
• Dortmund
• Germany
• Bruce
• Dickinson
• Adrian
• Smith
• Nicko
• McBrain
• Janick
• Gers
• Steve
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• Matter
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• 2006-2007

[fabiale7508]

VERY BEST!!!!!!!!!!!

UP THE IRONS!

[Ancutzamica1]

@fabiale7508 UP THE IRONS!

[benjambreeg]

look at harry's fingers from 4.40...insane

[Ancutzamica1]

@benjambreeg - haha yes,I love it!

[GGGriggs]

Bruce Dickinson is one of the greatest vocalists of all time!!!

:-D

UP THE IRONS!!!

[Ancutzamica1]

@GGGriggs - UP THE IRONS!!!

[saints39]

ay fucking men!! i love the older voice of bruce, especially on flight 666. bruce dickinson = voice of heavy metal

[brucedickinsonisking]

the water is red

from the blood of the dead

class

[Dinozzo98]

a shortcut to replay 00:00

[UchichaMad4ra]

killer beginning riff and a fabulous solo!!!! Up the Irons \m/

[Nick666Metal]

harris=god

[TheBloodyMoony]

Mother of ROCK \m/

[ChinoRojoIronMaiden]

BRUCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE \\\\\\\m/////////

[SaintsRow1177]

alienware shirt?

[hhm123m]

Iron Maiden is just GODLY..for heavens sake..LOL