IRON MAIDEN - MOTHER RUSSIA

MOTHER RUSSIA

IRON MAIDEN

SONGWRITER: HARRIS

COUNTRY: U.K.

ALBUM: NO PRAYER FOR THE DYING

LABEL: EPIC RECORDS

GENRE: HEAVY METAL

YEAR: 1990

No Prayer for the Dying is the eighth studio album by English heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It marks their first line-up change since 1982; guitarist Adrian Smith left the band during the pre-production phase, unhappy with the musical direction it was taking, and only having contributed to one song, "Hooks in You". Smith was replaced by Janick Gers, who had previously worked with singer Bruce Dickinson on his first solo-album, Tattooed Millionaire, and had also worked with Ian Gillan, former Marillion singer Fish, and new wave of British heavy metal band, White Spirit.

Although it received generally mixed to negative reviews, the album peaked at No. 2 in the UK Albums Chart and contains the band's only UK Singles Chart No. 1, "Bring Your Daughter... to the Slaughter".

Mother Russia, how are you sleeping

Middle winter cold winds blow

from the snowflakes drifting

swirling round like ghosts in the snow

Mother Russia, poetry majestic

tells the time of a great empire

turning round the old man ponders reminiscing an age gone by

Mother Russia

Dance of the Tzars

Hold up your heads

Be proud of what you are

now it has come

Freedom at last

turning the tides of history

and your past

Mother Russia

Dance of tzars

Hold up your head

remember who you are

can you release

the anger, the grief

can you be happy

now your people are free