Songfacts®:

• This song was inspired by the short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe. They both describe the gruesome murder of two girls in Rue Morgue, Paris. In the song, an Englishman hears the girls being murdered, runs for the Rue Morgue, and finds their corpses. He gets blood on his hands, however, and when a crowd gathers everyone thinks he's guilty. He can't speak French, so he can't explain and becomes a fugitive from the law. He eventually leaves France to keep from being hunted, but is still so paranoid that simply being stared at makes him think he's recognized as a murderer. As a result, he never stops trying to escape the French police, no matter where he goes.
• A track from Iron Maiden's second album, Killers, "Murders In The Rue Morgue" was written by their bass player (and primary songwriter) Steve Harris. It was the first time Harris performed the bass with a significant amount of harmonics.
• Another track on the album, "Innocent Exile," is the continuing story of the fugitive in this song (Iron Maiden was into sequel songs; see "Charlotte the Harlot" and "Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son"). The album itself had a running lyrical theme of death and murder (hence the title), and the cover art shows the band's nefarious mascot Eddie murdering someone clinging to him with an axe.
• The lead singer here is Paul Di'Anno, who fronted Iron Maiden for their first two albums. He and Steve Harris butted heads, and late in 1981 Di'Anno agreed to leave the group. His replacement was Bruce Dickinson, who became their best-known frontman.
• The band In Flames did a cover of "Murders In The Rue Morgue" for the 1997 compilation album Made In Tribute - A Tribute to The Best Band In A Whole Goddamn World! >>

  Suggestion credit:
  Brett - Edmonton, Canada