Grinder by Judas Priest

Album: British Steel (1980)

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford wrote the lyric to "Grinder" as a commentary on how governments and corporations will treat people like meat, grinding them up and spitting them out, exploiting them for their means.

The song is also an expression of the sexual tension Halford was feeling as a closeted gay man; he was "looking for meat," but took pains to keep his trysts discrete because he lived in fear of what would happen if his secret got out. When he finally came out in 1998, the backlash he feared didn't materialize. Fans voiced their support, and Halford became a source of support for gay metalheads.
Like all of the tracks on the landmark Judas Priest album British Steel, "Grinder" was written by Halford along with the group's guitarists, K.K. Downing and Glenn Tipton, and recorded at the Tittenhurst Park estate once owned by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Downing told Billboard he feels this is an important track. "I think it really laid down a lot of roots for what was to come in rock and metal through the '80s," he said. "A very full-on, straight 4/4 beat a la the AC/DC thing. It really helped to commercialize metal a lot, that kind of groove."
The gay dating app Grindr appeared in 2009. Rob Halford is wondering why they haven't asked to use this song.

Comments: 9

Some Bloke With An Opinion from Somewhere You'll Never VisitI think it's kind of funny that some folks are arguing over "the meaning" when to me it seems obvious the song is layered and is about more than one thing. The gay and nonconforming angles intertwine beautifully and fits well as a song about being gay, rebellious or a rebellious gay. Nonconformist don't follow the path but if you find two chaps in a bush off the track around my local woods you don't generally stop to ask if they're rebellious.
I also see the angle of it being a song from the corrupted powerhouse, bending rules and chewing through people like meat, or just the daily grind of a crap job and not getting caught in the rat race.
Good art is subjective and can be viewed from many angles. Everybody is right. Apart from you! Yeah you know what you did!
Sam from New EnglandThere's no way this song isn't about being gay.

"Never straight and narrow
I won't keep in time
Tend to burn the arrow out of the line"
-obviously about being gay despite the societal norms being otherwise

"Been inclined to wander
Off the beaten track
That's where there's thunder
And the wind shouts back"
-obviously about exploring sexuality and... wandering where the "wind shouts back"? C'mon. We all know what that means.

Great song, anthem, legendary, empowering, and definitely about being gay.
Helmut from Germany'Day of independence stamped us like a brand...'
Doesn't fit in for me. Us would be USA, but the album is British Steele. Can anybody explain?
Alex Spina from Salem, MaIt definitely seems to be more about the dehumanizing effects of late capitalism... But those first three lines sure as hell read like a subtle nod to Halford's sexuality: "Never straight and narrow/I won't keep in time/Tend to bend the arrow out of line". Granted, the word "straight" was not so specifically associated with sexual orientation at the time as it has become. Still, the social forces that forced Halford and so many others into the closet were not an entirely distinct or separate phenomenon from the other forces of conformity he rails against and spurns, in favor of "self reliance on this Earth". The song is not "about gay sex", but obviously the broadly embedded homophobia and even anti-gay laws that were part of British society were one of numerous sources of alienation for young Rob Halford.

After that stanza, unless you interpret the chorus sexually, which is definitely a stretch, I don't see any more sexual innuendo; maybe someone else has spotted some. Lines 4 through 6 seem like they could be referring to the choice of Heavy Metal as a career path: "Been inclined to wander/Off the beaten track/That's where there's thunder and the wind shouts back". Or maybe it's about his bike.
A Man Who's Not Homophobic. Don't Let Your Wives Find Me. from Beaverton OregonYou idiots who think this is about gay sex are morons. This is about not conforming to society and following your own path. It's so god damned obvious. The grinder is the machine that's sucking everyone into it's grasp making them conform and consume. Not everything is about gay sex. Even when it comes to Rob Halford.
That One Guy from Earthyup. Its about being gay. From a time where it was less accepted. Not that there's anything wrong with that...
Human from AmericaDefinitely about a dude looking for dudes.
Ray from OhioSong is about avoiding the grind, which is the monotonous grind of a dead end job that grinds on you. A job where you hate walking in the door, but hate when you leave because you will be back tomorrow anyway. The Grinder wants to eat away at you, don't let it.
Zero from Nowhere, NjI got from some of the lyrics that the person in question is a go-getter, independant (or a loner)and is always looking for thrills, and maybe someone was telling him, "You need some structure in your life," and he was going, "Got no use for routine, I shiver at the thought."

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Cheeseburger in ParadiseJimmy Buffett

Jimmy Buffett's "Cheeseburger In Paradise" has muenster (cheese), not mustard, as commonly misheard in the line "medium rare with muenster'd be nice."

Stay With MeSam Smith

A gospel choir appears in Sam Smith's "Stay With Me" video, but the vocals on the song are all Smith - about 20 tracks of his voice were used to make him sound like a chorus.

I Kissed a GirlKaty Perry

Katy Perry's breakout hit, "I Kissed A Girl," was surprising to those familiar with her past: Her parents were pastors and she started off singing Christian music.

Everything Your Heart DesiresHall & Oates

The Hall & Oates hit "Everything Your Heart Desires" has no rhymes.

Human NatureMichael Jackson

Michael Jackson's "Human Nature" was written by the keyboard player from Toto, who was working on the Thriller album.

Freedom Of ChoiceDevo

The Devo song "Freedom Of Choice" is about mindless consumerism - how people like to make frivolous choices, but otherwise want to be told what to do.