Militia Guard

Album: Saxon (1979)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In his memoir Never Surrender..., Saxon frontman Biff Byford explained the somewhat unusual genesis of this song: "I thought the word 'militia' was a fantastic word and wanted to write a song around it."

    It was he said, "conceptually, a little based on the French Revolution or the Russian Revolution" - not much of a difference really. For a song that is really about the French Revolution, check out "Palace Of Versailles" by Al Stewart. Having said that, "Militia Guard" is not a bad effort, it certainly has a military feel to it.
  • A group composition, "Militia Guard" was released on the Carrere label on November 2, 1979 as the B-side of "Backs To The Wall." It was engineered and produced by John Verity. Running to 4 minutes 50 seconds, it was also the eighth and final track on the band's eponymous debut album. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Alexander Baron - London, England, for above 2

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Joan Armatrading

Joan ArmatradingSongwriter Interviews

The revered singer-songwriter talks inspiration and explains why she put a mahout in "Drop the Pilot."

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

Is That Song Public Domain?

Is That Song Public Domain?Fact or Fiction

Are classic songs like "Over The Rainbow" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in the public domain?

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Best Band Logos

Best Band LogosSong Writing

Queen, Phish and The Stones are among our picks for the best band logos. Here are their histories and a design analysis from an expert.

Phone Booth Songs

Phone Booth SongsSong Writing

Phone booths are nearly extinct, but they provided storylines for some of the most profound songs of the pre-cell phone era.