Album: Powerslave (1984)

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• Turn the spotlights on the people
  Switch the dial and eat the worm
  Take your chances, kill the engine
  Drop your bombs and let it burn
  
  White flags shot to ribbons
  The truce in black and ubrned
  Shellshock in the kitchen
  Tables overturned
  
  Back in the village again
  In the village
  I'm back in the village again
  
  Throwing dice now, rolling loaded
  I see sixes all the way
  In a black hole and I'm spinning
  As my wings get shot away
  
  Questions are a burden
  And answers' a prison for oneself
  Shellshock in the kitchen
  Tables start to burn
  
  Back in the village again
  In the village
  I'm back in the village again
  
  No breaks on the inside
  Paper cats and burning barns
  There's a fox among the chickens
  And a killer in the hounds
  
  Questions are a burden
  And answers' a prison for oneself
  Shellshock in the kitchen
  Tables start to burn
  
  Back in the village again
  In the village
  I'm back in the village again
  
  But still we walk into the valley
  And others try to kill the inner flame
  We're burning brighter than before
  I don't have a number, I'm a name
  
  Back in the village again
  In the village
  I'm back in the village again, yeah
  Back in the village again
  In the village
  I'm back in the village again
  
  Back in the village
  And I'm back in the village
  And I'm back in the village again Writer/s: Adrian Frederick Smith, Bruce Dickinson
  Publisher: BMG Rights Management
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 14

• Mamoynas from Athens"i see sixes all the way", my guess is that the pilot of the bomber plain reports that he has enemy planes at his tail, aka at his "six"... One of them probably shot him down later "as my wings get shot away"....
• Greg from Tampa Bay FloridaThere is a line in the song "Questions are a burden, answers are prison for oneself." That quote is taken from a poster in the pilot of the Prisoner to the right of the door to the labor office.
• Scott from Edmonton, AbUm it's quite obvious this is about the prisoner in the line "We're burning brighter than before, I don't have a number, I'm a name."
• Jeff from Staten Island, NyAtt Danny from Austraila:
  
  Both The Prisoner & Back in The Village are based on the Tv Show The Prisoner
• Guido from Milano, ItalyThe song is definitely about the tv series "The Prisoner". The "Village" was the name of the "prison" where the characters were being imprisoned. And the whole band, expecially Dickinson and Harris, was obsessed by this tv series, so they dedicate to it two songs.
• Guido from Milano, ItalyThe verse "I see sixes all the way" is referring to the "number six" a character of the Prisoner, where all the people are called by numbers. Remember the intro of "The Prisoner" from "The Number of the beast"? "Who are you?" "The new number two" "Who's is number one?" "You are number six..."
• Danny from Sydney, Australia'the prisoner' is based on the show 'the prisoner', not'Back in the village'. Maiden rule
• Rob from Las Vegas, Nvthe number of the beast if i'm not mistaken is about a dream. steve harris was studying or was an architect bruce dickenson is an accomplished fencer (sword fighter) as i like to call it. get 12 wasted years it'll give you some early info. as far as song insight. checkin' the memory not much there
• David from Petaluma, CaBruce didn't get his pilot license until 1993. But he did have an interest in aviation since childhood. He did not pen Aces high. Steve Harris wrote that.
• Claudio from Genova, ItalyThe song also contains a "Village" motto:
  "Questions are a burden (for the others) and answers are prisons for oneselves"
• Brett from Edmonton, CanadaWell, I was glad to compliment your fine work.
• Jeff from Haltom City, TxThanks, Brett. I wrote that one a long, long time ago, back when I was the only person that had posted material about Iron Maiden songs.
• Brett from Edmonton, CanadaDone. :)
• Jeff from Haltom City, TxAs for me, I'm still waiting for someone, anyone!, else to post some Songfacts about any Iron Maiden song, particularly something about the works of the band's better songwriter, Adrian Smith. Some Artistfacts would also be nice; there's a lot of stuff I don't know about this band, despite the fact that I'm the only person who's ever posted any facts about them (as of today).

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