The Trooper
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "The Trooper" | ||
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| Single by Iron Maiden | ||
| from the album Piece of Mind | ||
| Released | June 20, 1983 August 15, 2005 |
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| Format | 7" and 12" Vinyl | |
| Recorded | 1982 | |
| Genre | Heavy metal | |
| Length | 4:10 | |
| Label | EMI | |
| Writer(s) | Steve Harris | |
| Producer(s) | Martin Birch | |
| Iron Maiden singles chronology | ||
| "Flight of Icarus" (1983) | "The Trooper" (1983) | "2 Minutes to Midnight" (1984) |
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| "The Number of the Beast" (2005) |
"The Trooper (live)" (2005) |
"The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg" (2006) |
"The Trooper" is a song written by bass player Steve Harris. It is Iron Maiden's ninth single, and the second from their 1983 album Piece of Mind. The song is about the Battle of Balaclava in 1854 during the Crimean War, and is at least partially based upon Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "The Charge of the Light Brigade". The song is a perhaps bleaker vision of this poem, taking the viewpoint of one of the slain troopers. It is known for the "galloping" sound of its guitar, as well as its catchy and easy to remember riff, and is a crowd favourite at concerts. Ironically, the song is longer than the charge that inspired it.
Lead singer Bruce Dickinson introduced the song in the Rock in Rio (Brazil, 2001) concert by quoting some lines of the poem made by Alfred Lord Tennyson: "Into the valley of death, rode the six hundred.... Cannon to left of them, cannon to right of them, volleyed and thundered, 'The Trooper'". Usually, Dickinson is waving a British flag during the song (sometimes a flag different from the British), but on the last few tours he wore an authentic-looking red jacket.
On June 20 1983, "The Trooper" was released as the second single from the Piece of Mind album.
The video for the song is also featured on the video collection Visions of the Beast.
"The Trooper" was re-released as a single in 2005 to help promote The Early Days DVD retrospective which covers the band's first eight years together. The live version comes from the double-live album Death on the Road, recorded live in Germany in 2003 and released in late 2005. Additional tracks include live performances from Iron Maiden's very first concert in support of The Early Days - a headlining performance at Germany's Rock am Ring festival.
The song is a playable track in the Xbox 360 game, Guitar Hero II.
Contents |
[edit] Track listings
[edit] 1983 single
- "The Trooper" (Harris)
- "Cross-Eyed Mary" (Jethro Tull cover)
[edit] 2005 re-release
- "The Trooper" (live from Death on the Road) (Steve Harris) – 4:12
- "The Trooper" (original studio version) (Harris) – 4:10
- "Prowler" (recorded live in Reykjavík, Iceland, on 7 June 2005) (Harris) – 4:24
- "The Trooper" (live video of main track) (Harris) – 4:12
- "The Trooper" (original promo video) (Harris) – 4:10
[edit] Numbers From The Beast version
A cover version of the tune is found on the all-star tribute album Numbers from the Beast, featuring Lemmy Kilmister on vocals, Phil Campbell and Rocky George on guitars, Chuck Wright on bass, and Chris Slade on drums. Apart from differences in guitar solos and vocal patterns, this version follows Harris' original compositional configuration.
[edit] References
This song is referenced in a later chapter in the book World War Z by Max Brooks. During the Battle of Hope between American soldiers and zombies, "The Trooper" was played as the Primary Enticement Mechanism to inspire the soldiers and boost their morale, taking the fear for the undead out of the battle-equation and, because of the high volume, drawing the zombies to the waiting guns (which, in effect, could be seen as a charge of a very slow light brigade).
[edit] Credits
- Bruce Dickinson – vocals
- Dave Murray – guitar
- Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals
- Janick Gers – guitar (except on 1983 studio track)
- Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Nicko McBrain – drums
