Hammer to Fall

"Hammer to Fall" is a 1984 song by the British rock band Queen. Written by guitarist Brian May, the song is the eighth track on their 1984 album The Works.^[1]

It was the fourth and final single to be released from that album, although the single version was edited down by thirty seconds in contrast to the version on the album. Different sleeves were used to package this single and the live picture sleeve is now a collector's item. The song harks back to the Queen of old, with a song being built around a hard angular and muscular riff. The song features Freddie Mercury on lead vocals.

"Hammer to Fall" was a concert favourite, and was the third song the band performed at Live Aid in 1985.^[2]^[3]^[4] The song features in the setlist of both The Works Tour and The Magic Tour.^[5]^[6] The full album version of the song appears on Queen Rocks while the single version appears on Greatest Hits II and Classic Queen.^[1]

Interpretation

The lyrics at several points refer to the Cold War era in which the band members grew up, fuelling the popular conception that the song was about nuclear war:

For we who grew up tall and proud
In the shadow of the mushroom cloud
Convinced our voices can't be heard
We just wanna scream it louder and louder and louder
What the hell we fighting for
Just surrender and it won't hurt at all
You've just got time to say your prayers
While you're waiting for the Hammer to Fall.

The term "waiting for the hammer to fall" in the song was taken to refer to the anticipation by the public that Cold War would turn "hot" - or, alternatively, as a reference to the Soviet Hammer and Sickle.

The song also contains references to death and its inevitability:

Rich or poor or famous
For your truth it's all the same (oh no oh no)
Lock your door but the rain is pouring
Through your window pane (oh no)
Baby now your struggle's all in vain

The question of the meaning of the song was effectively settled when May wrote on his website that "Hammer to Fall is really about life and death, and being aware of death as being part of life", and that "the Hammer coming down is only a symbol of the Grim Reaper doing his job!"^[7]

Music video

The music video was directed by David Mallet, containing footage of a performance of the song in Brussels during The Works Tour.^[8]

Live performances

A concert favourite, "Hammer to Fall" was the third song on the band's setlist at Live Aid, after "Bohemian Rhapsody" and "Radio Ga Ga".^[3] Live versions of the song in the 1980s also usually served as an opportunity for touring keyboardist Spike Edney to appear onstage playing rhythm guitar, as he was usually not visible from behind his keyboard stack. "Hammer to Fall" features in the setlist of both The Works Tour and The Magic Tour.^[5]^[6]

At the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert in 1992, Extreme singer Gary Cherone performed the song with Queen and Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath, having previously done a medley of other Queen songs with his own group.^[9]

A different version of the song with the first part played in the style of a ballad was played by Queen + Paul Rodgers in 2005. The song peaked at number 3 in South America, and 13 in the UK.^[10] The song was featured in the film Highlander.

Appearances in other media

The song appears in the 1987 science fiction book, The Tommyknockers by Stephen King.^[11]

Chart positions

Australia (Kent Music Report) - 55
Poland - 24
South Africa - 3
United Kingdom (UK Singles Chart) - 13

Personnel

Freddie Mercury - lead and backing vocals
Brian May - lead guitar, backing vocals
Roger Taylor - drums, backing vocals
John Deacon - bass guitar, backing vocals
Fred Mandel - synthesizer

Rock Band Music Gaming Platform

The song was made available to download on 7 December 2010 for use in the Rock Band 3 music gaming platform in both Basic rhythm, and PRO mode which allows use of a real guitar / bass guitar, and MIDI compatible electronic drum kits / keyboards in addition to vocals.

References

1 2 The Works Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 11 July 2011
↑ Peter Stanford (24 Sep 2011). Queen: their finest moment at Live Aid. The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 May 2012
1 2 Queen Concerts: 13 July 1985 Wembley Stadium, London, (Live Aid) Retrieved 11 July 2011
↑ Live Aid: Hammer to Fall Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 11 July 2011
1 2 Queen live on tour: The Works 1985 Queen Concerts. Retrieved 11 July 2011
1 2 Queen live on tour: Magic tour Queen Concerts. Retrieved 11 July 2011
↑ Brian May: Brian's Soapbox, April 2004, brianmay.com
↑ Queen Biography 1984 Queen Zone. Retrieved 11 July 2011
↑ The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert: Hammer to Fall Retrieved 25 May 2011
↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums. London: Guinness World Records Limited
↑ The Tommyknockers (1987) Google Books Result

External links

Official YouTube videos: original music video, Queen + Paul Rodgers, Queen + Paul Rodgers (Live in Ukraine), Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert (with Gary Cherone and Tony Iommi)
Lyrics at Queen official website (from Queen Rocks)
"Hammer to Fall" at discogs

Queen singles discography

Queen	"Keep Yourself Alive" "Liar"

Queen II	"Seven Seas of Rhye"

Sheer Heart Attack	"Killer Queen"/"Flick of the Wrist" "Now I'm Here" "Lily of the Valley"

A Night at the Opera	"Bohemian Rhapsody" "You're My Best Friend" "Love of My Life"

A Day at the Races	"Somebody to Love" "Tie Your Mother Down" "Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together)" "Long Away" "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy"

News of the World	"We Are the Champions"/"We Will Rock You" "Spread Your Wings" "It's Late"

Jazz	"Bicycle Race"/"Fat Bottomed Girls" "Don't Stop Me Now" "Jealousy" "Mustapha"

Live Killers	"Love of My Life" (Live) "We Will Rock You" (Live)

The Game	"Crazy Little Thing Called Love" "Save Me" "Play the Game" "Another One Bites the Dust" "Need Your Loving Tonight"

Flash Gordon	"Flash"

Hot Space	"Under Pressure" (with David Bowie) "Body Language" "Las Palabras de Amor" "Calling All Girls" "Staying Power" "Back Chat"

The Works	"Radio Ga Ga" "I Want to Break Free" "It's a Hard Life" "Hammer to Fall"

A Kind of Magic	"One Vision" "A Kind of Magic" "Princes of the Universe" "Friends Will Be Friends" "Pain Is So Close to Pleasure" "Who Wants to Live Forever" "One Year of Love"

The Miracle	"I Want It All" "Breakthru" "The Invisible Man" "Scandal" "The Miracle"

Innuendo	"Innuendo" "I'm Going Slightly Mad" "Headlong" "I Can't Live With You" "The Show Must Go On" "These Are the Days of Our Lives"

Made in Heaven	"Heaven for Everyone" "A Winter's Tale" "I Was Born to Love You" "Too Much Love Will Kill You" "Let Me Live" "You Don't Fool Me"

Queen Rocks	"No-One but You (Only the Good Die Young)"/"Tie Your Mother Down"

Greatest Hits III	"Under Pressure (Rah Mix)"

Non-album singles	"Thank God It's Christmas" "Another One Bites the Dust (Small Soldiers Remix)" "We Will Rock You" (with Five) "We Are the Champions" (with Robbie Williams) "Flash (Vanguard Mix)" "Another One Bites the Dust (The Miami Project Remixes)" "Bohemian Rhapsody" (with The Muppets)

Other songs	"Doing All Right" "Father to Son" "White Queen (As It Began)" "Ogre Battle" "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke" "Nevermore" "The March of the Black Queen" "See What a Fool I've Been" "Brighton Rock" "Stone Cold Crazy" "In the Lap of the Gods... Revisited" "Death on Two Legs" "Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon" "I'm in Love with My Car" "'39" "Sweet Lady" "Seaside Rendezvous" "The Prophet's Song" "Good Company" "Sheer Heart Attack" "Is This the World We Created...?" "Ride the Wild Wind" "Delilah" "Made In Heaven" "Mother Love" "Let Me in Your Heart Again" "Love Kills" "There Must Be More to Life Than This"

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