The Trooper
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| “The Trooper” | |||||
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| Single by Iron Maiden from the album Piece of Mind |
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| B-side | 1983 single "Cross-Eyed Mary" |
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| Released | 20 June 1983 15 August 2005 |
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| Format | 7" and 12" Vinyl CD single |
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| Recorded | 1982 30 August 2005 |
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| Genre | Heavy metal | ||||
| Length | 4:10 4:12 |
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| Label | EMI | ||||
| Writer(s) | Steve Harris | ||||
| Producer | Martin Birch | ||||
| Iron Maiden singles chronology | |||||
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| "The Number of the Beast" (2005) |
"The Trooper (live)" (2005) |
"The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg" (2006) |
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"The Trooper" is a song written by Iron Maiden bass player Steve Harris. It is Iron Maiden's ninth single, and the second from their 1983 album Piece of Mind. The single was released on June 20, 1983. 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", taking the viewpoint of one of the slain troopers, who, in the coverart, is perceived as a bald Eddie. It is known for the galloping triplet sound of its bass and electric guitar, as well as its catchy and memorable riff, and is a crowd favourite at concerts.
The music video features clips of the charge from the 1936 film The Charge of the Light Brigade, which was controversial due to the deaths of 200 horses and an actor during filming. On the Visions of the Beast DVD, a newer version of the video replaces the film footage with Flash animation by Camp Chaos. In the animation, Eddie - dressed in 19th Century British uniform and wielding two sabers - battles multiple caricatures of George W. Bush, Al Gore and Tipper Gore in a parody of the 2000 US presidential election. At one point, Tipper Gore paints 'RATED X' on a cannonball; this is a mocking reference to Tipper's involvement in the Parents Music Resource Center which successfully attempted to add warning labels to various records - many of them heavy metal - that they deemed inappropriate. [1]
Lead singer Bruce Dickinson introduced the song in the Rock in Rio (Brazil, 2001) concert by quoting some lines of the poem written by Alfred Lord Tennyson: "Into the valley of death, rode the six hundred... Cannon to right of them, cannon to left of them, volleyed and thundered, 'The Trooper'". Usually, Dickinson waves a British flag during the song (sometimes a flag different from the British), but on the last few tours he has also worn an authentic-looking red tunic.
"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.
Cover versions of the song can be found on the tribute albums The Iron Maidens: World's Only Female Tribute to Iron Maiden and their follow up CD/DVD release Route 666, which features Motörhead guitar player Phil Campbell joining the girls on a live version of the song. There is also Numbers from the Beast, featuring Lemmy 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. German heavy metal band, Rage (band) have also covered the song on the tribute album "A Tribute To The Beast". A version of the song by Japanese band Onmyo-Za can also be heard as a Japanese bonus track on the same album.
The 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 draw zombies to the battle and to inspire the soldiers and boost their morale.
The single's cover art forms part of a Loyalist mural in the city of Derry in Northern Ireland.[2]
A covered version of the song is featured in the 2007 video game Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360.
The song is often covered by American band Coheed and Cambria as a part of medley incorporating the track in a number of Coheed and Cambria originals.
It is ranked #24 in Martin Popoff book "The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs Of All Time". Popoff put together this book by requesting thousands of metal fans, musicians, and journalists to send in their favourite heavy metal songs. Almost 18,000 individual votes were tallied and entered into a database from which the final rankings were derived. [3].
The opening riff to The Trooper is played at the end of the song "Violate" on Iced Earth's Alive in Athens album.
Contents |
[edit] Track listings
[edit] 1983 single
- "The Trooper" (Harris) – 4:10
- "Cross-Eyed Mary" (Ian Anderson, Jethro Tull cover) – 3:55
[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
- "Another Life" (recorded live in Reykjavík, Iceland, on 7 June 2005) (Harris)
- "Murders in the Rue Morgue" (recorded live in Reykjavík, Iceland, on 7 June 2005) (Harris)
- "The Trooper" (live video of main track) (Harris) – 4:12
- "The Trooper" (original promo video) (Harris) – 4:10
[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
[edit] References
- ^ YouTube - iron maiden - the trooper (hiden video)
- ^ The Waterside - Londonderry, Northern Ireland : citynoise.org
- ^ "The Top 500 Heavy Metal Songs Of All Time"[1].
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