Run to the Hills (3:52)
222,811 listeners
1,426,102 plays
“Run to the Hills” is Iron Maiden’s sixth single and the first single from their 1982 album The Number of the Beast. It was written by Steve Harris, bassist and founder of the band.
The song itself is about the conflict between Native Americans and the invading white men. The first verse is written from the point of view of the native Cree, the second from the point of view of white soldiers, and the third from a more neutral observer point of view. It may have been inspired by the film Soldier Blue, about the massacre of a peaceful Cheyenne village by US militia (one line goes “Soldier blue in the barren wastes” and then refers to rape and murder amongst other atrocities).
The song features a memorable drum intro that was likely copied and slightly modified from the Buzzcocks’s 1978 “Autonomy”.
The song was released as a single on 12 February 1982, as a prelude to the album. This would be the first single released by the band to feature current vocalist Bruce Dickinson. On the B-side was a song called “Total Eclipse”, which would not be on the initial version of the album. However, the band later regretted this decision, as they thought the song was too good to be only a B-side. “Total Eclipse” was added to the Number of the Beast album when it was re-released in 1998.
The single is the second of three single-covers featuring Riggs’ depiction of Satan. He debuted on the single-cover of “Purgatory” and his decapitated head is featured on the single-cover for “The Number of the Beast”.
The song itself is about the conflict between Native Americans and the invading white men. The first verse is written from the point of view of the native Cree, the second from the point of view of white soldiers, and the third from a more neutral observer point of view. It may have been inspired by the film Soldier Blue, about the massacre of a peaceful Cheyenne village by US militia (one line goes “Soldier blue in the barren wastes” and then refers to rape and murder amongst other atrocities).
The song features a memorable drum intro that was likely copied and slightly modified from the Buzzcocks’s 1978 “Autonomy”.
The song was released as a single on 12 February 1982, as a prelude to the album. This would be the first single released by the band to feature current vocalist Bruce Dickinson. On the B-side was a song called “Total Eclipse”, which would not be on the initial version of the album. However, the band later regretted this decision, as they thought the song was too good to be only a B-side. “Total Eclipse” was added to the Number of the Beast album when it was re-released in 1998.
The single is the second of three single-covers featuring Riggs’ depiction of Satan. He debuted on the single-cover of “Purgatory” and his decapitated head is featured on the single-cover for “The Number of the Beast”.
Video
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Music video of Iron Maiden
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Lyrics
The white man came across the sea,
He brought us pain and misery.
He killed our tribe, he killed our creed,
He took our game for his own need.
Read full lyrics…
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Albums featuring this track
Shouts
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isreal666 wrote:
Maiden es la puritita chingoneria.... verlos en vivo ha sido la mejor experiencia de mi vida, y ahora van a regresar a un año de diferencia, ahi estare sin lugar a dudas. 28 febrero 2009 Foro Sol, Ciudad de Mexico.
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Rodrigobrenes wrote:
tenia que ser de iron maiden sin duda
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Larvius wrote:
Overrated song from an overrated album by overrated band. Pretty nice at the start but I just cant stand the chorus. Just my opinion though :p
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AlexGSavchuk wrote:
yeeeee-eeeee-eeeeeee-eeeeeeee..................oohhhhh-ohhhh-ooaahhhhhh YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
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jeli wrote:
\m/
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dagonrs wrote:
great classic...
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VampyreBite wrote:
Overrated or not, it's a classic you want to hear live.
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alandazuri wrote:
overrated its maiden its great but songs like hollowed by the name or piece of mind are far better
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krisi77 wrote:
SUPER
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felipemota01 wrote:
White man came , across the sea (88) só uma palavra CLASSICO!
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eliorew wrote:
Runnnnnn to the hills ! runn for your lifee !@#!@# :D
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Jounas4 wrote:
AWESOME
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Duque78 wrote:
run to the hills pig!
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guitar-mental wrote:
Great song - one of the first singles I ever bought!
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BBGrand wrote:
złoooooooo!!!!
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pinokio_drauge wrote:
Not bad ;]
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robbykos wrote:
My No.1 all times song...a band too...he he !!! Up the Iron's !!!
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headbangerinfl wrote:
I LooooooooooooooooVE Iron Maiden, but I HATE this friggin song...gawddamn!! When its ever gonna end?? Enough already!!! Fuckin whiny ass song!!
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Feinstone wrote:
What a classic
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NateDawg11 wrote:
amazing song and a classic hit from maiden! \m/ \m/ don't get me wrong it's great but i don't think it's their best in my own opinion just the most commonly heard of.
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Recent Activity
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