Manowar - Battle Hymns Album Lyrics

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Death Tone

[R. Friedman/ J. DeMaio]

Ridin' on two wheels
Chains hooked on my heels
Sittin' in leather...
Ridin' on steel
Put my shades on
Hair blows in the wind
I give some square the finger
Now he won't look again, no he won't
[PreChorus:]
Now, you were sittin' home
And I got sent to Nam
I went to the big house
You just worked a job
[Chorus:]
Hear me calling
Can't you hear my death tone
Hear me calling
Can't you hear my death tone
Hear me ride
On into the night
Pull along side
If you're looking for a fight, yeah !
My social workers
Got me on a chain
Keeps me out of jail
So the paper prints his name, yes it does, and he likes it
Unemployment checks
Run out next week
It won't be very long
'Til I'm back on the streets again
[PreChorus:]
Now, you were sittin' home
And I was sent to Nam
I went to the big house
You just worked a job
[Chorus:]
Hear me calling
Can't you hear my death tone
Hear me calling
Can't you hear my death tone
Hear me ride
On into the night
Pull along side
If you're looking for a fight
Death tone
Death tone
Gonna ride on my death tone
Yes I am
I'm gonna ride on you baby ! Oh !

 

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Metal Daze

[J. DeMaio]

I hear the sound
In a metal way
I feel the power
Rolling off the stage
Cause only one thing
Really sets me free
Heavy Metal
Loud as it can be
Baby I was born to play music
I'm a man with a screamin guitar
There's a light in the middle of the stage
In a minute I'll be wearing it all
I don't know another way of living
Baby I don't really care
Give me a pair of jeans
And a riff that's mean
And girls that love to share
[Chorus:]
Heavy metal, metal daze
Heavy metal, heavy metal daze
Heavy metal, heavy metal daze
Living like there's no tomorrow
Yeah Currie says we're on the edge
He says man you're really graphic
This band a social wedge
Yeah we all got hearts made of metal
and our blood is hot molten rock
And if I don't hear the sound of metal
I go into shock
[Chorus:]
Heavy metal, metal daze
Heavy metal, heavy metal daze
Heavy metal, heavy metal daze
Heavy metal, heavy metal daze
Heavy metal
So mister D. J.
Play just one for me
You know the one
With the crushin' and the screams
'Cause only one thing
Really sets me free
Heavy metal
Loud as it can be
[Chorus:]
Heavy metal, metal daze
Heavy metal, heavy metal daze
Heavy metal, heavy metal daze
heavy metal, heavy metal daze
Heavy metal
Loud as it can be

 

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Fast Taker

[R. Friedman / J. DeMaio]

Mama's having problems,
Always comes to me
Your daddy's been a drinker since nineteen forty-three
They tell you I'm a loser
'Cause I like bein' free
The truth is in the mirror
It's what they never see
I said yeah
A long time ago
They tried to tell me, son
Keep our daughter home
I said no no, no no

Now, I don't mind them saying
That you should be praying
For me, a fast taker
Right here's where I'm staying
Life's a game I play for keeps,
Aaaah

Fast Taker,
Bed Breaker,
Love Maker
Take it away

You're only sixteen
A woman, not a girl
Old enough for a trip around the world

Pick you up on Friday
When your daddy goes to sleep
Bring you back on Sunday
When he's watching "Billy Graham" on T.V.
Oh yeah, he won't see me

Now do it right with the music
Then you'll learn how to use it
All night, a fast taker
Right here's where I'm staying
Life's a game I play for keeps,
Aaaah

Fast Taker,
Bed Breaker,
Love Maker
Take it away

Mama's having problems,
Always comes to me
Your daddy's been a drinker since nineteen forty-three
They tell you I'm a loser
'Cause I like bein' free
The truth is in the mirror
It's what they never see
A long time ago
They tried to tell me, son
Keep our daughter home
I said no no, no no

Now, I don't mind them saying
That you should be praying
For me, a fast taker
Right here's where I'm staying
Life's a game I play for keeps,
Aaaah

Fast Taker,
Bed Breaker,
Love Maker
Take it away

 

---

Shell Shock

[R. Friedman/J. DeMaio]

I don't know
Well, there's no charge for the haircut
And the bullets come free
My Uncle Sam sent a letter, said:
He's got a mission for me
Now I'm a ranger, not a stranger
And I live in Saigon
We've got a team of special forces
And we deliver napalm
But if they tell you that I've lost my mind
Baby it's not gone just a little hard to find
By the time this letter gets home
I'd be gone, gone, yeah gone
And if they tell you that I'm M.I.A.
Think a little less about me each day
'Cause if I ever get back
I'll be shell shocked, whoa
Shell shocked, yeah
Feels funny riding in my car
Used to drive a tank and shoot a B.A.R.
I know I'm home
But I feel gone, gone, yeah gone
Now it's over and the homeland's safe
Got a purple heart to show the world I'm brave
The businessmen sat at home
Well I got shell shocked, whoa
Shell shocked, whoa
Shell shock
Shell shock
Shell shock

 

---

Manowar

[R. Friedman / J. DeMaio]

We met on English ground
In a backstage room
We heard the sound
And we all knew
What we had to do
We called the high command
Requested leave to make a stand
And in the field we grew
And we all knew
Soon the time would come
For us to fight,
Destination
Now in sight
Aaah, Manowar
Born to live forever more
The right to conquer every shore
Hold your ground and give no more
Our fight will never end
So we call on partisans
To raise your hands
And take our stand
Look sharp
When duty calls
Where we march
Cities fall
And the strong survive
And take our side
Now the time has come
For us to fight
Target waiting
In our sight
Aaah, Manowar
Born to live forever more
The right to conquer every shore
Hold your ground and give no more
Manowar
Born to live forever more
The right to conquer every shore
Manowar
Born to live forever more
Manowar
Born to live forever more
The right to conquer every shore
Hold your ground and give no more
Born to live forever more
The right to conquer every shore
Manowar

 

---

Dark Avenger

[R. Friedman / J. Demaio]

He broke the laws of the elders
So they plucked out his eye,
Took his land and fortune,
Left him to die
Bound on the shoreline,
Left for the tide,
Sees his life-blood leaving...
Circling lower, the vultures fly
His bones may be broken
But the spirit can't die
And the Gods see his anguish
And give him a sign
From the floor of the ocean
The ship of the lost souls rise
And they take him where no one sleeps while the undead cry,
Where no one sleeps while the undead cry...
And in the world above
The elders sing,
On his land they live...
Let death's bell ring

[Narration:]
He was met at the gate of Hades
By the Guardian of the Lost Souls,
The Keeper of the Unavenged
And He did say to him,
"Let ye not pass Abaddon
Return to the world
From whence you came
And seek payment
Not only for thine own anguish
But to vindicate the souls
Of the Unavenged."
And they placed in his hands
A sword
Made for him
Called Vengeance
Forged in brimstone
And tempered
By the woeful tears of the unavenged
And to carry him up on his journey
Back to the upper world
They brought forth
Their Demon horse
Called: Black Death
A grim steed
So fiersome in might
And black in colour
That he could stand as one with the darkness...
Save from his burning eyes
of crimson fire
And on that night
They rode up from Hell
The pounding of his hooves
Did clap like thunder!

[Chorus:]
Burning, death, destruction
Raping the daughters and wives
In blood I take my payment
In full with their lives
No one can escape me
On Black Death I ride
When kissed by the sword of Vengeance
Your head lays there by your side
I take the lives of all that I once knew
The torn flesh of a slow death waits for you

[Chorus:]
Burning, death, destruction
Raping the daughters and wives
In blood I take my payment
In full with their lives
I spare not land or servants
My wake is smoke and flame
I take their wives and daughters
They stand there watching, watching
Hoping to gain their lives
But when I'm through they know that they must pay

[Chorus:]
Burning, death, destruction
Raping the daughters and wives
In blood I take my payment
In full with their lives
With their lives
With their lives
With their lives

 

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William's Tale

[Instrumental]

[Rossini]

 

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Battle Hymns

[R. Friedman/J. DeMaio]

By moonlight we ride
Ten thousands side by side
With swords drawn held high
Our whips and armour shine
Hail to thee our infantry
Still brave beyond the grave
All have sworn the eternal vow
The time to strike is now

[Chorus:]
Kill, kill, Oh !
Kill, kill, Oh !
Kill, kill, Oh !
Kill, kill, Oh !
Gone are the days when freedom shone
Now blood and steel meet bone
In the light of the battle's way
The sands of time will shake
How proud our soldiers stand
With mace and chain in hand
Sound the charge into glory ride
Over the top of the vanguished pride

[Chorus:]
Victory, victory, Oh !
Victory, victory, Oh !
Victory, victory, Oh !
Victory, victory, Oh !
To the battle we ride
We crossed a starlit sky
No space no time
We'll catch the wind
Strange losses, men died
We crossed a starlit sky
And still no space or time
We'll catch the wind

[Chorus:]
Kill, kill, Oh !
Kill, kill, Oh !
Kill, kill, Oh !
Kill, kill, Oh !
Sound of charge into glory ride
Over the top of the anguished pride
By moonlight we ride
Ten thousand side by side

[Chorus:]
Kill, kill, Oh !
Kill, kill, Oh !
Kill, kill, Oh !
Kill, kill, Oh !

 

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Death Tone (Live)

[2010 re-release bonus track]

[R. Friedman/ J. DeMaio]

Ridin' on two wheels
Chains hooked on my heels
Sittin' in leather...
Ridin' on steel
Put my shades on
Hair blows in the wind
I give some square the finger
Now he won't look again, no he won't

[Pre-Chorus:]
Now, you were sittin' home
And I got sent to Nam
I went to the big house
You just worked a job

[Chorus:]
Hear me calling
Can't you hear my death tone
Hear me calling
Can't you hear my death tone
Hear me ride
On into the night
Pull along side
If you're looking for a fight, yeah!
My social workers
Got me on a chain
Keeps me out of jail
So the paper prints his name, yes it does, and he likes it
Unemployment checks
Run out next week
It won't be very long
'Til I'm back on the streets again

[Pre-Chorus:]
Now, you were sittin' home
And I was sent to Nam
I went to the big house
You just worked a job

[Chorus:]
Hear me calling
Can't you hear my death tone
Hear me calling
Can't you hear my death tone
Hear me ride
On into the night
Pull along side
If you're looking for a fight
Death tone
Death tone
Gonna ride on my death tone
Yes I am
I'm gonna ride on you baby! Oh!

 

---

Fast Taker (Live)

[R. Friedman / J. DeMaio]

Mama's having problems,
Always comes to me
Your daddy's been a drinker since nineteen forty-three
They tell you I'm a loser
'Cause I like bein' free
The truth is in the mirror
It's what they never see
I said yeah
A long time ago
They tried to tell me, son
Keep our daughter home
I said no no, no no

Now, I don't mind them saying
That you should be praying
For me, a fast taker
Right here's where I'm staying
Life's a game I play for keeps,
Aaaah

Fast Taker,
Bed Breaker,
Love Maker
Take it away

You're only sixteen
A woman, not a girl
Old enough for a trip around the world

Pick you up on Friday
When your daddy goes to sleep
Bring you back on Sunday
When he's watching "Billy Graham" on T.V.
Oh yeah, he won't see me

Now do it right with the music
Then you'll learn how to use it
All night, a fast taker
Right here's where I'm staying
Life's a game I play for keeps,
Aaaah

Fast Taker,
Bed Breaker,
Love Maker
Take it away

Mama's having problems,
Always comes to me
Your daddy's been a drinker since nineteen forty-three
They tell you I'm a loser
'Cause I like bein' free
The truth is in the mirror
It's what they never see
A long time ago
They tried to tell me, son
Keep our daughter home
I said no no, no no

Now, I don't mind them saying
That you should be praying
For me, a fast taker
Right here's where I'm staying
Life's a game I play for keeps,
Aaaah

Fast Taker,
Bed Breaker,
Love Maker
Take it away