Stranger in a Strange Land (song)
Encyclopedia
"Stranger in a Strange Land" is the second single by Iron Maiden
from their 1986 album Somewhere in Time. The song is unrelated to Robert A. Heinlein
's novel by the same name
. The lyrics are about an Arctic
explorer who dies and is frozen in the ice. After a hundred years his body is found preserved by other people exploring there. Adrian Smith
was inspired to write about this song after talking to an explorer who had had a similar experience of discovering a frozen body.
The guitar solo in "Stranger in a Strange Land" is played by Adrian Smith
. The song is one of only three Iron Maiden songs to fade out
, the other being "The Prophecy" from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
and "Women in Uniform
", a single included on some pressings of Killers
. The lyrics "no brave new world" were also present in Iron Maiden's 2000 studio release, Brave New World.
Eddie
's appearance on the single cover is an homage to the Clint Eastwood
character "Man with No Name
". This version of Eddie would later be used in the Camp Chaos music video for "Run to the Hills
".
The B-sides to this single, "That Girl" and "Juanita", came from two bands that Adrian Smith's friend, Andy Barnett, played with. They were played during The Entire Population of Hackney
secret gig on 19 December 1985 and this is probably where the idea came from to play them as B-sides, especially with Adrian's large presence on this single and the Somewhere in Time album.
The first guitar solo in "That Girl" is played by Dave Murray
while the ending guitar solo is played by Adrian Smith
.
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
from their 1986 album Somewhere in Time. The song is unrelated to Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
's novel by the same name
Stranger in a Strange Land
Stranger in a Strange Land is a 1961 science fiction novel by American author Robert A. Heinlein. It tells the story of Valentine Michael Smith, a human who comes to Earth in early adulthood after being born on the planet Mars and raised by Martians. The novel explores his interaction with—and...
. The lyrics are about an Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
explorer who dies and is frozen in the ice. After a hundred years his body is found preserved by other people exploring there. Adrian Smith
Adrian Smith
Adrian Frederick "H" Smith is an English musician and one of three guitarists in the heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. He is also one of the band's regular songwriters and, along with bassist Steve Harris, performs backing vocals on some songs.-Biography:While at school, Smith purchased his first...
was inspired to write about this song after talking to an explorer who had had a similar experience of discovering a frozen body.
The guitar solo in "Stranger in a Strange Land" is played by Adrian Smith
Adrian Smith
Adrian Frederick "H" Smith is an English musician and one of three guitarists in the heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. He is also one of the band's regular songwriters and, along with bassist Steve Harris, performs backing vocals on some songs.-Biography:While at school, Smith purchased his first...
. The song is one of only three Iron Maiden songs to fade out
Fade (audio engineering)
In audio engineering, a fade is a gradual increase or decrease in the level of an audio signal. The term can also be used for film cinematography or theater lighting, in much the same way ....
, the other being "The Prophecy" from Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son is the seventh studio album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released in 1988 by EMI in Europe and its sister label Capitol Records in the US...
and "Women in Uniform
Women in Uniform
"Women in Uniform" is a 1978 song originally recorded by the Australian band Skyhooks; it was written by the band's bass player, Greg Macainsh. It appeared on their fourth album, Guilty Until Proven Insane, and was a top 10 single in Australia.[]...
", a single included on some pressings of Killers
Killers (Iron Maiden album)
Killers is the second album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released on 2 February 1981 in the UK, and 6 June 1981 in the US. The album was their first with guitarist Adrian Smith and their last with vocalist Paul Di'Anno, who was sacked after problems with his stage performance arose due...
. The lyrics "no brave new world" were also present in Iron Maiden's 2000 studio release, Brave New World.
Eddie
Eddie the Head
Eddie, also known as Eddie The Head, is the mascot for the British heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. He is a perennial fixture of the group's artwork, appearing in all of their record covers and in their merchandise, which includes t-shirts, posters and action figures...
's appearance on the single cover is an homage to the Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
character "Man with No Name
Man with No Name
The man with no name is a stock character in Western films, but the term usually applies specifically to the character played by Clint Eastwood in Sergio Leone's "Dollars Trilogy."...
". This version of Eddie would later be used in the Camp Chaos music video for "Run to the Hills
Run to the Hills
"Run to the Hills" was Iron Maiden's sixth single and the first single from their 1982 album The Number of the Beast. The lyrics clearly discuss the violence visited upon Native Americans in the Nineteenth Century. Several lines appear to address the Sioux Wars, a conflict between the Lakota...
".
The B-sides to this single, "That Girl" and "Juanita", came from two bands that Adrian Smith's friend, Andy Barnett, played with. They were played during The Entire Population of Hackney
The Entire Population of Hackney
The Entire Population of Hackney is the name used for a project featuring members of Iron Maiden, FM and Urchin that played two concerts in 1985. It is also the name used for a bootleg recording of the first show...
secret gig on 19 December 1985 and this is probably where the idea came from to play them as B-sides, especially with Adrian's large presence on this single and the Somewhere in Time album.
The first guitar solo in "That Girl" is played by Dave Murray
Dave Murray (musician)
David Michael Murray is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as one of the earliest members of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden.-Biography:...
while the ending guitar solo is played by Adrian Smith
Adrian Smith
Adrian Frederick "H" Smith is an English musician and one of three guitarists in the heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. He is also one of the band's regular songwriters and, along with bassist Steve Harris, performs backing vocals on some songs.-Biography:While at school, Smith purchased his first...
.
Cover details
- In the top-right corner of the cover (slightly right of Eddie's lit match), the time on the clock appears as "11:58". This is a reference to a previous Iron Maiden single, "2 Minutes to Midnight2 Minutes to Midnight"2 Minutes to Midnight" is the second track from British heavy metal band Iron Maiden's fifth album Powerslave. It was released as the band's tenth single on 6 August 1984 and rose to number 11 in the UK Singles Chart and number 25 on Billboard Top Album Tracks.The song was written by Adrian Smith...
".
- Several cards can be seen falling from the table. One, (orange background, next to red coloured card) contains a picture of the Grim Reaper, like that on the Trooper cover.
- Just under one of the stacks of cards, on the edge of the table, Derek Riggs' signature can be seen.
- In the music video for a later song, "The Angel and the GamblerThe Angel and the Gambler"The Angel and the Gambler" is a single from the Iron Maiden album Virtual XI, released in 1998. It was released two weeks before Virtual XI hit stores. It is the first Iron Maiden single to feature a video as a B-side...
" (from Virtual XIVirtual XIVirtual XI was met with mixed reviews from critics. Allmusic commented that "on the surface, there's nothing terribly wrong with the record, as it delivers all the crunching riffs and demonic horror of their best records. The problem is that there's nothing memorable about the hooks, riffs, or...
), then-singer Blaze Bayley dressed up like this Eddie.
Track listing
- "Stranger in a Strange Land" (Adrian SmithAdrian SmithAdrian Frederick "H" Smith is an English musician and one of three guitarists in the heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. He is also one of the band's regular songwriters and, along with bassist Steve Harris, performs backing vocals on some songs.-Biography:While at school, Smith purchased his first...
) – 5:45 - "That Girl" (Merv Goldsworthy, Pete Jupp, Andy Barnett; FM cover) – 5:04
- "Juanita" (Steve Barnacle, Derek O'Neil; Marshall Fury cover) – 3:47
Chart performance
| Year | Single | Chart | Position | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | "Stranger in a Strange Land" | Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
18 | Somewhere in Time |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
22 | |||
| 1990 | "Wasted Years Wasted Years "Wasted Years" is the fourteenth single released by Iron Maiden and the first from their Somewhere in Time album. It's the only song on the album that features no synthesizers. Released in 1986, it was the first single solely written by guitarist Adrian Smith, who also sings backing vocals... / Stranger in a Strange Land" |
UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... Re-release of both singles as part of "The First Ten Years The First Ten Years The First Ten Years is a series of 10 CDs and double 12" singles by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, released between 24 February and 28 April 1990, in commemoration of the band's ten year recording anniversary.... " box set. Exceeded the length limit of the UK Singles chart. |
9 | — |
Personnel
- Bruce DickinsonBruce DickinsonPaul Bruce Dickinson is an English singer, songwriter, airline pilot, fencer, broadcaster, author, screenwriter, actor and marketing director, best known as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden....
– vocals - Dave MurrayDave Murray (musician)David Michael Murray is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as one of the earliest members of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden.-Biography:...
– synthesized guitar - Adrian SmithAdrian SmithAdrian Frederick "H" Smith is an English musician and one of three guitarists in the heavy metal band, Iron Maiden. He is also one of the band's regular songwriters and, along with bassist Steve Harris, performs backing vocals on some songs.-Biography:While at school, Smith purchased his first...
– synthesized guitar - Steve HarrisSteve Harris (musician)Stephen Percy "Steve" Harris is an English musician and songwriter, known as the bassist, occasional keyboardist, backing vocalist and primary songwriter of the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden, which he founded in 1975...
– bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Nicko McBrainNicko McBrainMichael Henry "Nicko" McBrain is an English musician, best known as the drummer for Iron Maiden, which he joined in 1982, prior to which he had played for Streetwalkers, Pat Travers, and the French political band, Trust.-Biography:...
– drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....