The Longest Day (song)

"The Longest Day"
Song

"The Longest Day" is a song by British Heavy Metal band Iron Maiden and is composed and written by Adrian Smith, Steve Harris, and Bruce Dickinson. The song is featured on their 2006 album, A Matter of Life and Death, which was released on August 28 in most of the world, and September 5 in the United States of America and Canada.

The song is about the terrifying experience being a soldier during Operation Overlord on D-Day of the 1944 World War II Battle of Normandy. The title of the song comes from a 1962 movie based on the 1959 book written by Irish author Cornelius Ryan. It is considered a sequel by the band to the war epic Paschendale from the 2003 album Dance of Death written about the World War I battle of Passchendaele in 1917.[1]

In an interview with Kerrang! magazine prior to the album's release singer Bruce Dickinson had made comment about the song. He said, "It's full of powerful imagery. We're all in our late 40s, and we grew up during the Cold War, in the shadow of the bomb, then in the '80s we all went potty and had a party, but now the world is a dark place again. We're just reflecting that." [2]

Credits

• Bruce Dickinson – vocals
• Dave Murray – guitar
• Janick Gers – guitar
• Adrian Smith – guitar
• Steve Harris – bass guitar
• Nicko McBrain – drums

External links

• Commentary
• Lyrics