Run to the Hills

"Run to the Hills"
Song
B-side	1982 single "Total Eclipse" 1985 live single "Phantom of the Opera (live)", "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" 2002 live single Part 1 "22, Acacia Avenue (live)", "The Prisoner (live)", "Run to the Hills (Camp Chaos video)" Part 2 "Children of the Damned (live)", "Total Eclipse (live)", "Run to the Hills (video)"

"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".

In 1985, "Run to the Hills" was released again as the band's 13th single, now in a live version, taken from the live album Live After Death. However, the single cover-art displayed Iron Maiden's mascot Eddie playing an organ, a setting that is often associated with "Phantom of the Opera". Live versions of "Phantom of the Opera" and "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra)" were the B-sides.

In early 2002 "Run to the Hills" was again released as a single, and once again in a live version. This time it was the original studio version again, but with live recordings as B-sides. The single was released to raise money for the Clive Burr MS Trust Fund, to help former Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr, who is suffering from multiple sclerosis. In March of 2002, Iron Maiden played three shows at the Brixton Academy in London to raise money for this trust fund, and the single was released around the same time. Two versions of this single exist, with different B-sides.

"Run to the Hills" was released as a video in the early 1980s, which was later remade in the late 90s/early 2000s. The first video consisted of the band performing, interspersed with comical footage featuring Indians from the 1923 James Parrott film Uncovered Wagon. The later video removed all the old film footage and replaced it with Flash animation of Cyborg Eddie (from the Stranger in a Strange Land cover) in a sci-fi Wild West setting, animated by Camp Chaos.

"Run to the Hills" ranked #27 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs

The song is featured in the game SSX On Tour as the title's main theme.

The song is also featured in the music video game Rock Band, and is considered one of the hardest tracks to play because of the drum rolls.

Track listing

1982 single

1. "Run to the Hills" (Harris) – 3:50
2. "Total Eclipse" (Paul Di'Anno, Harris, Clive Burr) – 4:28

1985 live single

1. "Run to the Hills (live)" (Harris) – 3:54
2. "Phantom of the Opera (live)" (Harris) – 7:20
3. "Losfer Words (Big 'Orra) (live)" (Harris) – 4:14

2002 single

Version 1

This version of the single contains the studio version of the song "Run to the Hills", while the b-sides were recorded live at the Reading Festival, on August 28 1982. It also includes the Camp Chaos version of the "Run to the Hills" music video.

1. "Run to the Hills" (Harris) – 3:50
2. "22 Acacia Avenue (live)" (Adrian Smith, Harris) – 6:33
3. "The Prisoner (live)" (Smith, Harris) – 5:55
4. "Run to the Hills (Camp Chaos video)" (Harris)

Version 2

This version of the single contains a live version of the song "Run to the Hills", which is the same as on the Rock in Rio live album. The b-sides for the second version were recorded at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on March 20 1982. The live video of "Run to the Hills" is also from the Rock in Rio live album. The cover features Eddie wearing the clothes worn by Bruce Dickinson on the Rock in Rio show.

1. "Run to the Hills (live)" (Harris) – 4:59
2. "Children of the Damned (live)" (Smith, Harris) – 4:32
3. "Total Eclipse (live)" (Di'Anno, Harris, Burr) – 3:57
4. "Run to the Hills (live video)

This version was also released on a very rare Limited Edition Red 7" Vinyl that commemorated 20 years since the original 1982 release.

• 
  The Limited Edition Red Single

Cover Versions

• An all-star cover version of the song is found on the tribute album Numbers from the Beast, featuring Robin McAuley on vocals, Michael Schenker and Pete Fletcher on guitars, Tony Franklin on bass and Brian Tichy (Derek Sherinian, B'z) on drums. This version follows the original scheme of the song, but varies in terms of guitar solos. Schenker has also added small solos in places where there originally are no solos.
• The all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens recorded the song on their self-titled debut album.
• A cover version of the song appears as a playable track in the music video game Rock Band. It is defined (in game) as the game's hardest non-downloadable song overall, being rated "Impossible" for every instrument and for a band as a whole.
• The song was covered in 2008 by Sign on the tribute CD Maiden Heaven: A Tribute to Iron Maiden released by Kerrang! magazine.