Accident of Birth (1997) [Bruce Dickinson]

The Freak (B. Dickinson / Roy Z.?)

He rides the wave, aspiring slave
The Prince of Darkness plays his games
You're hypnotized, under failing skies
He breathes the red wind 'cross your eyes

Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?

Your life is lost, your soul is damned
But it feels too good to make a stand
That is bad, but this is worse
Let judgment come, you love this curse

When you look at me you're like a god
Swimming in the tide of light
Somersault into the flood
Watch as you unwind

Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?

Who is your mistress that leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress who leads you to the dark secret?

[Spoken:]
Who is your mistress that leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress who leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress that leads you to the dark secret?
Who is your mistress who leads you to the dark secret?

Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?
Who leads you to the dark secret?

Toltec 7 Arrival (B. Dickinson / Roy Z.?)

[Spoken:]
I mean you no harm
Come closer, learn the truth
Come closer, learn the truth
Come...
Bless me, mother, for I have sinned

Star Children (B. Dickinson / Roy Z.?)

I came for nothing before nothing began
Broke the window of existence and became a man

No sin for fame, for fools
My star is black and burned
I turn towards the light
I suck your souls into my might

We are star children - coming out of nowhere and to nowhere return
Star children - a hundred million souls sucked out in one breath

I shiver at the threshold of your waking hour
The knowledge that you seek is my source of power

I live apart from you
But I know the things you do
No angel can save you, how?
You don't need a god 'cause I'm here now

I'm star children - coming out of nowhere and to nowhere return
Star children - a hundred million souls sucked out in one breath

Do I fulfill your deepest need?
The prophecy...
I am the ruler that you seek
So come to me
Come to me

We are star children - coming out of nowhere and to nowhere return
Star children - a hundred million souls sucked out in one breath
Star children - I'm the ruler of existence in your space and time
Star children - to penetrate your future is my only crime
Star...

Taking the Queen (B. Dickinson / Roy Z.?)

Who stole your heartbeat in the night?
The acolytes fearful in the flickering light
They hold a mirror to catch the breath from your mouth
But your breath was stolen by the wind from the south

Another winter's tale is done
Your immortal lover is gone
The chalice stolen from her hand
Eternal life at her command
Now all that she rules must see...

The howling shriek of death in your eyes
The whole court and the beast enter your room
The gold will turn to rust
Your empire follows you into your tomb

The wraiths of night caress
And whisper softly now, "We are the dead"
They bear your life away
They tear your heart in two
They've taken the queen

To some better place, so they think
As the flame burns low

Now the flame burns higher
And it purifies the love that died
And scared rats closed in alive
Back to the earth, sealing the tomb

Our skeletons rise through the veil of blood
Who summons us now from our graves?
"We are the dead"
The shriek of death in your eyes
The whole court and the beast enter your room
The wraiths of night caress
And whisper softly now, "We are the dead"
They bear your life away
They've torn your heart in two
They've taken the queen

Darkside of Aquarius (B. Dickinson / Roy Z.?)

The first hellrider came
On wings a-plenty in the dark
Hauled out his poison
And he blew away his mark
The fascist from the east is coming
Mothers, hide your sons

The second hellrider came
From flaming seas and molten sands
Half his play in Hell's commands
Hauled out his poison
With his promises of promised lands
Glad, good times of lying leaders

Here come the riders
As the wheel of time is running out of time
Here come the riders
As the wheel of time is running out of time

The third hellrider came
Teaching brothers to kill brother man
And the fourth hellrider waits
On an acid trail for an acid world
Walls of old religions' fools and superstitious men
Throws some scary Tarot cards and...

Here come the riders
As the wheel of time is running out of time
Here come the riders
As the weird illusion's stepping out to light
The Darkside of Aquarius
Has robbed us of our souls and minds
Here come the riders
As the wheel of time is running out of time

From the star-lit sky on a silver sea
A lonely silver surfer comes to push the wheel for me
A lonely silver surfer comes to push the wheel for me

Gotta move, gotta move
Gotta move that wheel right 'round
Gotta move, gotta move
Gotta move that wheel right 'round
Gotta move, gotta move
Gotta move that wheel around

Gotta push the wheel of time around
Push the wheel of time around
Push the wheel of time around
Push the wheel right 'round, right now (yeah)

I've gotta move the wheel of time, I've
Gotta move the wheel of time, I've
Gotta move the wheel of time, oh
Move that wheel right around

Gotta move the wheel of time, I've
Gotta move the wheel of time right now

Road to Hell (B. Dickinson / A. Smith)

Slowly bleeding, watch the vortex feeding
Like a swirling vulture on your face
Every hour the unseen rays devour
Your screaming eyes cry out but they are blind

Father, forgive me my sins
Give me the nails, I'll hammer them in

The road to hell is full of good intentions
Say farewell, we may never meet again
The road to hell is full of good intentions
Get on the left-hand highway with no sinister regrets

Brave new world of secret fantasy
That hovers just beyond your bloody grasp
Close enough to thrill, the danger of the kill
Price for failure of your will

Father, forgive us our sins
'Cause we're all the junkies who never can win

The road to hell is full of good intentions
Say farewell, we may never meet again
The road to hell is full of good intentions
Down the left-hand highway with no sinister regrets

Father, forgive me my sins
Give me the nails, I'll hammer them in

The road to hell is full of good intentions
Parody of hope is the one that I must kill
We all have to live with our family inventions
Down the left-hand highway with no sinister regrets

The road to hell is full of good intentions
Say farewell, we may never meet again
The road to hell is full of good intentions
Down the left-hand highway with no sinister regrets

Man of Sorrows (B. Dickinson / Roy Z.?)

Here, in a church, a small boy is kneeling
He prays to a god he does not know, he cannot feel
All of his sins of childhood he will remember
He will not cry, tears he will not cry

Man of sorrows, I won't see your face
Man of sorrows, you left without a trace
His small boy wonders, what was it all about?
Is your journey over - has it just begun?

Vision of a new world from the ashes of the old
"Do what thou wilt!", he screams from his cursed soul
A tortured seer, a prophet of our emptiness
Wondering why, wondering why...

Man of sorrows, I won't see your face
(I won't see your face)
Man of sorrows, you left without a trace
His small boy wonders, what was it all about?
Is your journey over - has it just begun?

A man of sorrows, wrecked
With thoughts that dare not speak their name
Trapped inside a body, made to feel only guilt and shame
His anger all his life - "I hate myself!", he cried
"Do what thou wilt!"
"Do what thou wilt!", he cried

Man of sorrows, I won't see your face
(I won't see your face)
Man of sorrows, you left without a trace
(left without a trace)
His small boy wonders, what was it all about?
Is your journey over - has it just begun?

Man of sorrows, I won't see your face
(I won't see your face)
Man of sorrows, you left without a trace
(left without a trace)
His small boy wonders, what was it all about?
Is your journey over - has it just begun?
Has it just begun?

Accident of Birth (B. Dickinson / Roy Z.?)

Journey back to the dark side, back into the womb
Back to where the spirits move like vapor from the tomb
The center of the cyclone, blowing out the sun
Break the shackles of your union to the light

I might've had a brother
A service board, they dragged him under
To the other side of twilight
He's waiting for me now

Not even tea was lost on me
I didn't ask, I couldn't see
What created me
What and where and how

Welcome home - it's been too long, we've missed you
Welcome home - we've opened up the gates
Welcome home - to your brothers and sisters
Welcome home - to an accident of birth

Feel our bodies breathing as you try to stop believing
There's nothing you can do about your shadows
You can fight us, you are like us
And your body will betray you
Lay down and die like all the others

Where are the angels and their wings of freedom?
Jesus had his day off when they pulled you through...

Welcome home - it's been too long, we've missed you
Welcome home - we've opened up the gates
Welcome home - to your brothers and sisters
Welcome home - to an accident of birth
(to an accident of birth)

Vision's growing dim as the daylight fades away
I'm spinning, twisting, black
Well, it's your dying day

Welcome home - it's been too long, we've missed you
Welcome home - we've opened up the gates
Welcome home - to your brothers and sisters
Welcome home - to an accident of birth

Welcome home - it's been too long, we've missed you
Welcome home - we've opened up the gates
Welcome home - to your brothers and sisters
Welcome home - to an accident of birth

Magician (B. Dickinson / Roy Z.?)

I am the teacher, come to reach ya
Take the old words back to you
You were lost, but I found you
And it's your choice what to do
I've learned a few things as I've traveled through the years

Through the door of evermore...

I came through fire, came through water
Through the oily serpent's kiss
Climbed the mountain, chased the dragon
Thrown myself in the abyss
Do I make myself a million trillion now?

'Cause I've been around you
And I'm glad I found you...

I am the living flame, and I teach the holy games
Teach the secret of the dance
Throw the future in the ruins
Kick the sand and save the space
I'll put Jesus in his place
Shame on our priest, it's all the same
The Magician is my name

(woah-oh-oh, oh-oh)
The Magician is my name
(woah-oh-oh, oh-oh)
The Magician is my name
(woah-oh-oh, oh-oh)
The Magician is my name
(oh-oh)
And magic is my game

Now I know you, and you know me
We have secrets we can share
We can build a new tomorrow
From the trash of yesterday

It won't be the last time
And I'm glad I found you...

I am the living flame, and I teach the holy games
Teach the secret of the dance
Throw the future in the ruins
Kick the sand and save the space
I'll put Jesus in his place
Shame on our priest, it's all the same
The Magician is my name

(woah-oh-oh, oh-oh)
The Magician is my name
(woah-oh-oh, oh-oh)
The Magician is my name
(woah-oh-oh, oh-oh)
The Magician is my name
(woah-oh-oh, oh-oh)
The Magician is my name

Welcome to the Pit (B. Dickinson / A. Smith)

You come on down to the pit
Come on down to where the vipers spit
I've been waiting for you down here

Cover your eyes with the velvet hands of darkness
Cover your eyes with the velvet hands of darkness

I don't even know your name
You won't even see my face
But you choose to play my games
Welcome to the hard place

I'll bring you back from the brink
Are you surprised in every way that you like it?
Are you surprised that you want it?
(ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!)

Cover your lips with the wicked tongue of silence
Cover your lips with the wicked tongue of silence

I don't even know your name
You won't even see my face
But you choose to play my games
Welcome to the hard place

Back to back, you ride the snake
You feel it strike, you feel it bite ya...

Cover your eyes with the velvet hands of darkness
Cover your lips with the wicked tongue of silence

I don't even know your name
You won't even see my face
But you choose to play my games
Welcome to the hard place

I don't even know your name
You won't even see my face
But you choose to play my games
Now you can feel the hard, the hard...
Place...

Omega (B. Dickinson / Roy Z.?)

(ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh)
(ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh-ooh)

The ashes drift away, smoke of our confusion
We turn our frightened faces to each other, say goodbye
Waited for the sign, waited for the moment
Waited for the miracle to arrive
I guess they lied

Look at your future
Take a look at your burning sky
Look at your future
Look at your burning sky

The others, they have gone
Who wants to live forever
With nothing left to hold onto the past that we once knew?
We believed in heaven, we believed in angels
With arms of purest white
To hold us, catch us when we fall

Look at your future
Take a look at your burning sky
Look at your future
Now look at your burning sky

Now it's Omega-Zero day
The red star shines its last rays
The sun that gave us life yesterday
Is now the sun that takes our lives away

(oh, oh-oh-oh)

Take a look at your future
Look at your burning sky
Look at your future
Look at your burning sky

Now it's Omega-Zero day
The red star shines its last rays
The sun that gave us life yesterday
Is now the sun that takes our lives away

Now it's Omega-Zero day
The red star shines its last rays
The sun that gave us life yesterday
Is now the sun that takes our lives away

Arc of Space (B. Dickinson / Roy Z.?)

There, on a lonely desert hilltop
The pilgrims huddle closer
Waiting for a sign, the coming silver shrine
The arc of space and time

Truth, oh, the truth is never clear
Perhaps again next year
The hope lives on beneath the blazing sun
One day you'll come

In my heart I reach you
In my heart I reach out to you
In my heart I touch the face of God
In my dreams somehow...

In my heart I reach you
In my heart I reach out to you
In my heart I touch the face of God
It's all a dream...

In my heart I reach you
In my heart I reach out to you
In my heart I touch the face of God
It's all a dream, somehow...

Truth, oh, the truth is never clear
Perhaps again next year
The hope lives on beneath the blazing sun
One day you'll come

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