Run to the Hills by Iron Maiden Song Info
"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. A cover of this song also appeared on Rock Band.
