Songs
"The Clairvoyant" was the first track written for the album. According to Steve Harris, the song's lyrics were inspired by the death of psychic Doris Stokes, saying "I just thought, well, it's a bit strange, you know, if she was a clairvoyant I wonder if she could foresee her own death?" At that point Harris then began to write the song "Seventh Son of a Seventh Son", which then gave him the idea of turning the full album into a concept record.
According to Smith, the song "Can I Play with Madness" "actually started life as a ballad I had been working on called 'On the Wings of Eagles'. Then Bruce had a verse for it but wanted to change the title to 'Can I Play with Madness.' I must admit, it did sound better that way. So we took that one and Steve liked it, too. It was Steve who came up with the time change in the middle and the instrumental passage, which again gave it that lift it needed." According to Dickinson, however, Harris' addition resulted in "a big row ... Adrian absolutely hated it."
Of the album's remaining songs, Metal Hammer states that "Moonchild" is loosely based on the Aleister Crowley novel of the same name, while "Infinite Dreams" is about a character who "implores a spiritualist to unlock the meaning behind his tortured dreams", although Sputnikmusic state that the song also explores "themes of reality, life after death, and the meaning of life." The final track, "Only The Good Die Young", closes the storyline and was later featured in an episode of the 1980s' TV series, Miami Vice. The record opens and closes with an identical brief acoustic piece accompanied by two verses of lyrics, which, according to Sputnikmusic, "foreshadows doom and failure for the protagonist" and "wraps up the album".
"The Evil That Men Do", "The Clairvoyant" and "Can I Play with Madness" have been played live the most frequently following the 7th Tour of a 7th Tour.
Read more about this topic: Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
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