Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson reveals best song he’s ever written
Bruce Dickinson has shared details of the song he considers to be the best he’s written over the course of his illustrious career, and it isn’t an Iron Maiden track.
Iron Maiden are still active and are set to start their world tour in September, which will begin in Australia before concluding in Brazil before Christmas. However, Dickinson’s current mindset is firmly focused on his solo career after the frontman recently released his new album, The Mandrake Project, on March 1st through BMG.
Dickinson’s solo career has slowed down in recent years with The Mandrake Project being his first offering since Tyranny of Souls in 2005. In the interim period, Dickinson was occupied by his globetrotting antics with Iron Maiden, who also released four albums during this time.
Although his solo work isn’t as well known as Iron Maiden, it has offered Dickinson the proudest moment of his career.
During a new interview with Revolver, Dickinson was probed on his best song and surprisingly chose a cut from his 1994 solo album Balls to Picasso, a project that sparked his long-lasting collaborative partnership with guitarist Roy Z.
The iconic rock vocalist told the publication: “I would say ‘Tears Of The Dragon’, ’cause I don’t know what it means. But it means something. That song really affects people. It affects me.”
While the message behind the song is deliberately unclear, this has helped ‘Tears Of The Dragon’ connect with fans on a mass scale, who mine their own meaning from Dickinson’s emotionally charged lyrics.
Although he’s typically remained coy while discussing the song, Dickinson now has this to say about the themes of ‘Tears of The Dragon: “I do know what it’s about. It’s about abandonment, not being abandoned, but abandoning yourself to the universe, to whatever is gonna come next. But I still don’t know why it is ‘the tears of the dragon’.”
The fact that Dickinson himself doesn’t understand the title speaks volumes about the song’s dubious messaging, which is open for interpretation. He concluded: “I’ve never figured that out. It works and it means something, but I don’t know what it is. And that’s why it’s great.”
Regarding Iron Maiden material, during an appearance on Eddie Trunk’s podcast in 2021, Dickinson revealed ‘Rime of the Ancient Mariner’ was his favourite track to perform live with the band.
Dickinson told the host: “I just love doing that song. The storytelling element of it is genius, and then the breakdown, the moody bit, then into ‘the curse it lives on in their eyes’ bit – oh, it gives me goosebumps just listening to it.”
Elaborating on the breed of tracks that thrive in a live environment, Dickinson claimed he prefers to play cuts “that have a little bit of groove to them”.
Listen to ‘Tears Of The Dragon’ below.
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