This song is one of many by Iron Maiden that draws on literature for inspiration. In this case, it is an Edgar Allan Poe story of the same name.

The Poe story is one of three featuring Poe’s genius detective Auguste C. Dupin. It revolves around bizarre murders in Paris. Two women – mother and daughter – are found murdered in grisly fashion in their homes with valuables strewn about the residence. Although the police interview many people who heard a struggle, they are unable to locate a suspect.

The police cannot locate a suspect because the murders were committed by an Orangutan, which was the pet of a sailor.

The song doesn’t follow the story precisely. Instead of a crowd breaking into the house and finding the bodies, as in Poe’s version, the narrator in the song finds them by himself. Being a visitor and not a native, he cannot communicate with the locals, and flees for safety.

Given Iron Maiden’s penchant for related and sequel songs, including “Innocent Exile” on this same album being an accepted sequel to this song, it cannot be ruled out that the narrator in this song is the same narrator in the title track, and cannot distinguish the reality of whether he is guilty or not.

In the liner notes to the remastered album, it is noted that this song was one of the band’s most frequently performed live tracks.