Days of Future Past Lyrics
A war in heaven in God's rage
He put me in this burning cage
Holy fury locks me in
Imprisoned by my deadly sin
Every hour, the shadow king
Wonders what his clock will bring
I've lived and loved, and that's for sure
My fatal quest forevermore
[Chorus]
The days of future past to wander on the shore
A king without a queen to die forevermore
To wander in the wasteland
Immortal to the end
Waiting for the judgement
But the judgement never ends
[Verse 2]
Once crucified, you forgave it all
But my own life condemned to fall
Where's the glory in your name?
My twisted soul still burns in flame
Hark, you angels; hear my call
Father witness to my fall
Between the lines of sin and pain
I walk the earth now doomed again
The days of future past to wander on the shore
A king without a queen to die forevermore
To wander in the wasteland
Immortal to the end
Waiting for the judgement
But the judgement never ends
[Guitar Solo]
[Chorus]
The days of future past to wander on the shore
A king without a queen to die forevermore
To wander in the wasteland
Immortal to the end
Waiting for the judgement
But the judgement never ends
[Chorus]
The days of future past to wander on the shore
A king without a queen to die forevermore
To wander in the wasteland
Immortal to the end
Waiting for the judgement
But the judgement never ends
About
The fifth track on the record, “Days of Future Past” is the shortest track off Senjutsu and one of the shortest and fastest Iron Maiden’s tracks on the albums composed after Bruce Dickinson and Adrian Smith rejoined the band in 1999.
It’s got quite a modern feel in places and it’s only four minutes, so it’s the shortest track on the record. The riff that comes in at 30 seconds feels very fresh and youthful. It uses the E position on the seventh fret and then you use one finger to play a C bass note, then down to the A.
It’s almost a Spanish flamenco thing if you play it on acoustic with a bossa nova rhythm, but then you plug into a Marshall and play it differently, it sounds like a rock song! I like that E chord with the movement underneath.
—Adrian Smith
The track is specifically based on the Hellblazer comics and their movie adaptation Constantine, with a propensity for the latter.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Bruce Dickinson:
This track is as close as you’re going to get to Piece of Mind or Powerslave-era Maiden. Four minutes, super high-energy riff, big anthemic chorus, big vocals—all that. Incredible riff from Adrian, and basically no guitar solo. The lyric is a reimagining of the graphic novel Constantine, particularly the movie version with Keanu Reeves. It’s kind of an interesting set-up, because there’s always the assumption that God is the good guy. In this scenario, God seems to be a manipulative narcissist. He’s almost like a psychopath: ‘I’m going to do all this horrible stuff to you, and then you just have to love me.’ How does that work? That’s what the song asks.
—via Apple Music
- 1.Senjutsu
- 2.Stratego
- 5.Days of Future Past
- 7.Darkest Hour
- 10.Hell on Earth
