Ogre Battle

Producers

“Ogre Battle” is one of Queen’s many fantasy vignettes that appeared on their earlier albums, and is the first track on Side Black of Queen II. The song opens with the… Read More

Mar. 8, 19741 viewer17.9K views

Ogre Battle Lyrics

[Intro]
Ahh! Ah, ah, ah, ah
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ahh!

[Verse 1]
Now once upon a time
An old man told me a fable
When the piper is gone
And the soup is cold on your table
And if the black crow flies
To find a new destination
That is the sign

[Chorus]
Come tonight
Come to the ogre site
Come to the ogre battle fight

[Verse 2]
He gives a great big cry
And he can swallow up the ocean
With a mighty tongue, he catches flies
The palm of a hand, the incredible size
One great big eye
Has a focus in your direction
Now the battle is on
Yeah yeah yeah

[Chorus]
Come tonight
Come to the ogre site
Come to the ogre battle fight

[Bridge]
Ah, ah, ah, ah, ahh!
C'mon!
The ogre men are still inside
The two-way mirror mountain
Gotta keep down right out of sight
You can't see in, but they can see out
"Ooh, keep a lookout!"
The ogre-men are coming out
From the two-way mirror mountain
They're running up behind
And they're coming all about
Can't go east 'cause you gotta go south

[Instrumental break]
(Ahhhh!)

[Verse 3]
Ogre-men are going home
And the great big fight is over
Bugle blow, let trumpet cry
Ogre battle lives for ever more

[Outro]
Oh-ho-ho
You can come along
You can come along
Come to ogre battle

[Guitar Solo]
(Ah, ah, ah, ah, ahh!)
[Cymbal crash]

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About

“Ogre Battle” is one of Queen’s many fantasy vignettes that appeared on their earlier albums, and is the first track on Side Black of Queen II. The song opens with the outro played in reverse, which eventually evolves into the song’s signature guitar riff. It’s one of the band’s heaviest tracks, and was a staple in the live shows for several years.
Queen has also stated that if they had released a second single from Queen II, it would’ve been either “Ogre Battle” or ‘The Fairy Feller’s Master Stroke", respectively.

Interestingly, a series of Japanese role-playing strategy video games share a name with the track— “Ogre Battle”, (or オウガバトル Ōga Batoru). Later installments of the same series include titles that reference other Queen songs, such as “Ogre Battle: The March Of The Black Queen", and “Ogre Battle: Let Us Cling Together".