Iron Maiden - Club L'Amour, Brooklyn, New York, US, May 08, 1988, during the ''Seventh Tour Of A Seventh Tour'' 1988.

Can I Play With Madness (Smith, Dickinson, Harris)

Bruce Dickinson:Vocals
Steve Harris:Bass
Dave Murray:Guitar
Adrian Smith:Guitar
Nicko McBrain:Drums

[Lyrics]

Can I play with madness?

Give me the sense to wonder, to wonder if I'm free
Give me a sense of wonder to know I can be me
Give me the strength to hold my head up, spit back in their face
Don't need no key to unlock this door, gonna break down the walls
Break out of this bad place

Can I play with madness? the prophet stared at his crystal ball
Can I play with madness? there's no vision there at all
Can I play with madness? the prophet looked and he laughed at me
Can I play with madness? he said you're blind too blind too see

I screamed aloud to the old man I said don't lie don't say you don't know
I say you'll pay for your mischief in this world or the next
Oh and then he fixed me with a freezing glance and the hell fires raged in his eyes
He said do you want to know the truth son I'll tell you the truth
Your soul's gonna burn in a lake of fire

Can I play with madness? the prophet stared at his crystal ball
Can I play with madness? there's no vision there at all
Can I play with madness? the prophet looked and he laughed at me
Can I play with madness? he said you're blind too blind too see

Oh listen to me, said the prophet

Can I play with madness? the prophet stared at his crystal ball
Can I play with madness? there's no vision there at all
Can I play with madness? the prophet looked and he laughed at me
Can I play with madness? he said you're blind too blind too see

Can I play with madness?
......................................................

''As the album's first single, 'Can I Play With Madness' is probably the album's most well-known song, describing a young man most probably the Seventh Son of a Sevent Son father who tries to learn the future from an old prophet with a crystal ball. Maybe he also tries to seek help from the prophet in order to come to terms with his visions and nightmares. He apparently thinks that he's becoming mad, although he does not believe what the prophet says and turns violent like a cornered animal.

This is the only song on the album that is not quite up to the other ones' standards. The mood of the song just seems a bit too happy, which doesn't really fit with the lyrics, and the guitar solos are extremely short and perfunctory. However, the chorus is ok. ''

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