Bruce Dickinson - Book Of Thel Lyrics






The mark is on you now
The furnace sealed inside your head
Melting from the inside now
Waxy tears run down your face

The whore that never told her tale
Relives it every night with you
Far off stands the lamb and waits
For the wolf to come and end its life

Stand inside the temple
As the book of Thel is opening
The priestess stands before you
Offering her hand out, she's rising

Come the dawning of the dead
In famine and in war
Now the harlot womb of death
Spits out its rotten core

Serpent on the altar now
Has wrapped itself around your spine
So you look into its mouth
And you kiss the pearly fangs divine

Happy that your end is swift
The weeping virgin cries in bliss
The snake and priestess, they are one
The veil of flesh is ripped undone

Stand inside the temple
As the book of Thel is opening
The priestess stands before you
Offering her hand out, she's rising

Come the dawning of the dead
In famine and in war
Now the harlot womb of death
Spits out its rotten core

By the pricking of my thumbs
Something wicked this way comes
And when sleep takes you tonight
Will you wake to see the light...?

The burning sweat of poison tears
The river flowing red with blood
The cradle-robbing hand of death
Caresses every dreaming head

Waiting for the marriage hearse
To take you to the funeral pyre
So you burn the family tree
The generations burning higher

Stand inside the temple
As the book of Thel is opening
The priestess stands before you
Offering her hand out, she's rising

Come the dawning of the dead
In famine and in war
Now the harlot womb of death
Spits out its rotten core

By the pricking of my thumbs
Something wicked this way comes
And when sleep takes you tonight
Will you wake to see the light

By the dawning of the dead...
By the dawning of the dead...
By the dawning of the dead...
By the dawning of the dead...

What demon hath formed this abominable void...
This soul-shuddering vacuum?
Some said it is Urizen -
But unknown, abstracted, brooding secret
The dark power hid





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Bruce Dickinson Book Of Thel Comments
  1. D.... C....

    33 people don't know music ... Obviously.

  2. j.... ....

    Skunkworks, Accident of Birth, Chemical Wedding, Tyranny of Souls, four of the best Iron Maiden albums not made by Iron Maiden😏

  3. p.... T....

    Ahhhhgggggggg, Awesome

  4. A.... l....

    Balls To Picasso, The Chemical Wedding and Accident Of Birth.. The Best trilogy! 😀 🙌

  5. A.... P....

    Album cover- "Where the fuck did my nachos go?"

  6. �.... a....

    Excellent piece of art, exactly the best song of Sir Bruce 👍👍👍

  7. T.... S....

    This leads my Halloween playlist. This is very powerful and ultimately dark.

  8. l.... O....

    Epic, dramatic, mistic, ésoteric contents, in such powerful metal...beautiful Mr Dickinson!!!

  9. U.... C....

    Arthur Brown rules! I wish he went more metal. He is still active today!

  10. T.... M....

    So none talks about the phenomenal drumming of David Ingraham in this legendary masterpiece...

    T.... M....

    David Ingraham is criminally underrated in my book - he's got such a solid feel and doesn't ever overplay, but always serves the song he plays perfectly

    T.... M....

    @Harry Telfer exactly dude.
    He always fills the songs without the need "look im the best drummer lets hit the double bass like dave lombardo"
    Rythm and groove to perfection.

    T.... M....

    @Tilemachos Mantis he plays like Nicko, but with a few younger elements like riding the crash and such

  11. S.... P....

    The best song of Bruce Dickinson,. much better than Iron Maiden songs..

  12. a.... ....

    For 21 years of listening this album hasn't lost anything to me. It's so close to perfection - hard and heavy enough with deep lyrics, it's marvelous masterpiece and one of the best metal albums ever. Can't find any weak link among its songs. I can imagine to keep listening to it for the rest of my life.

  13. C.... G....

    IS THERE ONE BAD TRACK IN THIS ALBUM ?????

  14. d.... k....

    il piu grande cantante heavy metal

  15. D.... R....

    A Total Masterpiece that exemplifies the greatness that is Bruce. Wish he would do another solo album with Roy Z.

  16. V.... B....

    I'm really glad that Bruce went out on his own. I love Maiden. Love them and will always love them forever, but it's also really nice to hear his voice in a different context and a slightly varying subject matter. Classic metal that stands the test of time as much as does Maiden. Also nice to hear that the guitarist didn't try to emulate the Maiden-esque environment.


    A perfect metal album in my opinion. Bruce never got the attention that he deserved on his own because of Eddie's shadow. That's fine, though. His music is a pile of largely undiscovered gems just for those of us who truly love him as much as I do. If ever I had a true man-crush, it's Bruce.

  17. V.... T....

    By the pricking of my thumbs
    Something wicked this way comes....
    And when sleep takes you tonight
    Will you wake to see the light.

    Roy Z must have fireproof fingers cos that fretboard is on fire

  18. H.... H....

    This song is very dark...

  19. P.... R....

    Superb heavy metal epitome song. All aspects of it.

  20. A.... ....

    This song is the definition of heavy metal!

  21. a.... b....

    "By the pricking of my thumbs
    Something wicked this way comes"

    That is Shakespeare, one of the witches says that moments before Macbeth shows up.

  22. a.... a....

    el libro de la ley...alister crowley

  23. J.... M....

    I think this album was A LOT better than what Iron Maiden was doing at the time!!!! (Virtual XI)

    J.... M....

    I'm sure Steve Harris thought the same at the time. The rest as they say..

    J.... M....

    and after...only Brave new world is maybe close to this...IMO. This is a masterpiece.

    J.... M....

    Totally agree, virtual Xl was garbage in the lowest form (In my opinion) Maiden lost their way for a while....but not for long.

  24. M.... ....

    Such an unerrated album.

  25. D.... ....

    that riff and vocal line gosh

  26. E.... r....

    Esta música é foda pra caralho

  27. p.... s....

    Esse som eh foda 👊

  28. U.... m....

    One of the best metal songs ever...

    U.... m....

    agree my friend.......

  29. N.... ....

    One of Iron Maiden's finest!



    I mean't *'two'* _hehe_

  30. D.... P....

    Magistral!!!!!!

  31. G.... M....

    Excelente la mezcla perfecta de la gran voz de dickinson con ritmos mas pesados (y)

  32. S.... G....

    how many persons listen in brazil ?

  33. W.... P....

    The way he sings WAAAAAR and then COOOORE...... Bruce Bruce, forever the King!

  34. M.... G....

    This song reminds me of thel vadam from halo

  35. M.... G....

    This song reminds me of thel vadam from halo

  36. K.... J....

    One of the best albums ever created

  37. a.... ....

    20 years now - god I am getting old^^

  38. K.... J....

    This album is absolutely amazing....one if my All time favorites

  39. E.... R....

    20 years since this album came out and was on that live in front of Bruce,the brilliant bassist Eddie( not the head ;-) ) ,Roy (fantastic guitarist),Adrian and David, i listen to it today and cannot be more classic.that classic as hell dude! Love it more and more!

  40. N.... 2....

    needs more cow bell

  41. S.... t....

    Like 666😎

  42. S.... S....

    CAN YOU MAKE IT LOUDER??

  43. B.... i....

    such an amazing song

  44. J.... B....

    Book of Thessalonians is where it's at. see jjcreator.blogsot.com for a trip or two.

  45. v.... A....

    Isto, podemos classificar de hino do metal.

  46. v.... A....

    Dos melhores álbuns de metal! E pau

  47. D.... L....

    This is the RIFF!!

  48. F.... B....

    Bruce Dickinson > Leonardo Da Vinci

  49. A.... B....

    The way metal should be ...just shakes your soul

  50. f.... ....

    this is so exciting i wanna throw up when i'm listening

  51. M.... K....

    Bruce Dickinson = Leonardo Da Vinci

    M.... K....

    Milan Kolarski they're both polymaths

    M.... K....

    MrCapone1996 That's what we should all strive to be. Sadly people have no passions or desires and half ass everything

    M.... K....

    More like Bruce Dickinson= John Dee. IF you don't know who is john Dee, then go open a book.

    M.... K....

    @Sonny luong I know who was John Dee. Yes, that makes sense.

  52. K.... ....

    Do i have to read William Blake's poetry to understand any of this?? Im so confused

    K.... ....

    Honestly, that would require the poem to be understandable in the first place. Blake wrote some surreal stuff.

    K.... ....

    In William Blake's mythology or pantheon, it's helpful to know what was in his head. I am not a Blake scholar, though I wanted to be. I would say that yes, understanding Blake's poem/pantheon would make this song a little more understandable, but don't let this album be lost on you if you're not his scholar. Just love it for its own sake. Just my 2 cents.

  53. K.... L....

    the book of thel is fucking awesome, by gustavo souza

  54. C.... R....

    I looked up this poem for a college assignment. I didn't expect to run into a sing by Bruce Dickinson. Awesome.

  55. C.... ....

    Something wicked this way comes...

    C.... ....

    That is from iced earth

    C.... ....

    @Matheus Morais Originally, it is from Shakespeare's "Macbeth".

  56. H.... ....

    That moment from 4:30 to 5:20 is a fucking masterpiece!

  57. P.... O....

    This whole album is fantastic! Sends shivers up my spine and the hairs on the back of neck stand on end, a true masterpiece!

    P.... O....

    I read your comment as the chorus started. All these years later it still gives me chills every time.

    P.... O....

    @Vaughn Blaylock I share your sentiments.

  58. j.... e....

    song is about reality not a story...300 m north of phoenix..keep looking till you see z

  59. J.... C....

    Serpent on the alter now has wrapped itself around your spine. So you look into its mouth and you kiss the pearly fans divine!

    J.... C....

    The river flowed red with blood. The cradle robbing hand of death caresses every dreaming head...........

  60. J.... S....

    Bruce is at his absolute peak with this album. A better metal album I've yet to hear.

    J.... S....

    Joan Ruiz Jacob nah . This is the best of what heavy metal is . Maybe genre wise yes , but sticking strictly to what heavy metal is , heaven no!

    J.... S....

    I believe this is Bruce at his peak. Pretty bloody good one at that!

    J.... S....

    His "absolute" peak in terms of vocal prowess was in the early 80s.

    J.... S....

    @JJRJ 85 good point.

    J.... S....

    @Afterburner Maybe but his vocal control wasn't as good back then.

  61. J.... B....

    They should replace janick and kevin Shirley with Roy z.

    J.... B....

    +Jersy Blafoski Absolutely not. Janick has co-written some of Maiden's best songs of the last fifteen years.

    J.... B....

    @Mr Coatsworth Better than the Dickinson stuff? Could be because he is writing the shorter stuff.

    J.... B....

    +Jersy Blafoski Better than some of the Dickinson stuff at least. I think Dance of Death, The Legacy, Dream of Mirrors, The Talisman, and the recent The Book of Souls are all absolutely fantastic songs. Obviously, it's all a matter of opinion, but I also don't think Roy's playing would fit Maiden. Bruce's solo stuff is a lot more modern and heavier. Janick is an old-school kind of player, and Maiden is an old-school band. I wouldn't change a thing about the current line-up, except maybe about the production.

    J.... B....

    I think Iron Maiden's line-up is their single best quality. I don't know enough technical stuff about music to say if having 4 guitars is beneficial to the band, but one thing that definitely makes Iron Maiden as great as it is (and last as long as it has) is that the band members all *like* each other. It's statistically proven that people do their most effective and innovative work when working with people they know and respect. Friends can bounce ideas off each other in ways that co-workers can't, and I'm guessing some of the best Maiden songs would never have happened without that

    J.... B....

    +Jersy Blafoski everything is about chemistry,man.
    making all star bands in your head is fun,everybody does this but it doesnt mean it would actually work!Roy z is the career resurrection guy!you need help?pay roy z!

  62. M.... C....

    The lyrics make sense when you know William Blake's "Thel" represents the embodiment of Man's "doubt":  "The serpent wraps itself around your spine.."  There are varous doubts in this song, such as a fiance's prior fidelity and the power she has but doesn't realize which makes the main character frozen in doubt.  Musically, this song is one of the most brilliant rock songs ever written.

    M.... C....

    The most accurate comment around this song. Dickinson's work in this album is not just great musically, but mostly about how he gets, understands and shares his own interpretation of Blake's work.

    M.... C....

    Bruce Dickinson got really spiritual during this time when he left Maiden

    M.... C....

    Book of Thel

    Bruce Dickinson

    The mark is on you now 
    The furnace sealed inside your head 
    Melting from the inside now 
    Waxy tears run down your face

    The whore that never told her tale 
    Relives it every night with you 
    Far off stands the lamb and waits 
    For the wolf to come and end its life

    Stand inside the temple 
    As the book of Thel is opening 
    The priestess stands before you 
    Offering her hand out, she's rising

    Come the dawning of the dead 
    In famine and in war 
    Now the harlot womb of death 
    Spits out its rotten core

    Serpent on the altar now 
    Has wrapped itself around your spine 
    So you look into its mouth 
    And you kiss the pearly fangs divine

    Happy that your end is swift 
    The weeping virgin cries in bliss 
    The snake and priestess, they are one 
    The veil of flesh is ripped undone

    Stand inside the temple 
    As the book of Thel is opening 
    The priestess stands before you 
    Offering her hand out, she's rising

    Come the dawning of the dead 
    In famine and in war 
    Now the harlot womb of death 
    Spits out its rotten core

    By the pricking of my thumbs 
    Something wicked this way comes 
    And when sleep takes you tonight 
    Will you wake to see the light...?

    The burning sweat of poison tears 
    The river flowing red with blood 
    The cradle-robbing hand of death 
    Caresses every dreaming head

    Waiting for the marriage hearse 
    To take you to the funeral pyre 
    So you burn the family tree 
    The generations burning higher

    Stand inside the temple 
    As the book of Thel is opening 
    The priestess stands before you 
    Offering her hand out, she's rising

    Come the dawning of the dead 
    In famine and in war 
    Now the harlot womb of death 
    Spits out its rotten core

    By the pricking of my thumbs 
    Something wicked this way comes 
    And when sleep takes you tonight 
    Will you wake to see the light

    By the dawning of the dead... 
    By the dawning of the dead... 
    By the dawning of the dead... 
    By the dawning of the dead...

    What demon hath formed this abominable void... 
    This soul-shuddering vacuum? 
    Some said it is Urizen - 
    But unknown, abstracted, brooding secret 
    The dark power hid

    M.... C....

    @BABA YAGA thanks.......

    M.... C....

    Lo, a shadow of horror is risen
    In Eternity! Unknown, unprolific!
    Self-closd, all-repelling: what Demon
    Hath form'd this abominable void
    This soul-shudd'ring vacuum? — Some said
    "It is Urizen", But unknown, abstracted
    Brooding secret, the dark power hid.

  63. b.... ....

    Fuck I used to get speeding tickets to this song!

  64. Z.... ....

    Very underrated album. Best song on a great album.

  65. j.... ....

    Awesome

  66. k.... ....

    Underated guitar riff by far, Majestc Song and Album!

  67. i.... ....

    amazing song

  68. M.... ....

    the cock is on you now!

    M.... ....

    Not quite...

  69. S.... G....

    This song is great! Bruce is in great form. Chemical Wedding is Bruce's best solo album. The lyrics, music and production are top here. 

  70. B.... ....

    One of the best tracks off one of the best hard rock/metal albums of the 90s

    B.... ....

    agree.......yeessssss

  71. E.... ....

    I am not Iron Maiden fun, but this song.... EPIC!

    E.... ....

    @halph4s Not just Bruce. Adrian Smith (long time Iron Maiden guitarist) was a full member of the solo act on this album. 

    E.... ....

    @zbusterzsabre And Roy Z  !! I thought Adrian did all the solos because I didn't know Roy Z at all when Accident of Birth came out, but the booklet of The Chemical Wedding lists all solos... and Roy Z are the fast, shreddy ones. He co-wrote all the songs, produced the album and his responsible for a good part of the awesomeness of this.

    Basically, The Dickinson Band was Tribe of Gypsies (Roy's band) plus Adrian. That's why it's so tight : these guys know each other intimately, it's not some bullshit superband created from scratch. It's the Balls to Picasso line-up.

    E.... ....

    @Aurélien Fouet-Barak yes of course, but the big change from previous Bruce solo albums was adding on Adrian Smith. No disrespect to Roy Z. He is awesome. The last Bruce album was all him. 

    E.... ....

    Bruce's first solo album was 'Tattooed Millionaire', which came out in 1990.. He also released 'Tyranny of Souls' in 2005.

    E.... ....

    How can you not be a Maiden fan?

  72. S.... A....

    Como Gardel.... cada vez canta mejor!!!

  73. P.... ....

    World's greatest metal album!!

    P.... ....

    Paranoid.

    P.... ....

    Paranoid is sooo overrated. Like sabbath bloody sabbath is waay better. If were just gonna talk sabbath, then the mob rules, rules!!

    P.... ....

    @Juilz Bird I have to agree, The Mob Rules is awesome, but from an objective, non-biased standpoint, Paranoid.

    P.... ....

    somewhere in time

    P.... ....

    @Kitomir agree my friend .......is out of the universe.......

  74. j.... ....

    Убийствен хеви метал.

  75. s.... ....

    Awesome album. Most people seem to put Accident At Birth above this and whilst that is also a superb album, The Chemical Wedding is one of the best of all time. Bruce and the band really nailed this project

    s.... ....

    I love the art, history, literature and heart that Bruce poured into it...it's beyond amazing! Love it!

    s.... ....

    This one actually comes on par with 7th son :)

    s.... ....

    Yeah, he peaked artistically here :) Love you, B to the ruce!!

  76. a.... ....

    Yeah! And I have always loved the higher "ooh-o-ooh" backing vocal on that part.

  77. y.... ....

    me encanta este tema !!gracias a mi hermano por hacerme tan fanatica y por conocer a iron maiden!!!

  78. j.... ....

    Can't help but sing along at the "wooh oh oh oh oh oh oh" part. Every freakin time. I stop what I'm doing to sing with it.

  79. j.... ....

    I agree. one of the best. I wore the cassette for it out in less than a year (I blame this song, Jerusalem, Trumpets of Jericho and The Alchemist). Still one of my favorite albums of all time.

  80. s.... ....

    Great quality, thanks