Fingers In The Wounds

Album: The Mandrake Project (2024)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Bruce Dickinson loads up this song with religious imagery, evoking Jesus' miracles. What's it all about? He explained in a Songfacts track by track:

    "What if Jesus came back and he was an internet influencer? How would we deal with that? Nobody would take him seriously as the messiah unless he had so many millions of followers. I thought that was a nice way to poke fun at internet influencers.

    Hence, lines like, 'There's not enough gold at the end of your rope,' and things like that. 'Your life is a zero, you only can be what the people they see. Put your fingers in the wounds and pray that it's God. A roll of the dice for a piece of his cloth.'

    'You're an internet influencer! Oh my God, you're God! I'll put my fingers through the iPhone and you can be God and we'll believe you.' And it's worthless. It's junk."
  • With his band Iron Maiden, Dickinson made religious comparisons on the 1990 track "Holy Smoke," which deals with shady televangelists. Looking back, he sees those threats as quaint. "To me, the internet is far more of a threat to society," he told Songfacts. "Social media is far more a threat to society and humanity than Jerry Falwell ever was."
  • Dickinson wrote this song with Roy Z, an American guitarist who is his longtime collaborator. It's part of his album The Mandrake Project, which Roy Z produced.

    The album is accompanied by a 12-episode comic of the same name. The two projects aren't directly linked but do share artwork and some concepts.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Album Cover Inspirations

Album Cover InspirationsSong Writing

Some album art was at least "inspired" by others. A look at some very similar covers.

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine Band

Harry Wayne Casey of KC and The Sunshine BandSongwriter Interviews

Harry Wayne Casey tells the stories behind KC and The Sunshine Band hits like "Get Down Tonight," "That's The Way (I Like It)," and "Give It Up."

Roger McGuinn of The Byrds

Roger McGuinn of The ByrdsSongwriter Interviews

Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up Musicians

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up MusiciansSong Writing

Eddie (played by Johnny Depp in the video) found fame fleeting, but Chuck Berry's made-up musician fared better.

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Gary LeVox

Gary LeVoxSongwriter Interviews

On "Life Is A Highway," his burgeoning solo career, and the Rascal Flatts song he most connects with.