Can I Play With Madness

Album: Seventh Son of a Seventh Son (1988)
Charted: 3
Play Video
  • 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, ha, he said
    Can I play with madness? He said, "You're blind, too blind to see"
    Oh, said, "You're too blind to see", mmm

    I screamed aloud to the old man
    I said, "Don't lie, don't say you don't know"
    I said, "You'll pay for this mischief"
    "Ah, in this world or the next"
    Oh and then he fixed me with a freezing glance
    And the hellfires raged in his eyes
    He said, "Do you wanna know the truth, son?"
    "Lord, 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, ha ha, he said
    Can I play with madness? He said, "You're blind, too blind to 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, ha, he said
    Can I play with madness? He said, "You're blind, too blind to see"
    Can I play with madness? Writer/s: Adrian Frederick Smith, Bruce Dickinson, Stephen Percy Harris
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 9

  • Pendrup from ZaI always held the notion that the only cure for depression is madness. I hadn't thought about it for a long while till I discovered this song. I had it on repeat for hours. For me, its about playing with something that makes no sense... to anyone except yourself. And I love that.
  • Molly Brown from NetherlandsTony Ca, that is a comment that can only be written on acid.
  • Paul Bradley from YorkshireSuddenly the magazine become a torch that keeps burning ?
  • Humberto Veras from Recife - BrazilCommander of British airline, that he makes frequent medical examinations. Member of the English Olympic team in you very Olympic Games. captain of the airplane of Iron Maiden tours. Nothing of that combines with drugs. The same happens with the other member, it is only to observe their conducts and Acts
  • Oto from SlovakiaBest of maiden.
  • Cody from Kansas City, MoWHAT??? IRON MAIDEN DID DRUGS??? Didn't know that...
  • Emarkm from Cheshire, United KingdomGraham Chapman (one of the Monty Pythons) is the teacher in the video - shortly before his death.
  • Tony from Mariposa, CaSounds like the Iron Maiden boys were all tripping on acid when they came up with the over and over and over again "Can I play with madness" lyrics. I hope they've grown out of the drugs by now. Hard rock. Plain and simple. Screaming in the microphone. Man, a little bit of Iron Maiden goes along ways with this guy.
  • Myra from Chicago, IlThis is such an awesome classic rock song! Why i am the first to comment on it puzzles me.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

They Might Be Giants

They Might Be GiantsSongwriter Interviews

Who writes a song about a name they found in a phone book? That's just one of the everyday things these guys find to sing about. Anything in their field of vision or general scope of knowledge is fair game. If you cross paths with them, so are you.

Crystal Waters

Crystal WatersSongwriter Interviews

Waters tells the "Gypsy Woman" story, shares some of her songwriting insights, and explains how Dennis Rodman ended up on one of her songs.

Mark Arm of Mudhoney

Mark Arm of MudhoneySongwriter Interviews

When he was asked to write a song for the Singles soundtrack, Mark thought the Seattle grunge scene was already overblown, so that's what he wrote about.

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat World

Jim Adkins of Jimmy Eat WorldSongwriter Interviews

Jim talks about the impact of "The Middle" and uses a tree metaphor to describe his songwriting philosophy.

Judas Priest

Judas PriestSongwriter Interviews

Rob Halford, Richie Faulkner and Glenn Tipton talk twin guitar harmonies and explain how they create songs in Judas Priest.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.