Album: Sad Wings Of Destiny (1976)

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• In for surprise
  You're in for a shock (ah)
  In London town streets
  When there's darkness and fog
  When you least expect me
  And you turn your back, I'll attack
  
  I smile when I'm sneaking
  Through shadows by the wall
  I laugh when I'm creeping
  But you won't see me at all
  
  All hear my warning
  Never turn your back
  On the ripper
  
  You'll soon shake with fear
  Never knowing if I'm near
  I'm sly and I'm shameless
  Nocturnal and nameless
  Except for "The Ripper"
  Or if you like, "Jack The Knife"
  
  Any back alley street
  Is where we'll probably meet
  Underneath a gas lamp
  Where the air's cold and damp
  I'm a nasty surprise
  I'm a devil in disguise
  I'm a footstep at night
  I'm a scream of the fright
  
  All hear my warning
  Never turn your back
  On the ripper
  The ripper
  The ripper
  
  Ah, ha
  (Thank you) thank you very much, indeed Writer/s: Glenn Tipton
  Publisher: Peermusic Publishing, REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 12

• Dan from UsIdc what anyone says, this was about the Yorkshire ripper... I think Priest disguised it though, I think they even took some criticism for it, due to the serial murders of the time.
• Dan Gillespy from Courtenay BcA very good and dark hard rocking song about serial killer Jack The Ripper with very good guitar riffs and killer guitar leads and very good singing.
• Cyberpope from Richmond, CanadaTo Alex in Cypress, I'd more say that if you have the ability to recognize & appreciate quality & a style that resonates with you, it will become PART of you! When I was a teen stoner(a 1/4oz of high grade buds a day, every day) it was ONLY about rocking out & doing so loudly, because I seriously did not one f--k give, but now I'm all growed up & mature 'n s--t, but I still appreciate good music(form & style) wherever I find it (some classical, some jazz, mostly hasrd rock+metal from '68 to '82 or so; & I'm slowly giving a relisten to the stuff I loved as a teen stoner & Im discovering that I subconsciously recognized & appreciated true quality! (most of my fave metalhead group members were all classically trained, & just happened to find metal & the musical aptitudes they had worked together to express what was inside -- music done for the sake of it, not for the money. . .
• Genghis from Yuba City, CaRob Halford's Resurrection album (2000) has the "duet" with Bruce Dickinson. The song is titled "One you Love to Hate" and it really rocks.
• Alex from Paphos, Cyprusand i agree with Luke from manchester It is impossible to be reformed. Metal stays with you untill you rot
• Alex from Paphos, CyprusIve got no problem with Blaze bayley he was not as good as Dickenson though
• Luke from Manchester, England1. You cannot be a reformed metalhead, metal never leave you, if it does then you were never into metal in the first place... 2. Blayze was in Maiden for TWO albums, not 1...
• Ringgo from Montclair, CaAwesome song, and Owens is not that bad of a singer...come on, the rest of Priest picked him for a good reason to replace a legend, just like how Steve Harris had enough faith to pick Bayley Cook (Blaze Bayley) to replace his band's legendary vocalist. BTW, has anyone here heard of the one song Dickinson and Halford did together? i wonder what that sounded like.
• Will from York, EnglandIf you're referring to maiden's replacement singer Blaze bailey, he wasn't bad actually.
• Anthony from Parsippany, NjPlease with Ripper Owens...the guy SUCKED. The album he was on was UN-LISTENABLE...just like Maidens replacement for that one album, YIKES!
• Todd from Denver, CoA sidenote: Steven Tyler supposedly said that "This Is Spinal Tap" hit a little too close to home. Imagine any number of party bands from the early seventies through the release of the movie who can relate. Then the "hair bands" of the eighties continued the tradition. As a reformed metalhead (I still have to admit to occasionally listening to my old CDs-my turntable's been broken for years) I still love the movie.
• Matt from Charleston, ScWhen Rob Halford left JP, the remaining band members looked for a replacement in the 90's. They found a young halford sound-alike in an American Priest cover band, and promptly renamed him "Ripper" Owens, inspired by his dead-on take on this song. If the story sounds vaguely familiar, its the plot behind the Marky Mark movie "Rock Star" which Priest wouldnt touch with a 99-foot pole.

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