Hallowed Be Thy Name (song)
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| "Hallowed Be Thy Name" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Iron Maiden | |
| from the album The Number of the Beast | |
| Released | 22 March 1982 |
| Recorded | January–February 1982 |
| Studio | Battery, London |
| Genre | Heavy metal |
| Length | 7:08 |
| Label | EMI |
| Songwriter | Steve Harris |
| Producer | Martin Birch |
"Hallowed Be Thy Name" is the eighth and final track on Iron Maiden's landmark 1982 album The Number of the Beast. The song was written by bassist Steve Harris and has been acclaimed as one of the greatest heavy metal songs of all time. It is also considered one of the band's signature songs.[1]
"Hallowed Be Thy Name" has remained in almost all of the band's set-lists since the album's recording, the only exceptions being the Maiden England World Tour 2012–14,[2] the second leg of the Book of Souls World Tour in 2017, and The Future Past World Tour in 2023. Allmusic describes it as "perhaps the most celebrated of the band's extended epics; it's the tale of a prisoner about to be hanged, featuring some of Harris' most philosophical lyrics."[3] Several band-members have since stated that it is one of their favourite tracks, with Bruce Dickinson describing it as "fantastic" and that performing it live is like "narrating a movie to the audience."[2]
It is one of the most covered songs in Iron Maiden's catalogue, with versions released by artists such as Dream Theater,[4] Machine Head,[5] Cradle of Filth[6] and Iced Earth.[7] Iron Maiden also recorded the song as part of Channel Four's 2007 television series, Live from Abbey Road,[8] while a version recorded for BBC Radio 1 in 2005 was used as a B-side on "The Reincarnation of Benjamin Breeg" single.[9][10] The song's title is a line from the Lord's Prayer.
Songwriting lawsuit
A section of the lyrics is lifted from Beckett's 1973 song "Life's Shadow". Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood was the agent for Beckett and a teenage Steve Harris saw the band play this song live. Harris and Dave Murray settled with one of the credited songwriters, Robert Barton. The other songwriter, Brian Ingham, has sued Iron Maiden for his share of the profits from the song. Ingham was unaware of the matter until 2011 and Barton claimed to be the sole songwriter during the original settlement.[11]
On 12 March 2018, it was reported that the band had settled the case out of court. The group's lawyers had argued that Harris initially used the lyrics as a placeholder and did not have time to change them before the album's release. A spokesperson for the band states that they settled out of court for pragmatic reasons and to avoid escalating legal fees.[12]
