Listen to one of the most underrated Iron Maiden’s songs. This is Face in the Sand from the superb album “Dance Of Death” (2003). Scroll down to read the lyrics.

YouTube Slide show with Eddie’s pictures and Iron Maiden’s song: Face In The Sand from album “Dance Of Death” (2003). Credit: robertHR

Face in the Sand is about the general state of mind of the world, perhaps particularly in the West, where we have become dependent on news reports that are pre-digested and sometimes warped. The entire world is watching the terrors of events happen on the TV in their living room, which is a huge difference from a few decades ago. The song is notable for being the first and only Iron Maiden studio track in which Nicko McBrain uses a double bass pedal. The title is a reference to a pair of 1818 poems by Percy Shelley, both titled Ozymandias.

Face in the Sand Lyrics [Smith / Harris / Dickinson]

Everyone's waiting for something to happen
Everybody's waiting for something to see
Lunatics waiting for bigger disasters
Everyone's waiting for news on TV

Winding lives at the end of the spiral
Waiting dictators with their next big thrill
Everyone's looking, but no one is listening
Everybody wants to be in at the kill

I wait for the signs, they tell me true
I see the signs of the end time

Everyone's searching, but nothing's revealing
Everyone's looking for the reason why
Everyone's hoping for life ever after
Everyone's looking at death from the sky

Everyone's nightmares are going to happen
Everybody's ripping the mask from their eyes
Everyone's praying but no one's believing
Everyone's heroes tell everyone's lies

I wait for the signs, they tell me true
I see the signs of the end

So I watch and I wait
And I pray for an answer
An end to the strife and the world's misery
But the end never came
And we're digging the graves
And we're loading the guns for the kill

Can the end be at hand?
Is the face in the sand?
Future memory of our tragedy?
Can the end be at hand?
Is the face in the sand?
Future memory of our tragedy?

So I watch and I wait
And I pray for an answer
An end to the strife and the world's misery
But the end never came
And we're digging the graves
And we're loading the guns for the kill

Can the end be at hand?
Is the face in the sand?
Future memory of our tragedy?
Can the end be at hand?
Is the face in the sand?
Future memory of our tragedy?

Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh
Oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh