"Hammer to Fall" is a 1984 song by the British rock band

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

. Written by guitarist

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Freddie Mercury and ...

, the song is the eighth track on their 1984 album '' The Works''.The Works
Ultimate Queen. Retrieved 11 July 2011 It was the fourth and final single to be released from that album, although the single version was edited down by thirty seconds from the version on the album. Different sleeves were used to package this single and the live picture sleeve is now a collector's item. The song harks back to the old roots of the band, being built around a hard angular and muscular riff. The song peaked at number 3 in South Africa, and 13 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

.Roberts, David (2006).

British Hit Singles & Albums ''British Hit Singles & Albums'' (originally known as ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Singles'' and ''The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums'') was a music reference book originally published in the United Kingdom by the publishing arm of ...

. London: Guinness World Records Limited It was featured in the film ''

Highlander Highlander may refer to: Regional cultures * Gorals (lit. ''Highlanders''), a culture in southern Poland and northern Slovakia * Hill people, who live in hills and mountains * Merina people, an ethnic group from the central plateau of Madagasca ...

'', a movie for which the band had composed tie-in songs. The music video was filmed in Brussels during The Works Tour, and features drummer Roger Taylor wearing an oversized message T-shirt ("CHOOSE LIFE") created by Katharine Hamnett. "Hammer to Fall" was the third song the band performed at

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

in 1985. The song features in the setlist of both The Works Tour and

The Magic Tour The Magic Tour was a 1986 European concert tour by the British rock band Queen, supporting the album '' A Kind of Magic''. The tour featured 26 shows across Western Europe and the UK, as well as one show in Sweden and one in Hungary. The two ...

. The full album version of the song appears on '' Queen Rocks'' while the single version appears on '' Greatest Hits II'' and '' Classic Queen''.

Interpretation

The lyrics at several points refer to the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...

era in which the band members grew up, fuelling the popular conception that the song was about nuclear war:

For we who grew up tall and proud
In the shadow of the mushroom cloud

The term "waiting for the hammer to fall" in the song was taken to refer to the anticipation by the public that Cold War would turn " hot" – or, alternatively, as a reference to the Soviet

Hammer and Sickle The hammer and sickle (Unicode: "☭") zh, s=锤子和镰刀, p=Chuízi hé liándāo or zh, s=镰刀锤子, p=Liándāo chuízi, labels=no is a symbol meant to represent proletarian solidarity, a union between agricultural and industr ...

. The song also contains references to death and its inevitability:

Rich or poor or famous
For your truth it's all the same (oh no oh no)

The question of the meaning of the song was effectively settled when May wrote on his website that "Hammer to Fall is really about life and death, and being aware of death as being part of life", and that "the Hammer coming down is only a symbol of the

Grim Reaper Death is frequently imagined as a personified force. In some mythologies, a character known as the Grim Reaper (usually depicted as a berobed skeleton wielding a scythe) causes the victim's death by coming to collect that person's soul. Other b ...

doing his job!"

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an onli ...

'' said "With customary raw energy highlighted by the powerful vocals of Freddie Mercury and the unstoppable energy of guitarist/composer Brian May, Queen still exemplifies the essence of solid rock. The song itself offers nothing particularly new, but is performed energetically and contains more than enough of what Queen’s fans have come to expect.."

Music video

The music video was directed by David Mallet, containing footage of a performance of the song in Brussels during The Works Tour.

Live performances

"Hammer to Fall" was the third song on the band's setlist at

, after "

Bohemian Rhapsody "Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...

" and "

Radio Ga Ga "Radio Ga Ga" is a 1984 song performed and recorded by the British rock band Queen, written by their drummer Roger Taylor. It was released as a single with " I Go Crazy" by Brian May as the B-side. It was included on the album '' The Works'' ...

".Queen Concerts: 13 July 1985 Wembley Stadium, London, (Live Aid)
Retrieved 11 July 2011 Live versions of the song in the 1980s also usually served as an opportunity for touring keyboardist

Spike Edney Philip "Spike" Edney (born 11 December 1951) is an English musician who, since the 1960s, has performed with a number of bands, most notably with Queen in their live concerts, where his participation started in 1984 during Queen's The Works t ...

to appear onstage playing rhythm guitar, as he was usually not visible from behind his keyboard stack. "Hammer to Fall" features in the setlist of both The Works Tour and

.Queen live on tour: The Works 1985
Queen Concerts. Retrieved 11 July 2011
Queen Concerts. Retrieved 11 July 2011 At the

Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS Awareness was a benefit concert held on Easter Monday, 20 April 1992, at Wembley Stadium in London, United Kingdom for an audience of 72,000. The concert was produced for television by Ray Burdis, ...

in 1992, Extreme singer Gary Cherone performed the song with Queen and Tony Iommi of

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped def ...

, having previously done a medley of other Queen songs with his own group. A different version of the song with the first part played in the style of a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

was played by May on his 1998 solo tour promoting his second album ''Another World''. This arrangement was revived for

Queen + Paul Rodgers Queen + Paul Rodgers (sometimes referred to as Q+PR or QPR) was a collaboration between Queen ( Brian May and Roger Taylor) and Paul Rodgers; formerly of Bad Company, Free, The Firm and The Law. Guitarist May had previously performed with ...

in 2005.

In other media

* The song appears in the 1987 science fiction book ''

The Tommyknockers ''The Tommyknockers'' is a 1987 science fiction novel by Stephen King. While maintaining a horror style, the novel is an excursion into the realm of science fiction for King, as the residents of the Maine town of Haven gradually fall under the i ...

'' by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

.The Tommyknockers (1987)
Google Books Result * A portion of the song is heard during the scene with the well-armed Vietnam veteran in the 1986 film ''

''. * A portion of the song is heard during a scene of the sixth episode of Netflix's ''

Stranger Things ''Stranger Things'' is an American science fiction horror drama television series created by the Duffer Brothers, who also serve as showrunners and are executive producers along with Shawn Levy and Dan Cohen. Produced by Monkey Massacre Pr ...

'' second season. * The song is heard in the 2018 biopic ''

'' where Queen's

performance is reenacted.

Track listings

7" Single * A Side. "Hammer to Fall" (Single Version) - 3:40 * B Side. "Tear It Up" - 3:24 12" Single * A Side. "Hammer to Fall" (Extended Version) - 5:25 * B Side. "Tear It Up" - 3:24

Personnel

Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...

– lead and backing vocals *

– electric guitar, backing vocals * Roger Taylor – drums, backing vocals *

John Deacon John Richard Deacon (born 19 August 1951) is an English retired musician, best known for being the bass guitarist for the rock band Queen. He wrote several songs for the group, including Top 10 hits " You're My Best Friend", "Another One Bit ...

– bass guitar *

Fred Mandel Frederick Lawrence Mandel (born 1953) is a Canadian session musician, keyboard player and guitarist. Career Born in Estevan, Saskatchewan, Mandel became involved in music from an early age. He started playing the piano at four and picked up t ...

– synthesiser

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* Official YouTube videos
original music videoQueen + Paul RodgersQueen + Paul Rodgers (Live in Ukraine)Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
(with Gary Cherone and Tony Iommi)
"Hammer to Fall" at discogs
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hammer To Fall Queen (band) songs 1984 singles Anti-war songs Songs from Highlander (franchise) Protest songs Songs about nuclear war and weapons Songs written by Brian May Song recordings produced by Reinhold Mack EMI Records singles Capitol Records singles Hollywood Records singles 1984 songs British hard rock songs Music videos directed by David Mallet (director)