Songwriters in bands always have to deal with scrutiny of their work from their fellow band members. That can be an even more daunting prospect when everybody else in the group can write very well.
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Brian May dealt with a little bit of that when he presented the song “Hammer To Fall” to the other members of Queen. Luckily, the guitarist stuck to his guns and delivered the band a ready-made anthem.
Dropping the “Hammer”
Among their many other recommending characteristics, the British rock band Queen could boast that all four members (Freddie Mercury, Brian May, John Deacon, and Roger Taylor) of the group wrote songs. As a result, all those separate perspectives meant that they offered a bit more variety than the average rock group.
May started writing “Hammer To Fall” with the thrilling riff that begins the song. But when he first brought the partially finished track to the rest of the group, they didn’t seem to be overwhelmed by it. That left May doubting if what he had done was anything special.
But he stuck with it, filling in the gaps that he’d initially left before bringing it back to the group once more. This time around, they showed much more enthusiasm for the song. And “Hammer To Fall” ended up taking a special place in Queen history.
It was released as a single off the 1984 album The Works, charting in both the UK and the US. In addition, it appeared along with several Queen songs in the 1986 sci-fi film Highlander. Finally, and most notably, “Hammer To Fall” made a spectacular impression when the band performed it during their momentous set at Live Aid in 1985.
Exploring the Lyrics of “Hammer To Fall”
“Hammer To Fall” seemed to evoke some of the tension that people felt in the 80s as various world superpowers began to amass nuclear weapons. But May’s lyrics also work as an evergreen acknowledgement of the finite nature of life.
The narrator doesn’t ever pretend that we can somehow outrun our collective fates. “Here we stand or here we fall,” the song begins. “History won’t care at all.” “Lady Mercy won’t be home tonight,” Freddie Mercury sings. “It comes to you as to us all,” the narrator admits in the refrain. “We’re just waiting for the hammer to fall.”
The whole stiff-upper-lip attitude won’t solve the problem: “But lift your face the Western way/Build your muscles as your body decays.” It’s fascinating how little solace is offered in this song. “Rich or poor or famous” will all suffer at some point. With the rain falling everywhere, no amount of toil will help: “Baby, now your struggle’s all in vain.”
And yet, it’s human nature to rage against the dying of the light. “Convinced our voices won’t be heard,” the narrator says. “We just wanna scream it louder and louder and louder.” Finally, there’s no choice but to relent. “Just surrender and it won’t hurt at all,” the narrator shrugs. “Just got time to say your prayers/While you’re waiting for the hammer to fall.”
The ingenious aspect of the track is how the exhilarating music flies in the face of the pessimistic lyrics. “Hammer To Fall” might have initially come from a place of uncertainty, in terms of its writer’s feelings. But it certainly ended up a decisive statement about the ever-approaching end of the line.
Photo by Kent Gavin/Mirrorpix/Getty Images
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