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Queen — Hammer To Fall
Album: The Works
Avg rating:
7.2

Your rating:
Total ratings: 2767









Released: 1984
Length: 4:24
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Here we stand or here we fall
History won't care at all
Make the bed, light the light
Lady Mercy won't be home tonight

You don't waste no time at all
Don't hear the bell but you answer the call
It comes to you as to us all
We're just waiting
For the hammer to fall

Oh ev'ry night and every day
A little piece of you is falling away
But lift your face the Western Way
Build your muscles as your body decays

Toe your line and play their game
Let the anaesthetic cover it all
Till one day they call your name
You know it's time for the hammer to fall

Rich or poor or famous
For your truth it's all the same (oh no, oh no)
Lock your door the rain is pouring
Through your window pane (oh no)
Baby now your struggle's all in vain

For we who grew up tall and proud
In the shadow of the mushroom cloud
Convinced our voices can't be heard
We just wanna scream it louder and louder and louder

What the hell we fighting for?
Just surrender and it won't hurt at all
Just got time to say your prayers
While you're waiting for the hammer to hammer to fall

It's gonna fall
Hammer
You know
Hammer to fall
While you're waiting for the hammer to fall

Give it to me one more time
Comments (140)add comment
From "Spitting off the edge of the world" (Yeah yeah yeahs) to this...

What a set!
 tinypriest wrote:

youmeanwellreadallthatdrivelinarowwithoutconsideratepunctuationandgrammar?


I'm not calling anybody a gnome, I'm just saying this is how gnomes speak in the Dragon Lance (Dungeon and Dragons) Chronicles. 
 frogtoad wrote:

Just love this Queen track, never heard it back in the day but when RP played it it blew me away.  Helped me learn to play the air guitar!



same here and i thought i was a queen fan! love it!
Just love this Queen track, never heard it back in the day but when RP played it it blew me away.  Helped me learn to play the air guitar!
 BCarn wrote:

I always laugh when someone decides for themselves who is over or under rated. How the hell do you know who is over or under rated?
Queen earned its place. They're rated justly by we the people. 


We the people, or the "Wisdom of the Crowd" is surprisingly accurate. For example, "At a 1906 country fair in Plymouth, 800 people participated in a contest to estimate the weight of a slaughtered and dressed ox. Statistician Francis Galton observed that the median guess, 1207 pounds, was accurate within 1% of the true weight of 1198 pounds.[6] This has contributed to the insight in cognitive science that a crowd's individual judgments can be modeled as a probability distribution of responses with the median centered near the true value of the quantity to be estimated.[7]." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
I think the Greatest Hits version of this song is even better. 
 Styopa wrote:

Thomas Crane in WA Australia is probably the best Freddie Mercury impersonator alive to date.  Not sure of the website, Bohemian Rhapsody methinks. On a side note, Freddie's sister lived on my street in Nottingham, England.

AZT probably killed him, RIP x


Marc Martel is pretty damn good too. He lent his voice to the "Bohemian Rhapsody" movie. 
Queen is Queen.
 Styopa wrote:

Thomas Crane in WA Australia is probably the best Freddie Mercury impersonator alive to date.  Not sure of the website, Bohemian Rhapsody methinks. On a side note, Freddie's sister lived on my street in Nottingham, England.

AZT probably killed him, RIP x


I was not aware of Queen's re-birth with Adam Lambert until recently. No substitute for Freddie, but Adam is great nevertheless. This Netflix documentary  is worth a watch. "...this documentary details the serendipitous pairing of legendary rock band Queen and powerhouse Adam Lambert."
 Styopa wrote:

Thomas Crane in WA Australia is probably the best Freddie Mercury impersonator alive to date.  Not sure of the website, Bohemian Rhapsody methinks. On a side note, Freddie's sister lived on my street in Nottingham, England.

AZT probably killed him, RIP x



Freddie, not Thomas, i must add!
Thomas Crane in WA Australia is probably the best Freddie Mercury impersonator alive to date.  Not sure of the website, Bohemian Rhapsody methinks. On a side note, Freddie's sister lived on my street in Nottingham, England.

AZT probably killed him, RIP x
IMO one of their very best!  My kids wince every time I reach for the air guitar...!
 tinypriest wrote:

youmeanwellreadallthatdrivelinarowwithoutconsideratepunctuationandgrammar?


okay?

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I wish this song would've taken some of the regular radio airplay from "Bohemian Rhapsody" - it's SO good!  

And the live version from the "Live at Wembley '86" double-album makes you want to turn the volume up to ELEVEN.
 SquiddlyDiddly wrote:

At the time, I never rated Queen - I just never 'got it'. 

But now. . . my appreciation has formed for their unique sound, originality and light hearted fun. 

How times change eh?



Like a dinosaur that died out but lives on as a memorial that gets more attractive with every year of patina.
Hmm... different mix than what appears on Classic Queen -- there are more guitars here.

That is never a problem, especially with Dr. May!
 BCarn wrote:

I always laugh when someone decides for themselves who is over or under rated. How the hell do you know who is over or under rated?
Queen earned its place. They're rated justly by we the people. 


If one can not decide for themselves then who does? You? Now that makes me laugh.
 tinypriest wrote:
youmeanwellreadallthatdrivelinarowwithoutconsideratepunctuationandgrammar?
 
I don't ask why you feel assigned to "punish" the "bad writers". But this is a public platform, not PM. So please keep an eye on whom you offer your junk to.
just as heavy as any other band
 saellig668552 wrote:

this might be an interesting discussion:

not a queen afficionado myself i dont care about most of their later stuff, some of it (f.e. radio gaga, i want to break free....) seems to be mediocre mainsteam airplay at its most.

BUT

there is the other side as "bohemian..." or "somebody to love" which is among the best music there ever was created....

so to conclude: what defines an over- oder underrating 
 
itwouldbemoreinterestingifyouwroteitsowedidn'thavetostraintoreadit.haveagoodday.
 jpfueler wrote:

as a side note "Footfall" was inspired by getting drunk at a con and someone brainstorming baby elephants wearing sneakers flying on hang gliders.
 
youmeanwellreadallthatdrivelinarowwithoutconsideratepunctuationandgrammar?
 johnmccarthylaw wrote:
So, is this song inspired by Larry Niven's Lucifer's Hammer?  Brian May is an astrophysicist and the book was about a comet crash.
 
as a side note "Footfall" was inspired by getting drunk at a con and someone brainstorming baby elephants wearing sneakers flying on hang gliders.
Certainly not my cup of tea, too many average riffs that are repeated through too many of their tracks!
So, is this song inspired by Larry Niven's Lucifer's Hammer?  Brian May is an astrophysicist and the book was about a comet crash.
 faderbruce wrote:
Seems like the Rock Mix channel plays the same 30 songs every day.
 
I notice that when listening through Alexa or Phone App but through the website it took about 2-3 months before hearing a repeat track.
LLRP
I love this since I've seen the Bohemian Rapsody Movie twice. 
 faderbruce wrote:
Seems like the Rock Mix channel plays the same 30 songs every day.
 

I hope you are a big donor to make a comment like that.  Keeping all the streams going is a full time gig.  Not every stream can be new and live every single time...
Seems like the Rock Mix channel plays the same 30 songs every day.
 Harlock wrote:
This song is briefly featured in the Highlander movie, but is not on "A Kind of Magic" which contains most of the Queen music from the film. It appears in the scene where the war veteran Kirk is cruising around in his firebird before he comes upon Kurgan and Kastagir doing battle in the alleyway.  This song and Freddie's rendition of "New York, New York" are kind of hidden gems.   
 
Whomever can find a full copy of Freddie's "New York, New York" would probably win the Internet for a week easy, if not a full month.
At the time, I never rated Queen - I just never 'got it'. 

But now. . . my appreciation has formed for their unique sound, originality and light hearted fun. 

How times change eh?
One of the few songs that will legit make me dance like an idiot 
 saellig668552 wrote:

this might be an interesting discussion:

not a queen afficionado myself i dont care about most of their later stuff, some of it (f.e. radio gaga, i want to break free....) seems to be mediocre mainsteam airplay at its most.

BUT

there is the other side as "bohemian..." or "somebody to love" which is among the best music there ever was created....

so to conclude: what defines an over- oder underrating 
 

I think it has to do with them all doing the songwriting, less Freddie Mercury from the 80s
 Alastair wrote:
One of the most over-rated bands ever.
 
this might be an interesting discussion:

not a queen afficionado myself i dont care about most of their later stuff, some of it (f.e. radio gaga, i want to break free....) seems to be mediocre mainsteam airplay at its most.

BUT

there is the other side as "bohemian..." or "somebody to love" which is among the best music there ever was created....

so to conclude: what defines an over- oder underrating 
Queen is often too pompous for my taste.
One of my all time favourite Queen songs!
   
HAMMER TO FALL!!!!    HEY HEY HEY!!
This song is briefly featured in the Highlander movie, but is not on "A Kind of Magic" which contains most of the Queen music from the film. It appears in the scene where the war veteran Kirk is cruising around in his firebird before he comes upon Kurgan and Kastagir doing battle in the alleyway.  This song and Freddie's rendition of "New York, New York" are kind of hidden gems.   
 Alastair wrote:
One of the most over-rated bands ever.
 
I always laugh when someone decides for themselves who is over or under rated. How the hell do you know who is over or under rated?
Queen earned its place. They're rated justly by we the people. 
One of the most over-rated bands ever.
Queen has quite a diverse catalog of songs. A couple of times while watching Bohemian Rhapsody, I tuned to my husband and said, "That's a Queen song?"
TURN - IT - UP!!!    
I was there Noni 163 - awesome stuff
Tuneage of the finest order. Thank you Dr Bill for prescribing this.
The vocal range of Freddie Mercury was stunning...
Don't forget South Africa (Sun City)
Guys know how to ROCK!
Since seeing the movie..... 8 > 9.

Sing it Freddie!
 123heyaho! wrote:
Queen were great, but this one is lame.
 
NO WAY! 
Queen were great, but this one is lame.
Long Live  RP
My rating is only  7  and I like Queen
man I miss Freddie. 
Just read a comment wanting more Queen from the 70's... Well I listened to the great WLS in Chicago while living in a small town (Taylorville, IL) 300 miles south so I heard plenty of great 70's music. This one is just fun and catchy. I'll take this one to an 8.
No such thing as too much Queen.  10.
2nd time within an hour, you must love Queen Bill ... :){#Bananajam}
One of the last times Queen really rocked.
Bumped from 7 to 8 as I'm in the mood for this today :)
Thank you, Bill The last 2 hrs have been blissful
Listen to that Red Special sing
 Carlo9151 wrote:
Marginal. Sound like "Europe", in the same years.
 
Marginal? Marginal to what... low grade 'big hair' faux rock like Europe.

Pleeese - Queen were the real thing. 
Marginal. Sound like "Europe", in the same years.
Just bumped this up a notch as I got weirdly excited during the intro.
I don't recall I've ever hear this edit.   Nice one!
Meh.
An unusual song to hear on the radio in 2018... or any time really.
I recently watched Queen's performance at LiveAid on Youtube. I forgot that they played this song that day. 
I was not a big fan of this song but they did a great version live! 
Ha! I just watched the Stranger Things episode with this song in it!

 GTT wrote:
What got me to give Queen a second listen is when I read Frank Zappa saying in an interview that Brian May was one of his favorite guitarists.  Now, many years later, I consider them to be one of the greats.

 
I heard a similar comment during an interview with Eric Clapton one time. The interviewer was telling him how great he was and Clapton said something to the effect like there are better players out there, like Brian May. Pretty huge compliment.

Always been a big fan, but this song really isn't one of their better ones IMHO. 
{#Dancingbanana}{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Dancingbanana_2}
Now we're rockin'!!!  {#Dancingbanana_2}
What got me to give Queen a second listen is when I read Frank Zappa saying in an interview that Brian May was one of his favorite guitarists.  Now, many years later, I consider them to be one of the greats.
new to me, 7 for first listen
Queen rock! Thanks, John, Roger, Brian, and Freddie!
 kingart wrote:
Wait. I think this is not the version I have on my pod. This one is more kick ass, with a real guitar break. WTF is this with truncated tracks for sale on iTunes? 

 
Yes for unknown reasons they turned the single version down with less guitar and more synth, I never understood that move. Album version is definitive, and check out the great extended version, too.
Wait. I think this is not the version I have on my pod. This one is more kick ass, with a real guitar break. WTF is this with truncated tracks for sale on iTunes? 
6,6 come on people! This rocked my youth and still does. {#Bananajam}
Really?  Not their best work.  Just in case  someone thinks i'm queen basher; I own some Queen vinyl, but I would pass on this one.
Right song at right moment, BOOM! {#Bananasplit}
Top form for Queen. Quintessential and glorious. 
When this can out remember wishing the rest of the album sounded like this track. Go Brian . . . {#Bananajam}
 SquiddlyDiddly wrote:
Back in the day I could not get into Queen. I thought it was pompous pop-rock. 

Now? I realise I was absolutely correct and I love it. 

Ha! 

 
Totally with you till I got to the "I love it" bit.
What pill did you take? Do I need a prescription?
 My Queen "Studio Collection" boxset arrived in the post today, all 15 albums remastered on coloured vinyl....great timing Bill {#Bananajam}
 SquiddlyDiddly wrote:
Back in the day I could not get into Queen. I thought it was pompous pop-rock. 

Now? I realise I was absolutely correct and I love it. 

Ha! 

 
So true.
Queen freakin rocked although everyone remembers Bohemian and Another One Bites...
 Stone Cold Crazy
 
Back in the day I could not get into Queen. I thought it was pompous pop-rock. 

Now? I realise I was absolutely correct and I love it. 

Ha! 
What's this? Rock and Roll on RP?
 d48m02h1918 wrote:
For ultimate-sounding Queen, take a listen to the just-released 'Live At The Rainbow Theatre'.  These shows were recorded back in March and November of 1974, and they will BLOW you away!! {#Clap}

 
Totally agree. Incredible on all counts.
For ultimate-sounding Queen, take a listen to the just-released 'Live At The Rainbow Theatre'.  These shows were recorded back in March and November of 1974, and they will BLOW you away!! {#Clap}
Love May's guitar solo. Amazing
 
{#Drummer}
{#Bananasplit}
Ogre Battle!!!
This song might not be as good as the usual Queen standards, but I am happy not to be hearing "You're My Best Friend" or the other overplayed classic rock staples right now.  Nice for some variety, even if it is sub-par.
 ppopp wrote:
An unusually vanilla song for Queen. It sounds like they are trying to be heavy, but running on empty while doing so. Although compared with their Hot Space album, this sounds like Motorhead.
Most of Queens best moments are found nestled between the hits on their albums released between 1973 and 1978.

 
Totally agree with the first period being the golden period of Queen. This song is OK, a bit empty in studio I agree, but certainly it gets all its meaning in the Live version (see LP Live Magic)
An unusually vanilla song for Queen. It sounds like they are trying to be heavy, but running on empty while doing so. Although compared with their Hot Space album, this sounds like Motorhead.
Most of Queens best moments are found nestled between the hits on their albums released between 1973 and 1978.
 jbunniii wrote:
While it's nice to hear a Queen song that isn't one of the 10 or so that we've all heard 100000 times, this one kind of sucks.

  Reluctantly agree.


 whtahtefcuk wrote:
Big Queen fan, but this song is horrible.

 
Indeed
They did a great job with this one at Live Aid.
 blue-ice wrote:
every night , every day, till one day they call your hammer to fall.

Union, Coal, great how does it work out in the end.

600- 1200 - 2400 workers . BFD. the excrement of the 2400 fucks the lives of the 1.2 million, 2.4 million, 4.8 million.

Learn some tech you fucks. 

 
How can you stand listening to RP when you rate most of the songs <4?
 Cynaera wrote:
When I first heard Queen's music, I thought they were pompous, overblown British posers.  Didn't take long for me to slap myself and realize that they were, individually and collectively, a definite force of nature.  Freddie Mercury's amazing vocals and stage presence, Brian May's beautiful, sometimes bone-crunchingly powerful guitar work, John Deacon's understated-yet-inventive bass, and Roger Meadows-Taylor's solid, reliable drumming... They were pretty, but more importantly, they were TALENTED.

My favorite album is still the first one, and from that, I love "Liar" the best, although "Keep Yourself Alive" is a close second. Too many good songs to name. "Hammer to Fall" isn't one of my favorites, but I do love those power-chords and Mercury's snarling vocals.  Damn, I miss this band....
 

Miss you so much, Cynaera...

love this song...
 
 blue-ice wrote:
every night , every day, till one day they call your hammer to fall.

Union, Coal, great how does it work out in the end.

600- 1200 - 2400 workers . BFD. the excrement of the 2400 fucks the lives of the 1.2 million, 2.4 million, 4.8 million.

Learn some tech you fucks. 
  you're listening to the wrong station mate


Great song... terrible quality recording!
every night , every day, till one day they call your hammer to fall.

Union, Coal, great how does it work out in the end.

600- 1200 - 2400 workers . BFD. the excrement of the 2400 fucks the lives of the 1.2 million, 2.4 million, 4.8 million.

Learn some tech you fucks. 
 jbunniii wrote:
While it's nice to hear a Queen song that isn't one of the 10 or so that we've all heard 100000 times, this one kind of sucks.
 

i agree, friend.
While it's nice to hear a Queen song that isn't one of the 10 or so that we've all heard 100000 times, this one kind of sucks.
QUEEN
Big Queen fan, but this song is horrible.
I've never been a big Queen fan, but this one's not bad.
Always good to hear
YEAH
Any day I hear Queen is a good day!
 camarkim wrote:
Thanks Bill. I was sitting at my desk, and thought, 'I know that drumming..NOBODY else hits an open hi-hat at the same time he hits his snare...it must be Roger Taylor and QUEEN!' They were the first band I ever saw live...and will always be close to the heart!
 
{#Drummer}  * Bump * That's so true about Roger Taylor's drumming. Nice comment!
 bobringer wrote:
Is it just me... or does that sound like ELO?  Is that Jeff Lynn singing backup?  It sounds like him...
 

...It's just you....
 More_Cowbell wrote:
I don't know if I ever heard this one before, and love Queen!  Nice!  8
 
Then that must mean you've never seen HIGHLANDER....

I so really love Queen( alltime fave band), but on RP? I dont think so. Doesnt seem right. ( but neither does Mark Knopfler singing about lorries & boats) Play something from the 70's albums.
Is it just me... or does that sound like ELO?  Is that Jeff Lynn singing backup?  It sounds like him...
I don't know if I ever heard this one before, and love Queen!  Nice!  8