Def Leppard

Beyond the temple
There lies a tomb with a king from long ago
A traveler from a distant planet
Ten thousand years or so
The legend tells of an agin' man
Whose city he built alone
Till the pirates of our western world
Tore it down stone by stone

The clouds are gettin' heavy
As he points unto the sky
But with the guidance of his finger
He let the lightning fly

So don't turn around, don't turn around
Lightning don't strike twice
Don't turn around, don't turn around
Death is a very high price

He gathered up his people
And he took them underground
To the caves of silvery water
Where they never could be found

The king came to the surface
Could not believe what he had found
The temple left in ruins
His city knocked to the ground

He went back to his people
Sad news he had to tell
The only justice for the king
Was to put these men in hell

So don't turn around, don't turn around
Lightning don't strike twice
Don't turn around, don't turn around
Death is a very high price

His face showing sorrow
His heart full of grief
His life's work in ruins
Destroyed by a thief

His people just sit around
His children just cry
The king's mind is all confused
Just wonderin' why

The temple split in half
And scattered through the desert
The dust had risen in the air
The race of people had to live in devastation
Why wasn't he even there?

Message from the gods to gather up his people
The kingdom couldn't lose them there
That's when all the gods and all are livin' peaceful
Just a galaxy away

The king rose up from underground
To light the darkened sky
Red lights, green lights, blue lights flashing
It seemed a mile high

As it lifted from the ground
And soared into the air
The king looked at what might have been
A world that needed care

A storm had risen quickly
Across the take of hope
Now there's no trace of the king
Just a memory carved in stone

So don't turn around, don't turn around
Lightning don't strike twice
Don't turn around, don't turn around
Death is a very high price
Don't turn around, don't turn around
Lightning don't strike twice
Don't turn around, don't turn around
Death is a very high price

In 1977, Rick Savage, Tony Kenning, and Pete Willis were students at a secondary school in Sheffield, England. They had a band called Atomic Mass. Lead singer Joe Elliott joined later that year, and suggested a new band name. Within 10 years, that name, Def Leppard, became one of the most recognised in English rock music. To date, they have released more than 40 singles.

Def Leppard was a definitive part of the new wave of British heavy metal bands in the late 1970s. Their first three albums had tremendous momentum, each outselling the one before. Then, after the release of Pyromania in 1983, drummer Rick Allen lost his arm in a car accident. The band stuck by him through his recovery and retraining.

When Def Leppard came back, they came back hard. Their fourth album, 1987’s Hysteria, was a hard rock masterpiece that took the world by storm. By then the music video had matured as a film style, and Hysteria’s singles and videos had enough pop, sex, colour, and glam to put it over the top. Hysteria was one of the biggest-selling albums of the 1980s.

more tracks from the album

Warchild

From the album

Warchild (1996)

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Beyond The TempleDef Leppard

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