Kings and Queens

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"Kings and Queens" is a song performed by American hard rock band Aerosmith. It was written by Steven Tyler, Brad Whitford, Tom Hamilton, Joey Kramer, and Jack Douglas, their producer, who helped the band write many of the songs on Draw the Line. The song was released as the second single from Draw the Line in 1978. It didn't fare as well as many of the band's previous singles, only reaching #70 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Song background

The lyrics to the song seem to be talking about horrifying and rough times during the Middle Ages. The rulers are killing innocent lives ("kings and queens and guillotines taking lives denied"), that they are or was in war with the Vikings ("tossin' turnin' nightmares burnin' dreams of sword in hand sailing ships, the vikings spits the blood of father's land"), the lords are greedy and careless ("long ago in days untold were ruled by lords of greed maidens fair, with gold they dared to bare their wombs that bleed"), the bishops were banished ("starch and parchments laid the laws when the bishops took the ride"), and many people are dying ("screams of no reply they died screams of no reply and died Lordy, Lordy, they died").

In concert

The song was a staple of Aerosmith concerts in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and was included on the album Classics Live!. However, the band rarely played it since. On a couple shows, the band brought the song back into the setlist during shows in Providence, Rhode Island and Anaheim, California in 2005 and 2006 on the Rockin' the Joint Tour, much to the delight of fans. However, the band tends to favor performing Draw the Line's other single, the "title track", which has become a live staple as of late.

Covers and other versions

The song was included on the album Aerosmith's Greatest Hits in 1980, and Greatest Hits 1973–1988 in 2004, however it was considerably edited, taking out many of the guitar parts. This version is sometimes heard on radio, although many rock stations do play the full version.

Kings and Queens is a master track in the game Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and is unlocked upon beating the last song, "Train Kept A-Rollin". Although its a slow song its Expert difficulty tag line says good luck, in which states that it is hard, as did Through the Fire and Flames on Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

The Aerosmith tribute band, Draw the Line, can frequently be heard performing the song.

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