The Evil That Men Do (song)

"The Evil That Men Do"
Single by Iron Maiden
from the album Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
B-side	"Prowler '88" "Charlotte the Harlot '88"
Released	1st August 1988 (UK) 13th August 1988 (US)
Format	CD single Vinyl record Picture disc (cut-to-shape)
Recorded	1987
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	4:33
Label	EMI
Writer(s)	Adrian Smith Bruce Dickinson Steve Harris
Iron Maiden singles chronology
"Can I Play with Madness" (1988) "The Evil That Men Do" (1988) "The Clairvoyant" (1988)

"The Evil That Men Do" was released in 1988 by Iron Maiden. It is the band's seventeenth single and the second from their Seventh Son of a Seventh Son album. The single debuted at number six in the UK charts and quickly rose to number five . The single's B-sides are re-recordings of "Prowler" and "Charlotte the Harlot" which appear as tracks number one and seven/eight respectively on the band's debut album Iron Maiden.

The title of the song is taken from Marcus Antonius's speech while addressing the crowd of Romans after Caesar's murder (Act 3, scene 2, "The Forum") in William Shakespeare's Julius Caesar: "The evil that men do lives after them; The good is oft interred with their bones." Bruce Dickinson may sometimes repeat this before playing the song, but in reverse (as he did in Rock in Rio). However, the poetic lyrics of the song are unrelated to this.

The guitar solo in "The Evil That Men Do" is played by Adrian Smith while the guitar solo in "Prowler '88" is played by Dave Murray. In "Charlotte the Harlot '88", the first guitar solo is played by Dave Murray followed by Adrian Smith.

The music video was filmed at The Forum in Inglewood, CA, during the Seventh Tour of a Seventh Tour in 1988.

Track listing

1. "The Evil That Men Do" (Dickinson, Harris, Smith) – 4:33
2. "Prowler '88" (Harris) – 4:07
3. "Charlotte the Harlot '88" (Dave Murray) – 4:11

Covers

• An all-star cover of the song can be found on the tribute album Numbers from the Beast which features Fozzy frontman and WWE wrestler Chris Jericho on vocals, Paul Gilbert and Bob Kulick on guitar, Mike Inez on bass, and Brent Fitz on drums. It follows the basic layout of the song, but varies in terms of guitar solos and vocal harmonics.
• Symphonic metal band After Forever covered the song on their Exordium EP.
• A cover featuring two vocals can be found on the tribute album Slave to the Power: The Iron Maiden Tribute
• The all-female tribute band The Iron Maidens covered the song on their 2008 EP The Root of All Evil.
• Swedish black metal band Naglfar covered the song on the Regain Records reissue of their album Vittra.
• Finnish progressive metal band Warmen have a song on their debut album "Unknown Soldier" called "The Evil That Warmen Do", assumingly taken from the Iron Maiden song of a similar name.
• Hellsongs also covered this song on their "Pieces of Heaven, a Glimpse of Hell" album.

Versions

Songs	Country & Year	Catalog Number	Format
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88	Germany 1988	EMI 006 20 2751 7	Single 7"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88	Japan Promo 1988	EMI PRP-1315	Single 7"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88	UK 1988	EMI EM 64	Black Labels Single 7"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88	UK 1988	EMI EM 64	Silver Labels Single 7"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88	UK 1988	EMI EMG 64	Gatefold Sleeve Single 7"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88	EEC 1988	EMI K60 20 2773 6	Maxi Single 12"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88	Greece 1988	EMI 052 2027736	Maxi Single 12"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88	Italy 1988	EMI 14 2027736	Maxi Single 12"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88	Portugal 1988	EMI 2027736	Maxi Single 12"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88	UK 1988	EMI 12 EM 64	Maxi Single 12"
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88	UK 1988	EMI EMP 64	Shaped Picture Disc
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88	Japan 1988	EMI CDE12-5740	CD Single
The Evil that Men Do / Prowler '88 / Charlotte the Harlot '88	UK 1988	EMI CDEM 64	CD Single

Personnel

• Bruce Dickinson – vocals
• Dave Murray – guitar
• Adrian Smith – guitar, backing vocals
• Steve Harris – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Nicko McBrain – drums

Chart performance

Single	Chart (1988)	Peak position	Album
"The Evil That Men Do"	Dutch Singles Chart	23	Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
	Irish Singles Chart	4
	Norwegian Singles Chart	7
	UK Singles Chart	5
Single	Chart (1990)	Peak position	Album
"Can I Play with Madness / The Evil That Men Do"	UK Albums Chart	10	—