The original version of this song was written by Bruce Dickinson for the Nightmare On Elm Street 5 soundtrack and featured Janick Gers on guitar (before he had joined Iron Maiden). According to the Iron Maiden FAQ, this song is based on the poem To His Coy Mistress by Andrew Marvell (16211678). After reading the poem several times, I am a bit skeptical that it has much to do with this song. To His Coy Mistress is a love poem, where the poet is urging his lady to abandon her coyness. On the other hand, the song seems to be coarsely sexual ('slaughter' is just a metaphor). Perhaps it parallels the poem in some extremely distant way, but shares in little of the poem's depth and introspectiveness. However the song is quite good musically, especially in the instrumental and excellent guitar solos, and was part of the standard concert setlist until the departure of Bruce Dickinson. But taken at face value, many people mostly those who have daughters! may be offended by the title and apparent subject of this song.

Here I tried to sum up what I thought Nightmare On Elm Street movies are really about, and it's all about adolescent fear of period pains. That's what I think it is deep down. When a young girl first gets her period she bleeds and it happens at night, and so she is afraid to go to sleep and it's a very terrifying time for her, sexually as well, and Nightmare On Elm Street targets that fear. The real slaughter in the Freddie movies is when she loses her virginity. That is the rather nasty thought behind it all, but that's what makes those kind of movies frightening.

Bruce Dickinson