BDWBN: How did you get the idea for this book?
Brigitte: In December 2011, a friend of mine asked me if I helped him translating a couple of lyrics of Bruce’s The Chemical Wedding in German. To get a good translation you have to understand the meaning, though. Therefore, I took a look at the background. The result: I was immediately fascinated by Bruce’s skill of storytelling and the profoundness of his lyrics… and the intellectual substance challenged me! I continued interpreting Bruce’s lyrics for my own pleasure posting short interpretations in a German Iron Maiden forum every now and then.

BDWBN: Did you stumble upon any surprises in the lyrics? Or were they what you sort of expected from having been familiar with Bruce's and Maiden's music for years?
Brigitte: Bruce’s lyrics held quite some surprises; that’s why I couldn’t stop studying them. It’s fabulous to find something out you didn’t expect – like playing Sherlock. Taking the Queen on the Accident of Birth album, for example, references the English occultist Aleister Crowley – complete surprise.

BDWBN: Are there any songs you have re-evaluated musically, after taking a closer look at the lyrics?
Brigitte: Yes, there are. Before studying the lyrics, I listened to the music in an easy way without especially concentrating on its components. I’ve loved the song Silver Wings at the first listen. Since I’ve interpreted the song, though, I’ve admired the musical way of expressing the meaning of its lyrics. You could catch the story by only listening to the music.

BDWBN: Are there any lyrics you think don't really match the music?
Brigitte: No. When you’ve got the impression the lyrics don’t match the music, there’s a deeper meaning. Bruce creates interesting contrasts in this way in Taking the Queen and Road to Hell, for example.

BDWBN: There are plenty of interviews where Bruce talks about his lyrics, describing how he came up with them and giving insight to the meaning behind them. Was it a deliberate decision not to include such information?
Brigitte: Quite the contrary I included quite often Bruce’s explanations as a kind of starting point in my interpretations. And sometimes I was quite grateful to have some hints as for the right direction. Except when I’d understood the deeper meaning of a song and came across Bruce’s elucidations afterwards showing me I was right, I didn’t mention it. Normally, Bruce didn’t explain his songs in all this detail like I did of course. Furthermore, I also focussed on HOW he composed his songs (imagery, structure, etc.) to express certain messages and emotions.

BDWBN: The lyrics in your book are all from songs on Europe/US-released studio albums. Are there any particular reasons why you didn't analyze lyrics to b-sides and other extra tracks?
Brigitte: At a certain point I had just to decide which songs I wanted to include in my book. First, it was a kind of gut decision not to consider B-sides and extra tracks. To be honest, it was a huge amount of work anyway to prepare the meaning of the lyrics on the official albums. Moreover, I made use of the albums in my CD shelf referring to the lyrics in the album sleeves. If Bruce published another solo album, perhaps I would release a second edition of the book also including extra tracks.

BDWBN: Which are your three favorite lyrics and why?
Brigitte: Hard choice! In fact, there are more than three lyrics on my favourites list. I mention the ones coming spontaneously in my mind. There is Space Race because the lyrics seem to be quite straightforward whereas they’re more profound as one might expect. Taking the Queen since the lyrics (and music) are so contrasting, being soft and brutal at the same time. Finally, the lyrics containing criticism of misinterpreted religion (which are numerous throughout Bruce’s albums) as for example in Trumpets of Jericho.

BDWBN: Are there any lyrics that you find are a bit below Bruce's normal standard?
Brigitte: Perhaps some lyrics on Tattooed Millionaire for he wrote them for the fun of it.

BDWBN: You met Bruce at a Bruce Air Flight 666 Simulator event and showed him some of your interpretations. Do you want to share with us which interpretations?
Brigitte: Sure, why not. I gave him the interpretations of five songs: A Tyranny of Souls, Accident of Birth, Jerusalem, Man of Sorrows and The Alchemist. It was a raw version and, oh my, my English was still quite poor. When I re-interpreted them, I even spotted some textual misunderstandings.

BDWBN: Are you happy with the way the book turned out or would you have wanted to do anything differently? You didn't get permission to reprint the lyrics, for instance.
Brigitte: Certainly, I imagined my book having at least some original lyrics in it. It would’ve been a lot easier for me to demonstrate and prove their meanings. Moreover, I would have liked to illustrate the book with album art and photos – at least Accident of Birth, The Chemical Wedding and Tyranny of Souls for I refer to the album covers in the respective introductions. Sure, the book turned out to be different; nevertheless I love it just as it is now. Having to give up on reprinting the lyrics and illustrations I’ve just mentioned, I think the writing became more precise, more descriptive to cover the lack as it were. Like this, I guess, it is more pleasant and interesting to read.

BDWBN: If you were to give Bruce a subject to research and write a concept album about, what would that be?
Brigitte: Hmm, well,… what about a subject near to Bruce’s philosophy demonstrated in some of his songs: life after death? Both the humanities and the sciences examine near-death-experiences. This means the issue combines spiritual and scientific ideas. There is for example Pim van Lommel’s treatise on afterlife and the nature of human consciousness. He proposed our consciousness was found outside of the individual human being and like this being endless. In any case I’m looking very much forward to Bruce’s already announced next solo album. I’m sure it will be gorgeous once again as for both the music and the lyrics.

Thanks to Brigitte for finding time to answer these questions for us.