"Stratego" is the name of a board game similar to chess. It is a slightly modified version of a late 19th century game, Japanese Military Chess, and an early 20th century French game, L'Attaque ("The Attack"). The title does not appear in the lyrics, and like many Iron Maiden songs, it's difficult to decipher. Our interpretation is that vocalist Bruce Dickinson is trying to put together some type of strategy to overcome his blues. Iron Maiden recorded the track back in 2019 at Guillaume Tell studios in Paris, so we can exclude any pandemic explanations of Dickinson's mental anguish.
Dickinson starts off the song by singing: How do you read a madman's mind? Teach me the art of war For I shall bring more than you bargained for The lyric links in with the album title Senjutsu, which is a Japanese word with several meanings, including "the art of war."
Maiden bass player Steve Harris, one of the group's founders, wrote this adrenaline-fueled song with their guitarist, Janick Gers. Harris also co-produced it with Kevin Shirley. Senjutsu is Maiden's sixth album produced by Shirley, who has also worked with the likes of Journey, Dream Theater and Led Zeppelin.
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