Dio - The Last in Line (1984) Bass cover/playthrough

Original bassist - Jimmy Bain

"The Last in Line" is the third single released by heavy metal band Dio, appearing on their platinum-certified LP of the same name. It was Dio's only song to hit the Top 10 of Billboard's Album Rock Tracks.

Unlike the band's first two singles, this song was not released as a single in the UK, but rather in the Netherlands, Spain and Australia. There is also an alternate version in the Netherlands sold only at the Pinkpop '84 festival on June 11, 1984. The sleeve of this release was the same as the band's previous single, "Rainbow in the Dark", with the Pinkpop logo in the corner.

A music video was made for the single and was directed by Don Coscarelli, who is known for directing the horror film series Phantasm. The video features a teenage delivery boy who is tasked with a delivery to a building. Upon entering an elevator, it suddenly goes haywire and sends him to a fantastical dimension. He is then accosted by a cyborg and is enslaved with several other people and creatures to be tortured by various means (e.g. endlessly playing arcade games that electrocute the losers). At one point, the demon creature from the album cover is seen as the slaves are being led to their fates. The horrified boy takes off back to the elevator and is accosted again by the same cyborg from earlier. Ronnie James Dio, who was seen performing the song with his band, intervenes and saves the boy, before being captured by the other cyborgs. The video ends with the boy making it back to the elevator and returning to his home world.

The song was covered by Tenacious D for the 2014 This Is Your Life tribute album. Their cover won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance.

Lyrics:

We're the ship without a storm
The cold without the warm
Light inside the darkness
That it needs, yeah

We're a laugh without tear
The hope without the fear
We are coming, home

We're off to the witch
We may never, never, never, come home
But the magic that we'll feel
Is worth the lifetime

We're all born upon the cross
We're the throw before the toss
You can release yourself
But the only way is down

We don't come alone
We are fire, we are stone
We're the hand that writes
Then quickly moves away

We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line, yeah
We're the last in line

Two eyes from the east
It's the angel or the beast
And the answer lies
Between the good and bad

We search for the truth
We could die upon the tooth
But the thrill of just the chase
Is worth the pain

We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line, yeah
We're the last in line, oh

Yeah, we're off to the witch
We may never, never, never come home
But the magic that we'll feel
Is worth a lifetime

We're all born upon the cross
You know we're the throw before the toss
You can release yourself
But the only way to go is down

We'll know for the first time
If we're evil or divine
We're the last in line, oh
We're the last in line
See how we shine

We're the last in
We're the last in
We're the last in
We're the last in
We're the last in
We're the first in line, oh

We're a ship without a storm
We're the cold inside the warm
We're the laugh without tear
We're the smile without the mirror

We're the last in line
We're the last in line
We're the last in line
See how we shine
We're the last in line