The Green Manalishi (with the two prong crown) Cover

As covered by Judas Priest (1979)

"The Green Manalishi (With the Two Prong Crown)" is a song written by Peter Green and recorded by Fleetwood Mac. It was released as a single in the UK in May 1970 and reached No. 10 on the British charts, a position it occupied for four consecutive weeks, and was the band's last UK top 10 hit until "Tusk" reached No. 6 in 1979. "The Green Manalishi" was the last song Green made with Fleetwood Mac before leaving the band.

The song was written during Green's final months with the band, at a time when he was struggling with LSD and had withdrawn from other members of the band. While there are several theories about the meaning of the title "Green Manalishi", Green always maintained that the song is about money, as represented by the devil. Green was reportedly angered by the other band members' refusal to share their financial gains.

Green has explained that he wrote the song after experiencing a drug-induced dream in which he was visited by a green dog which barked at him. He understood that the dog represented money. "It scared me because I knew the dog had been dead a long time. It was a stray and I was looking after it. But I was dead and had to fight to get back into my body, which I eventually did. When I woke up, the room was really black and I found myself writing the song." He also said that he wrote the lyrics the following day, in Richmond Park. Supposedly, he was unable to record Robert Johnson's "Hellhound on My Trail" following the incident, having conflated Johnson's hellhound with the green dog-demon of his dream.[citation needed] This is supported by his discography, in which Green's sole post-Manalishi cover of "Hellhound" was sung by bandmate Nigel Watson.

Producer Martin Birch recalled that Green was initially frustrated that he could not get the sound he wanted, but Danny Kirwan reassured him that they would stay in the studio all night until the band got it right. Green said later that although the session left him exhausted, "Green Manalishi" was still one of his best musical memories. "Lots of drums, bass guitars ... Danny Kirwan and me playing those shrieking guitars together ... I thought it would make Number One."

The B-side of the single was an instrumental written by Green and Danny Kirwan, titled "World In Harmony". The two tracks were recorded at the same session in Warner/Reprise Studios, in Hollywood, California. The only track bearing a Kirwan/Green writing credit, the two had plans to collaborate further on a guitar-driven album, but the project never materialised.

Heavy metal band Judas Priest covered the song on their 1979 album Hell Bent for Leather (the American version of Killing Machine). The first worldwide release was on the band's live album, Unleashed in the East, released later that year. A re-recording of the song was also added as a bonus track on the German/Australian version of the album Demolition in 2001. The band performed it on Live Aid at JFK Stadium, Pennsylvania in 1985. This version features a dual guitar solo played by Glenn Tipton and K. K. Downing.