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Metallica - Hero Of The Day

Metallica - Hero Of The Day Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Load
Released: 1996

Hero Of The Day Lyrics

Hero Of The Day

James Hetfield says this song is about children who look outside of their homes for heroes, when their heroes should be their parents.

Load was originally meant to be a double album set with ReLoad, but due to unforeseen problems in the producing of ReLoad the album was split.

Guitarist Kirk Hammett told Kerrang! September 13, 2008 that this contains one of his favorite Metallica guitar solos. He explained: "it's not a particularly shreddy solo, but it's a really melodic and I feel it definitely lifts the song up to a different level after it comes in."

Metallica - Don't Tread On Me

Metallica - Don't Tread On Me Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Metallica
Released: 1991

Don't Tread On Me Lyrics

Don't Tread On Me

The motto "Don't Tread On Me" was very popular in colonial America. It is not known who originally coined the phrase, but it was paired up with the image of the American timber rattlesnake and printed on a famous flag commonly referred to as the "Gadsden Flag." Use of this flag and variations of it by American soldiers, sailors, and Marines grew fast and widespread during the American Revolution. There is a great historical significance and meaning to this flag and it is heavily linked to the Metallica song. The idea of the rattlesnake as a symbol of America was first thought of by Benjamin Franklin when he published the world's first ever political cartoon in 1754. It was a rattlesnake cut into several pieces and each part labeled a different colony. Under the snake it said "Join, or Die," encouraging colonial unity in standing up to the homeland monarchy ruling them from across the sea. Over the next two decades the rattlesnake, or more specifically the American timber rattlesnake of the northeastern states gained popularity (notice the rattlesnake on the cover of Metallica's Black Album).

The opening guitar riff (with triplets) is taken from the song "America" in the 1957 musical West Side Story.

In a 2001 interview for Playboy magazine, Hetfield rated this as not one of his favorites musically. The band never played it live.

This has been criticized for its jingoistic lyrics. At the time, the band's Danish drummer Lars Ulrich had to look up the word "jingoistic" in a dictionary, to see what it meant. He said: "It pissed me off!"

Metallica - Blackened

Metallica - Blackened Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: ...And Justice For All
Released: 1988

Blackened Lyrics

Blackened

This is about the end of the world as written in The Bible. It also deals with pollution, deforestation and other social problems. (thanks, Ryan - Ireland)

The Intro was recorded by reversing the guitars and using several overdubs. (thanks, JT - Tullahoma, TN)

This is one of three Metallica songs (along with "My Friend Of Misery" and "Where the Wild Things Are") that was co-written by Jason Newsted, who was their bass player from 1986-2001. ...And Justice for All was the first studio album he played on with the band, and "Blackened" was the first track he helped write.

Composing the song with James Hetfield was a special moment for Newsted, as he was still a bit starstruck and thrilled to find himself kicking around ideas with the Metallica frontman. In our interview with Jason Newsted , he told the story:

We were in my one-bedroom apartment. I had my little four-track Tascam set up in the corner of the bedroom, and we were jamming on our guitars, just playing through some riffs. I played that "Blackened" riff, and he goes, "Dude, what is that?" Because it was really pretty crazy. The original thing is a very fast alternating thing. Man, it's pretty tricky, actually. I mean, the one that ended up on the record is pretty tricky, too, but the original one is really tricky.

He picked up on that and we recorded that bit. And he goes, "Let's build it to this, and build it to this." It was a moment. I was actually composing a song with James from Metallica and he was approving my riffs and saying, "This is going to be a Metallica song." That was a big, big moment for me. We had already been on tour together, and so I had a giant Damage Inc. tour poster on my bedroom wall right above my little station where I had my speakers and my little four-track and the two or three guitars in my collection.

And there we were, I could paint that picture for you very plainly. It was a very, very big moment for me, because I was getting approved from The Man to have my first chance on having one of my compositions on a Metallica record. So that was a very special time.

Metallica - The Memory Remains

Metallica - The Memory Remains Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: ReLoad
Released: 1997

The Memory Remains Lyrics

The Memory Remains

The woman who sings the haunting, unsettling ending and bridge is a British woman by the name of Marianne Faithfull. She started out as a member of London's '60s swing scene, moving up slowly through a life of love, loss, and drug abuse. A cohort of The Rolling Stones, she dated Mick Jagger for a while. (thanks, Lacy - Yukon, OK)

The song is about a celebrity who is fading into obscurity and it is driving her mad. The theme is similar to that of the movie Sunset Boulevard.

Some of Faithfull's lyrics ("Say yes... at least say hello...") were taken from the Marilyn Monroe movie The Misfits.

When Metallica plays this live, the crowd sings Faithfull's parts.

Metallica performed this on Saturday Night Live with Faithfull. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France, for above 4)

Metallica Faithfull recalled to Billboard magazine how the collaboration happened. "I was in Ireland, quietly living my beautiful life, and suddenly the phone rang and this voice said, 'Hello, Marianne Faithfull? This is Lars from Metallica,'" she said. "And then the story unfolded that what they wanted was to fly to Dublin and to record me for 'The Memory Remains' and put me on the song and that's what they did. And I made great friends with them of course and we stayed in touch."

Metallica - Mama Said

Metallica - Mama Said Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Load
Released: 1996

Mama Said Lyrics

Mama she has taught me well
Told me when I was young
"Son your life's an open book
Don't close it 'fore its done"

"The brightest flame burns quickest"
That's what I heard her say
A son's heart's owed to mother
But I must find my way

Let my heart go
Let your son grow
Mama, let my heart go
Or let this heart be still
Yeah, still

Rebel, my new last name
Wild blood in my veins
Apron strings around my neck

The mark that still remains
Left home at an early age
Of what I heard was wrong
I never asked forgiveness
But what is said is done

Let my heart go
Let your son grow
Mama, let my heart go
Or let this heart be still

Never I ask of you
But never I gave
But you gave me your emptiness that I'll take to my grave
Never I ask of you
But never I gave
But you gave me your emptiness that I'll take to my grave
So let this heart be still

Mama, now I'm coming home
I'm not all you wished of me
A mother's love for her son
Unspoken, and maybe
Yeah, I took your love for granted
And all the things you said to me
I need your arms to welcome me
But, a cold stone's all I see

Let my heart go
Let your son grow
Mama, let my heart go
Or let this heart be still
Let my heart go
Mama, let my heart go

You never let my heart go
So let this heart be still

Never I ask of you
But never I gave
But you gave me your emptiness that I'll take to my grave
Never I ask of you
But never I gave
But you gave me your emptiness that I'll take to my grave

So let this heart be still

Writer/s: SUGG, PATRICK/GARRETT, SCOTT/ORTEGA, DEAN/LEE, GARY /
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Mama Said

This is a song for James Hetfield's mother, who died of cancer when he was young. The song talks about his regrets of not being able to spend more time with her and how he hopes that she will still love him when he sees her again ("Mama now I'm coming home. I'm not all you wished of me. A mother's love for her son unspoken, help me be. Yeah I took your love for granted and all the things you said to me. I need your arms to welcome me. But a cold stone is all I see.") (thanks, Josh - El Paso, TX)

In an interview with Mojo magazine December 2008, Hetfield referred to this song about his mother as, "like a prodigal son song: leaving and then coming back and it's too late, you can't talk to her now." He added: "It was a realization that lots of questions went unanswered. 'I want to say this. I want to ask you this.' And you're unable to. But through therapy I was able to do a lot of grief work, about both parents."

Metallica - Shoot Me Again

Metallica - Shoot Me Again Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: St. Anger
Released: 2003

Shoot Me Again Lyrics

I won't go away
Right here I'll stay

Stand silent in flames
Stand tall 'till it fades

Shoot Me Again
I ain't dead yet (x4)

Shoot me again
Shoot me again
Shoot me!
Shoot me again
Shoot me again
C'mon! (x2)

All the shots I take
I spit back at you
All the shit you fake
Comes back to haunt you

All the shots...
All the shots...

All the shots I take
What difference did I make?
All the shots I take
I spit back at you

I won't go away
With a bullet in my back!
Right here I'll stay
With a bullet in my back!

Shoot me...
Take a shot
Shoot me...
Take a shot
Shoot me...
Take a shot
Shoot me...
Take a shot

I'll stand on my own
With a bullet in my back!
I'm stranded and sold
With a bullet in my back!

Shoot me again
I ain't dead yet (x4)

Shoot me again
Shoot me again
C'mon!
Shoot me again
Shoot me again
C'mon! (x2)

All the shots I take
I spit back at you
All the shit you fake
Comes back to haunt you

All the shots...
All the shots...

All the shots I take
What difference did I make?
All the shots I take
I spit back at you

I bite my tongue
Trying not to shoot back
No compromise
My heart won't pump the other way

Wake the sleeping giant
Wake the beast
Wake the sleeping dog
No, let him sleep

I bite my tongue
Trying not to shoot back...

All the shots I take
I spit back at you
All the shit you fake
Comes back to haunt you

All the shots...
All the shots...

All the shots I take
What difference did I make?
All the shots I take
I spit back at you

Writer/s: ROCK, ROBERT JENS/HETFIELD, JAMES/ULRICH, LARS
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Shoot Me Again

This was inspired by their dispute with Napster. It's saying that no matter what shots are thrown at them, they wont fall down dead. (thanks, Joseph - LA, CA)

Metallica - Lords of Summer

Metallica - Lords of Summer Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Not Yet Included on an Album
Released: 2014

Lords of Summer Lyrics

Lords of Summer

Metallica debuted this epic, eight-minute number during their 2014 tour kick off in Bogota, Colombia on March 16 2014. It was the band's first original music since 2012's Beyond Magnetic EP, which were themselves outtakes from their 2008 album Death Magnetic.

Metallica's Lars Ulrich told Rolling Stone the song is, "fairly representative of where our creative headspace is at right now. It's one of those things that's like, 'Here, we're writing and we're creating.'"

Lars Ulrich told Metal Hammer the song was written about the band's 2014 tour. He said: "It's about being outdoors and festivals and here we are again."

Metallica - To Live Is To Die

Metallica - To Live Is To Die Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: ...And Justice For All
Released: 1988

To Live Is To Die Lyrics

To Live Is To Die

This song is a tribute to Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a tour bus crash. It is instrumental except the spoken word piece near the end - this was a poem that Cliff wrote before he died (thanks, Toke - Stoke, England)

The line, "These are the pale deaths which men miscall their lives" comes from the book Lord Foul's Bane, Book One of the series "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever" by Stephen R. Donaldson. In the book, the main character decides to write a poem to amuse himself. The full poem is as follows:
These are the pale deaths
which men miscall their lives:
for all the scents of green things growing,
each breath is but an exhalation of the grave.
Bodies jerk like puppet corpses,
and hell walks laughing.
(thanks, Evan - Columbus, GA)

Metallica singer James Hetfield explained to Mojo magazine December 2008 that this song is an "homage to Cliff without going over the top." He added: "It's about realizing how grateful we were to have that time with him."

Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett on the first part of the "To Live Is To Die" solo (Guitar Player, April 1989): "That's a very straight blues box. It was the very last solo I did on the album. It was recorded at 5:00 in the morning, just a few hours before we had to leave for the Monsters Of Rock tour. I just played off the top of my head. On the other solos I carefully figured out the most appropriate scales for the chord changes." (thanks, Olli - Finland)

Metallica - The House Jack Built

Metallica - The House Jack Built Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Load
Released: 1996

The House Jack Built Lyrics

The House Jack Built

This is a song about drug abuse. The line, "The higher you are, the farther you fall" is a metaphor James Hetfield came up with to describe the effect of drugs. (thanks, jake - Las Vegas, NV)

Metallica - Bleeding Me

Metallica - Bleeding Me Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Load
Released: 1996

Bleeding Me Lyrics

Bleeding Me

The writing credits on this song go to Kirk Hammett, James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. Jason Newsted , who was the band's bass player at the time, explained that to him, the song is about a person who is being put through mental torture.

Some lyric analysis:
"I'm sowing the seeds I take for granted" - He gets what he gives based on what he does to other people.
"Caught under wheels roll" - He can't stop abusing or being abused.
"Feed me a cure" - He is asking for help.
The point of the song is, don't abuse unless you can take the abuse, or don't dish out what you can't take. (thanks, Anthony - Wichita, KS, for above 2)

Metallica - St. Anger

Metallica - St. Anger Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: St. Anger
Released: 2003

St. Anger Lyrics

Saint Anger 'round my neck
Saint Anger 'round my neck
He never gets respect
Saint Anger 'round my neck

You flush it out, you flush it out
Saint Anger 'round my neck
You flush it out, you flush it out
He never gets respect
You flush it out, you flush it out
Saint Anger 'round my neck
You flush it out, you flush it out
He never gets respect

Fuck it all and fuckin' regrets
I hit the lights on these dark sets
I need a voice to let myself
To let myself go free
Fuck it all and fuckin' no regrets
I it the lights on these dark sets
I tie a noose to hang myself
Saint Anger 'round my neck

I feel my world shake
Like an earthquake
It's hard to see clear
Is it me? Is it fear?

I'm madly in anger with you!
I'm madly in anger with you!
I'm madly in anger with you!
I'm madly in anger with you!

Saint Anger 'round my neck
Saint Anger 'round my neck
He never gets respect
Saint Anger 'round my neck

You flush it out, you flush it out
Saint Anger 'round my neck
You flush it out, you flush it out
He never gets respect
You flush it out, you flush it out
Saint Anger 'round my neck
You flush it out, you flush it out
He never gets respect

Fuck it all and fuckin' no regrets
I hit the lights on these dark sets
I need a voice to let myself
To let myself go free
Fuck it all and fuckin' no regrets
I hit the lights on these dark sets
Medallion noose, I hang myself
Saint Anger 'round my neck

I feel my world shake
Like an earthquake
It's hard to see clear
Is it me? Is it fear?

I'm madly in anger with you!
I'm madly in anger with you!
I'm madly in anger with you!
I'm madly in anger with you!

And I want my anger to be healthy
And I want my anger just for me
And I need my anger not to control
And I want my anger to be me

And I need to set my anger free
And I need to set my anger free
And I need to set my anger free
And I need to set my anger free

Set it free!

Fuck it all and fuckin' no regrets
I hit the lights on these dark sets
I need a voice to let myself
To let myself go free
Fuck it all and fuckin' no regrets
I it the lights on these dark sets
I tie noose to hang myself
Saint Anger 'round my neck

I feel my world shake
Like an earthquake
It's hard to see clear
Is it me? Is it fear?

I'm madly in anger with you!
I'm madly in anger with you!
I'm madly in anger with you!
I'm madly in anger with you!

Writer/s: ROCK, ROBERT JENS/HETFIELD, JAMES/ULRICH, LARS
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

St. Anger

This song is about venting anger in a positive way. The lyrics describe how the band felt restrained in the past - having "St. Anger 'round my neck." (thanks, Anthony - Wichita, KS)

James Hetfield has said that this is about his fight with alcoholism. (thanks, Scott - Palm Springs, CA)

There are no guitar solos on the St. Anger album. (thanks, Micha - Opole, Poland)

In this song there are references to the places Metallica played in their early days. These venues were often really run-down places, but they have no regrets about playing them. (thanks, Karen - Dunfermline, Scotland)

The line, "I hit the lights on these dark sets" is a reference to the song "Hit The Lights," the first song on their first full length album, Kill 'Em All, highlighting Metallica moving into a new era after recovering from addiction and a long hiatus. (thanks, iain - edinburgh, Scotland)

To promote the St. Anger album, Metallica performed this live at San Quentin prison. A week later, an MTV Icons show was devoted to the band. The prison performance was the first time James Hetfield played since his stint in rehab.

Metallica has a tendency to place the songs that the albums are named for on track #2 of their albums. That's the case here, and also for "Ride The Lightning," "Master of Puppets" and "...And Justice For All." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France, for above 2)

The line, "F--k it all and f---king no regrets," is taken straight from "Damage, Inc." on the Master of Puppets album. Another line taken from this song is, "Never happy ending on these dark sets," slightly changed to say, "Hit the lights on these dark sets." (thanks, Colin - Cooperstown, NY)

Metallica - For Whom The Bell Tolls

Metallica - For Whom The Bell Tolls Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Ride The Lightning
Released: 1984

For Whom The Bell Tolls Lyrics

Make his fight on the hill in the early day
Constant chill deep inside
Shouting gun, on they run through the endless grey
On the fight, for they are right, yes, by who's to say?
For a hill men would kill, why? They do not know
Stiffened wounds test there their pride
Men of five, still alive through the raging glow
Gone insane from the pain that they surely know

For Whom The Bell Tolls
Time marches on
For whom the bell tolls

Take a look to the sky just before you die
It is the last time you will
Blackened roar massive roar fills the crumbling sky
Shattered goal fills his soul with a ruthless cry
Stranger now, are his eyes, to this mystery
He hears the silence so loud
Crack of dawn, all is gone except the will to be
Now they see what will be, blinded eyes to see

For whom the bell tolls
Time marches on
For whom the bell tolls

Writer/s: GIBB, MAURICE ERNEST / GIBB, ROBIN HUGH / GIBB, BARRY ALAN
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

For Whom The Bell Tolls

The lyrics are based on the Ernest Hemingway novel of the same name. The book is about an American who is given the job of taking out a bridge held by the Fascist army in the Spanish Civil War - the precursor to the World War II. He fell in love and then found out very disturbing things about life and death. (thanks, Anthony - Wichita, KS)

Hemingway's book is based on a John Doone poem from 1623.

This song is a commentary on the futility of war. The last few lines of the song diverge from the book to make this point. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France, for above 2)

This is another song in which Cliff Burton's unique lead bass style is often mistaken for a guitar solo. Burton played the intro using light distortion on his bass.

According to Kirk Hammett, Burton regularly played the intro bass riff when the pair of them were hanging out in their hotel room. The guitarist recalled to Rolling Stone in 2014: "He used to carry around an acoustic classical guitar that he detuned so that he could bend the strings. Anyway, when he would play that riff, I would think, 'That's such a weird, atonal riff that isn't really heavy at all.'"

"I remember him playing it for James (Hetfield, vocals), and James adding that accent to it and all of a sudden, it changed," Hammett added. "It's such a crazy riff. To this day, I think, 'How did he write that?' Whenever I hear nowadays, it's like, 'OK, Cliff's in the house.'"

Metallica - The Four Horsemen

Metallica - The Four Horsemen Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Kill 'Em All
Released: 1983

The Four Horsemen Lyrics

The Four Horsemen

Dave Mustaine brought this song to the band and worked on it with James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich. At the time, they called it "The Mechanix," and included it on their 1992 demo cassette No Life 'Til Leather.

After Mustaine was fired from the band in 1983, Metallica released Kill 'Em All with a re-worked version of this song renamed "The Four Horsemen." Mustaine's new group, Megadeth, released it as "Mechanix" as the last track on their first album, Killing Is My Business....
Mustaine's version has completely different lyrics, but the music is very similar. Since the Metallica song had been out for a while, Mustaine would often introduce "Mechanix" in concert by explaining that it was a track he wrote with Metallica. (thanks, Terry - Belleville, Canada)

"The Four Horsemen" is a biblical reference. In The New Testament, "The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse" go in different directions to spread the word of the end of the world. The concept of The Four Horsemen is not limited to The Bible. In 1924, a sportswriter referred to The Notre Dame football team's backfield as "The Four Horsemen," and the school had the players pose on horses with their uniforms on to publicize the team, which was coached by the legendary Knute Rockne. The photo became famous when it was picked up by wire services and the nickname stuck. For Metallica, The Four Horsemen could refer to the four members of the band.

Dave Mustaine claims credit for the title. A group called Gamma (led by Ronnie Montrose) has a song called
"Four Horsemen" that Mustaine played in his pre-Metallica band, Panic. He would refer to Metallica as "The Four Horsemen" and suggested they cover the Gamma song. The band never did the cover, but they did appropriate the title.

The bit of "Sweet Home Alabama" in the middle of the song came about after Dave Mustaine had been listening to some Lynryd Skynyrd. When the band was working on the song, Mustaine played played some of "Alabama" because, as he says, he was "being a jerk." His little joke worked, however, and the final product ended up including the bit of the Skynyrd classic.

James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Dave Mustaine are the credited writers on this track. Mustaine also got credits on the Kill 'Em All tracks "Jump in the Fire," "Phantom Lord" and "Metal Militia."

Bruce Dickinson, lead singer of Iron Maiden, has called Metallica "the f--king bane of my life." In the Iron Maiden computer game Ed Hunter, there is a level set in Hell in which you can kill the "four horsemen." (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada)

Metallica has a habit of cutting the song in half by skipping the jam-like solo on the bridge of the song. It wasn't until December 7, 2011, on their 30th anniversary, that they played "The Four Horsemen" from beginning to end, including the bridge solo. (thanks, Cristian - Bellflower, CA)

The original album title was "Metal Up Yer Ass," with artwork of an arm holding a knife coming out of a toilet bowl. They thought it might cause problems, so they toned it down to Kill 'Em All, with a bloody hammer as artwork.

Metallica - The Unforgiven II

Metallica - The Unforgiven II Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: ReLoad
Released: 1997

The Unforgiven II Lyrics

The Unforgiven II

This is a sequel to their 1991 song "Unforgiven." Both songs start with the same extended note. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

The boy in the video is the same boy from the first "Unforgiven" video. In the first one, he was about 8 years old. In this one, he's about 14.

This was written by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Kirk Hammett. (thanks, Nick - Paramus, NJ, for above 2)

Metallica have rarely played this live. The song was first aired during the band's December 1997 performance at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. Metallica performed the track live for the second time ever on May 29, 2015 at the Rock Im Revier festival in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Metallica - Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

Metallica - Welcome Home (Sanitarium) Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Master Of Puppets
Released: 1986

Welcome Home (Sanitarium) Lyrics

Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

A sanitarium is a mental institution that an inmate can leave at his own free will.

This is somewhat inspired by the play/movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. The movie stars Jack Nicholson as a mental patient.

Metallica members James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, and Kirk Hammett wrote this.

The chorus was supposed to be sung in a higher pitch, but while recording the vocals, James realized it wasn't going to work that way and sang it lower.

Limp Bizkit performed this on Metallica's MTV Icon special in May 2003. (thanks, Nick - Paramus, NJ)

On the HBO special Paradise Lost: The Murder At Robin Hood Hills (West Memphis), this song was played in the opening shots. This marks the first time Metallica ever let their music be used in a movie or soundtrack. (thanks, Jodie - Jacksonville, AR)

In the original demo tape of this song, the lyrics were very much different. The demo tape included no chorus; it contained basically the same tune, but halfway in the song cuts off into the bass Interlude of "Orion" which is another song on the album. (thanks, JT - Tullahoma, TN)

Metallica - Fade To Black

Metallica - Fade To Black Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Ride The Lightning
Released: 1984

Fade To Black Lyrics

Life it seems to fade away
Drifting further everyday
Getting lost within myself
Nothing matters no one else
I have lost the will to live
Simply nothing more to give
There is nothing more for me
Need the end to set me free

Things not what they used to be
Missing one inside of me
Deathly loss this can't be real
Cannot stand this hell I feel
Emptiness is filling me
To the point of agony
Growing darkness taking dawn
I was me but now, he's gone

No one but me can save myself, but its too late
Now I can't think, think why I should even try

Yesterday seems as though it never existed
Death greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye
Goodbye

Writer/s: PAGAN, RICK HOLLYWOOD / STEELE, LISA
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Fade To Black

The song is about wondering if this life is worth living and wishing to be dead. In the last 2 verses the person in the song realizes life is too good to let go, but by that time, its too late: "No one but me, can save myself but its too late." (thanks, John - kenosha, WI)

Metallica wrote this after their equipment was stolen in early '84 and they had to start all over again. More specifically, James Hetfield wrote the lyrics in response to one of his amps being stolen. Not only was this amp his favorite, but it was also the first amp he ever owned so it had a lot of sentimental value to him. The song is about losing everything and wondering if it is worth going on. (thanks, Brad - La Crosse, WI)

Kirk Hammett improvised while playing the final solo. He just thought about very depressing things while playing. (thanks, Nick - Paramus, NJ, for above 2)

For Jason Newsted , who joined Metallica on bass after Cliff Burton died in 1986, this is a very meaningful song. It was the last one he performed on tour with Metallica before leaving in 2001. He noted that it was his favorite Metallica song, and that it had "a lot of sentimental value." At the end of his final performance, Jason was in tears.

This was the first ballad Metallica released. In an MTV interview with James Hetfield on the set of their MTV Icon special, he explained that he and Lars Ulrich were obsessed with death at the time.

Jason Newsted's former band Flotsam And Jetsam had a completely different song called "Fade To Black" on their 1986 album Doomsday For The Deceiver.

Metallica was playing this song at their 1992 concert in Montreal's Olympic Stadium when James Hetfield was burned badly by wayward stage pyrotechnics.

The song's title is never mentioned in the lyrics, although the Metallica song "The Memory Remains" on their 1997 album Reload does have "fade to black" in the lyrics. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France, for above 4)

Sonata Arctica covered this for the 2002 compilation album A Tribute to the Four Horseman. (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada)

Disturbed covered this on the Music As A Weapon II CD. (thanks, Danny - Franklin, GA)

This was the last song played on the Long Beach, California, radio station KNAC before signing off on February 15, 1995 at 2 p.m. KNAC was the first radio station to play Metallica's music and the first to air the famous "Mandatory Metallica" night show. James and Lars were co-hosts on the day KNAC signed off. (thanks, Lucas - Los Angeles, CA)

Metallica - Master Of Puppets

Metallica - Master Of Puppets Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Master Of Puppets
Released: 1986

Master Of Puppets Lyrics

Master Of Puppets

The "Master" of puppets is a reference to drugs. Throughout the song the "Master" controls you and your life. This is evident in lyrics like, "chop your breakfast on a mirror," "The Master Of Puppets is pulling your strings, twisting your mind and smashing your dreams." Drugs is the Master while the drug user is the puppet. (thanks, Tore - W. Germany)

Metallica recorded this with the San Francisco Symphony in 1999. That version is on their album, S&M.

James Hetfield plays the first solo during the slow instrumental part, Kirk Hammet plays the final, fast heavy solo. While playing the solo, Kirk pulled the top string off of the fretboard of the guitar (usually done by accident when someone bends the high string down instead of up) to make the really high siren-like sound. Everyone loved the way it sounded on the track so they kept it that way.

There are two ways the song is played live. There is one where they just play the song how it is normally played in it's entirety, and another where they play the first two verses, and when it's time for the instrumental part they play another song (like "Nothing Else Matters" or "Sanitarium") and when that song is done they continue the final verse of "Master Of Puppets."

This was written by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett, and Cliff Burton.

At the end of the song, you can hear backwards recordings of the band's guitars while the bandmember's echoed laughter is played. (thanks, Nick - Paramus, NJ, for above 4)

In an MTV Icon special, James Hetfield said that it wasn't until after this song was written that he realized it related to his alcoholism. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)

James Hetfield in Thrasher magazine: "'Master of Puppets' deals pretty much with drugs. How things get switched around, instead of you controlling what you're taking and doing it's drugs controlling you. Like, I went to a party here in San Francisco, there were all these freaks shooting up and geezin' and this other girl was real sick."

When Metallica played two shows in China in 2013, the Chinese government told them not to play this song - perhaps not wanting to harbor unrest with lyrics about being controlled by a greater entity. The band complied, although Kirk Hammett made sure to play the riff during their sets.

Metallica - The God That Failed

Metallica - The God That Failed Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: Metallica
Released: 1991

The God That Failed Lyrics

The God That Failed

This song is about how people seem to rely too much on religion to help with their problems. When James Hetfield's mother had cancer, she didn't take medication because she believed faith would heal her. Some time later, she died. (thanks, Joseph - LA, CA)

Producer Bob Rock told Musicradar.com : "The God That Failed is deep. It's not just a cheap shot at religion; it's him tackling the subject in a very complex manner. Emotionally, it's as real as 'Nothing Else Matters.'"

The Black Album was the first Metallica record produced by Rock, which meant he had to change some of the band's working practices, including that of guitarist Kirk Hammett on this song. He recalled to Musicradar.com: "Working with Kirk on this song was interesting – and this goes for the whole record, too: I was told that he'd come in the last few weeks of making a record to do his guitar solos. I told everybody right off, 'Well, that's not how we're going to do things. He's going to play live, like everybody else.'

At first, Kirk was very uncomfortable with this approach, but he was game and played what he thought were guide solos. In many cases, including this one, his first ideas were the ones that we'd go back to and use when doing overdubs. He learned how to be spontaneous."

Metallica - One

Metallica - One Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

Album: ...And Justice For All
Released: 1988

One Lyrics

I can't remember anything
Can't tell if this is true or dream
Deep down inside I feel to scream
This terrible silence stops me

Now that the war is through with me
I'm waking up, I cannot see
That there is not much left of me
Nothing is real but pain now

Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please, God, wake me

Back to the world that's much too real
In pumps life that I must feel
But can't look forward to reveal
Look to the time when I'll live

Fed through the tube that sticks in me
Just like a wartime novelty
Tied to machines that make me be
Cut this life off from me

Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please, God, wake me

Now the world is gOne, I'm just one
Oh God, help me
Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please, God, help me

Darkness imprisoning me
All that I see
Absolute horror
I cannot live
I cannot die
Trapped in myself
Body my holding cell

Landmine has taken my sight
Taken my speech
Taken my hearing
Taken my arms
Taken my legs
Taken my soul
Left me with life in hell

Writer/s: Bailey, Philip James / White, Maurice / Shocklee, Hank / Ridenhour, Carlton Douglas / Harris, Clifford Joseph / Alexander, Phalon Anton / Callaway, Thomas Decarlo
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

One Song Chart

This song is about a soldier fighting in a war and a mortar blows off in his face. He can't hear, see, smell, taste and he doesn't have arms or legs. He comes out of a coma in a hospital. During the time he is in the hospital he reflects on his life and things his father told him. Eventually the doctors get worried because he's having spasms all the time, but he doesn't seem to be dying. They call in the general and he can't figure it out either but the soldier with the general recognizes it. "Its Morse code," he says. The general asks what he is saying and the soldier looks for a minute and then says, "He is saying K-I-L-L- M-E over and over again. (thanks, Paul - Anacortes, WA)

The lyrics are based on the novel Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo, which is about World War I. A specific passage that inspired the song is: "How could a man lose as much of himself as I have and still live? When a man buys a lottery ticket you never expect him to win because it's a million to one shot. But if he does win, you'll believe it because one in a million still leaves one. If I'd read about a guy like me in the paper I wouldn't believe it, cos it's a million to one. But a million to ONE always leaves one. I'd never expect it to happen to me because the odds of it happening are a million to one. But a million to one always leaves one. One."

James Hetfield was introduced to the book by his older half brother, David Hale, who was also in a band. (thanks Vesa - Tampere, Finland and Bertrand - Paris, France)

In 1971, Johnny Got His Gun was made into a movie which was directed by Trumbo. The video for the song uses images and monologues from that movie.

This was the first single released by the band to feature bassist Jason Newsted, who continued playing with Metallica until 2001. You have to listen very carefully to hear his playing, however, since the bass was buried in the mix.

In our 2013 interview with Jason Newsted , we asked him if he would like to see the album re-released with a more prominent low end. He replied: "There's been so much hubbub over this thing and people make so much out of it, but whatever it is that they make out of the blend of the whole thing, to me the album is perfect. Kill 'Em All isn't perfect, but it's perfect. And Van Halen I isn't perfect, but it's perfect. ...And Justice For All isn't perfect, but it's perfect. Because it captured that time for those people. Going back and re-recording albums that were already classics, I'm just not sure about all that stuff."

Metallica performed this at the Grammy awards in 1989. This was the first year a Grammy was awarded for Hard Rock/Metal Performance, and it went to Jethro Tull. This was a bit of a joke, since few people consider Jethro Tull to be Hard Rock or Heavy Metal. The next year, this won the award for Best Metal Performance and the year after, Metallica won again for "Stone Cold Crazy."

In 2014, Metallica once again performed "One" at the Grammy Awards, this time joined by the Chinese piano player Lang Lang.

Metallica guitarist James Hetfield wrote this with drummer Lars Ulrich. It is a fixture at their live shows.

This was included on the 1999 live album S&M, which they recorded with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra.

KoRn performed this on MTV Icon in 2003. (thanks, Nick - Paramus, NJ, for above 3)

The name of the statue with the scales on the album cover is "Doris." (thanks, Ali Sadeghi - Scottsdale, AZ)

Hetfield has said he lifted the intro from Venom's "Buried Alive," a song about being trapped in a casket while being buried alive, similar to the predicament of the character in this song. (thanks, Michael - North Adams, MA)

This was the first video Metallica made, and it expanded their fan base by giving them a presence on MTV. Many fans got mad at Metallica for selling out, but the band said it felt right. (thanks, Josh - East Longmeadow, MA)

Hammett told Kerrang! September 13, 2008 that this track has one of his favorite Metallica guitar solos. He explained: "Specifically, this is the middle solo of the song. Much like 'Enter Sandman' it's a solo that everybody can pretty much sing along to, and it definitely gives me a really good feeling every time I play it."

This song is featured in the video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and is considered the second hardest song on the game. (thanks, matt - Langhorne, PA)

When Metallica appeared on The Howard Stern Show in September, 2013, James Hetfield explained that this was not so much an anti-war song as an observation. "War is a part of man," he explained. "We're just writing about it. It's not good or bad, it's just a thing."

Hetfield also revealed that he could relate to the character in the song because of his difficult childhood. He said that he often felt like a "prisoner in his own body," with no means to escape. His father left when he was 13, and his mother died a few years later.