Metallica is the greatest metal/rock n roll band ever, check out the "S&M" (Metallica and the San Francisco symphony orchestra) double album it is amazing, it's on UA-cam\m/
@@chrisd3211 while yes it's a great song it's not close to their best, The Call of Ktulu, Creeping Death, Orion, Master of Puppets,2×4 and The Frayed Ends of Sanity all better imo 😉\m/
This was my first intro to Metallica. My brother listened to it and played guitar. I did sports and listened to Top 40 and Yo mTV Raps. I was reluctant even at first to hear it.
@@roncriswell2685 my brother once in Jazz Band had the band play Metallica when the teacher stepped out. Before the collab. Teacher wasn't happy. Like a Twisted Sister video, "We're not Gonna Take It."
I’m a disabled veteran of Desert Storm warfare. I am paralyzed, can’t see or hear well with heavy ptsd. I can relate. I remember when this song came out. I could only feel self pity. I am handicapable now. Keep moving forward not dwelling on the past.
Thank you for your service and sacrifice brother! We are all blessed to have men and women like yourself lay your lives on the line for our freedoms, we're not worthy of your gift! 🤘
When this song came out I was failing high school. My 60 year old English teacher had us listen to this song and read the book and she interpreted the drums as being the munitions and gunfire exploding on the battlefield. That moment changed my life because I suddenly understood how art can be used to express emotion and the human experience. And though many more years would go by I eventually did get my BA in English literature and I thank my teacher and Metallica for that. This song will always hold a special and very intimate part in my life.
The drums were the machine guns and canons, the guitar is the screaming of the wounded, and the singing is the feelings and emotions of the victims. Heavy metal indeed
@@guitarMaster666PoopI think that's a fact, I don't blame him either ...and justice for all was a banging album, just one step in their massive career 🤘
I served in the Army for 12 years as a Christian. I make that distinction because when I first enlisted in 1998, I was praised by many in my church for doing "God's will" in defending His nation (America). When I went to Iraq and saw the real reason for war (money and resources), I became really jaded towards American idealism and religious marriage to it. Listening to this song time and time again stirs up those emotions and brings tears to my eyes of how so many people are prone to war first, and how so many American churches condone war. Breaks my heart and I am sure breaks the heart of our Heavenly Father.
My dad pretty much forced me to listen to this and watch the video about a year before he died when I was 15/16 to show me Metallica, and how deep it was. I didn’t really get into Metallica and that whole genre until after he passed, so I couldn’t thank him for it, but this song gives me my dad back for just a minute.
I was already emotional before I read your comment because of the song. Now I’m on the verge of crying. I’m here laying in a hospital bed with a Motley Crue shirt on. I lost my dad at 14. He wasn’t a vet but a have a lot of family members who served or are serving. My cousin in the Air Force and my brother is a marine. I wanted to serve. But my health is so bad, my stomach partly paralyzed along with my intestines. I faint and have asthma and cerebral palsy. My dad was also disabled. Spinal cord injury. His body finally gave out a month before I started high school freshman year. He gave me so much. And one of the best thing he has given me is my music taste. I use to be rocked to sleep as a baby to ozzy, kiss, AC/DC, and more. I would sleep to heavy metal and screamo to lullabies. I was singing kid rock and AC/DC as soon as I could talk. I knew the lyrics to at 3 or 4. I grew up with his music and of course my alternative and emo music 😂. Music is one of the reasons I’m still alive. I wish I could hug him and thank him. Without my music I would of felt so alone and never would be able to process emotion. Or even feel close to my dad. I’m in the hospital hooked up to feeding tubes and ivs because i cant get nutrients. I am 20 now and would give anything to have my dad beside me. So I am so grateful for this channel and the music. Thank you so much for sharing. I really needed to hear that. If you ever need to talk I’m here.
@@ollieishere4122 thank YOU for sharing that. I’m sorry for your loss, and all of the medical stuff you have going on. I hope you get to get out of the hospital soon. And thanks to your cousin and brother for their service.
@@LaneyLia thank you so much. Sorry I was in a hard mental place at that time. I am pretty okay with my health and am coping. I’m back home and got some not so good health news. But hey, I can live until I’m 90 and I have wonderful people in my life. So I can be content! Anyway thank you for listening. I hope you are doing well❤️
I spent a month in a coma on full life support in a sealed isolation chamber with every organ in complete failure and given zero chance of ever living or recovering. (Several years of "fuuuuuuck that" later I had an almost complete recovery). It took a couple years before I could listen to this song again. But I could never get even partway through the video for the past twenty years, the movie narration linked with the lyrics just destroys me. This is the first time I've gotten through it since then, and I'm crying my fucking eyes out remembering the eternity of unimaginably horrible things I went through in the coma. But I've finally regained one of my favorite videos ever, and it was your genuine compassion and humanity throughout it that helped me get through it. Thank you for being you, the world is a better place for it
Holy shit man. Glad you came back. Had a friend who went through 3 of them from 3 separate injuries and came back 3 times, he was practically Lazarus, but I don't think he was conscious during those stretches. I can't even imagine.
If its emotion and Metallica you want,look no further than Fade To Black,gives a guy the old chicken skin every time he hears it.Cant wait to see what you think of ONE,thank you for doing this!
Sure, but for vocal analysis, the second half of their career, where James actually had to sing instead of yelling in key (his own words), is more interesting, so instead I'd suggest The Unforgiven.
This is one of the greatest metal songs of ALL Time; but it is due to the inspiration that came from the book: Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo!! The clips in music video are from a movie that was created from Trumbo's short novel. I believe someone read the book, then saw the movie and wrote this amazing song! I have always hoped they would remake the movie because it doesn't come close to the power of the book. Metallica's One DOES! But the book is basically the story of a man mutilated by war with only his brain and life functions (breathing, heart pumping) still working, thinking about life and the terrible place he is now trapped in. Pretty difficult to create a movie completely about one mans thoughts! The book actually places you inside the man trapped in his own body! You actually think you might go crazy if you read another page! Its visceral and moving! Just as Metallica's ONE is! So glad you are covering this amazing song. I read the book first; but now anytime I hear this song, I have to pause and listen to it until the end... just like the book, you can't put it down. Thank you! Everyone should read this novel, it will change your life and perspective and could possibly change the world.
My story is very different yet I can relate. I've been through multiple surgeries. First time when I was a 10 year old girl. Woke up too early feeling the tube in my throat and horrible pain, wondering what is happening as nobody prepared me for anything. At the age of 13 I got paralyzed from the neck. Metallica did a terrific job in describing the horrors of being trapped in your head and body and not being able to communicate. I too tired to scream for help, over and over. I could hear the doctors vaguely just like the echoing voices in the video. But I couldn't speak nor move nor open my eyes. Nobody could hear me. I was only 10... Once paralyzed it was also difficult to tell what is real and what not for days. Thank you Metallica for giving a voice to the voiceless and describing the experience this well. I hope that I will have the opportunity to visit a concert - it's one of my dreams. I am 34 and tetraplegic, but my hearing is outstanding and music means everything to me.
"One" is one of the most important songs in music history, more specifically the heavy metal genre. The subject matter and musicianship we're impossible to dismiss. The song was released only 14 years after the end of the Vietnam war so the gravitas of the subject matter was very topical and in the public conscious. The video followed the same vein. There were no dragons, devil's, or scantily clad women. Just four guys in skinny jeans and Reebok's refusing to be ignored.
To be honest, I have heard One so many times that I haven't had an honest emotional reaction to it in a long time...until watching you react to it today. I was moved to tears several times because anticipating your reaction stripped away that jadedness and amplified what I felt from the lyrics. Great video as always.
Take time to sit down and revisit those old classics. So much great music, so many great bands in the 70's, 80's and 90's. We are indeed blessed to be living in this time.
I saw this film, when it came out in 1971, during the Vietnam War. Then I read the book. I still remember it vividly. The most horrifying point is when the doctor realizes that he is conscious and has him hidden away in shame. I knew nothing about this song or video. Thanks for this!
I asked Kirk a similar question about the solo a few years ago. He said it’s his interpretation of death, adrenaline rush followed by euphoria, that’s why it starts intense and slows down at the end.
@@alex0589 I got to hang out with him after a show because a friend of mine knows Kirks tour assistant. It was a wild experience since he is my guitar idol.
i always interpreted the insane guitar solo as representing the soldier's increasing desperation and panic. the aggressiveness of it shows just how desperate he is to be freed from his pain and how he's doing everything in his power to communicate that to anyone. he's fighting like an animal with its leg in a trap, and it really puts into perspective the horrors of war that soldiers bear, and relive every time they close their eyes. my grandfathers on both sides were vietnam veterans, and they always said that war is a terrible thing, and i should understand exactly what it is that they ask young people to do. great video. rock on
I agree. I don't see this this as an anti war song. But a song about a soldier coming home and struggling with the mental side of what he/she dealt with.
"This is so much more lulling and soft than my first introduction" How many of you smiled when she said this and said, "Oh, just wait a bit". Elizabeth is to music for me as I imagine cataract surgery is for the blind. She makes me see what I would never have otherwise seen.
I hate watching videos where you get sad about a song, I freaking tear up every damn time. You certainly have a unique way of capturing your listeners ears...BRAVO 👏
When the chaplain is asked " don't you have anything for him " and he replies "he is a product of your profession , not mine " the coldest line in a movie ever . Even worse knowing this has happenned to many soldiers is what makes it all the more terrifying .
Don't know if this has been mentioned already, but this was Metallica's first ever music video. They were famous for refusing to make them. MTV was in their hay day. Metallica had become quite large without mainstream radio play or visibility on MTV. Finally, they relented after finding a way to present one of their songs in a manner that wasn't considered "selling out" to them. Most video's of the time were pretty shallow and without message; regardless of the song's content. It was the end of the "hair band" era. Many videos featured bands looking outrageous and doing outrageous things on stage. This video contrasts all of that, with the band featured in all dark cloths in black and white; placing the focus on the music and lyrics. It was QUITE the contrast to the other videos being played on MTV at the time. Fans were so happy to finally have a video of their favorite band on MTV, that it was voted #1 on MTV's fan selected countdown show for a very long time. I think, they may have had to actually retire it because it kept on getting votes from fans for such a long time it was keeping other videos from getting their rightful exposure. This video had an incredible impact at the time. Not just the song itself, which is of course incredible in its own way.
@@rossconroy1674 Eww...you are a weirdo. lol j/k I've tried to like St. Anger, just. CAN'T. Frantic is the only song I can listen to. While I LOVE Magnetic and even more so, Hardwired, I don't like the "unfinished" sound to St. Anger.
@@OptimusX1972 Yeah, St. Anger never appealed to me. Death Magnetic however, seems like the proper successor to Justice more so than the Black album did. Hardwired is just too many different riffs in the same song. They probably could have broke those up and made like 50 songs and it would have been better and MUCH easier.
I'm a Marine Corps veteran who joined shortly after 9/11. I was also in a coma for more than 7 days after severe trauma. This song has so much of that experience wrapped up into it. I really didn't know when I was awake or not, but I was totally aware that things were happening around me at times. "One" of my favorite songs.
This is the song that got me into Heavy Metal. I Was in college at the time. At 19 as a single young man with severe lack of confidence, I had gotten great news, I was getting my braces off in a month. I went home excited. 20 minutes later my life would be forever changed. I was crossing the street and a driver hit me sending me 50 feet into the air and 100 feet away from the impact. The result of that accident I lost my front and bottom teeth, I had a fractured jaw and I would need12 hours of maxi facial plastic surgery. My future had just been changed in an eye blink. My original thoughts of what I was expecting were ripped from me. I was alone at home, looking at my damaged face I did not recognize. I was broken emotionally. Then I turned on mtv at the time and they played that song. I was instantly grabbed by it. This resonated with me. And despite the darkness of the song I Realized I Was not alone at all. This saved me. I have been a fan ever since. So glad you did this song.
That is so beautiful and so terrible. I’m a way I understand that pain. Mine wasn’t as shocking and fast. When I was two weeks old o got very sick. Stoped breathing at least 3 times. Had seizures. Now I have cerebral palsy. I didn’t understand I was disabled (I was in a bad living situation too) until I was 16. It hit me. I had just over come it when Covid hit and at 18/19 my stomach became paralyzed. I lost weight, 30lbs, and got put on a feeding tube. I just got the surgical j tube right Uber my belly button. I stare in the mirror and it’s like I’m not seeing myself. I have a tube hanging in out of me. My teeth are messy (I had 6 years of braces) from throwing up everything I eat. My hair had fallen out some from malnutrition so I cut it off and dyed it. I look sickly. I faint now and can’t do much movement. One thing that saved me was my music. I would sit and listen to much. At one point using it to explain to others how I was feeling. I would not be alive without music. That’s a fact.
Music has saved my life for the exact reason, that it helps me feel like I'm not alone. Other people, good people, have struggles as well. I can't explain it, but that gives me strength. Hang in there. (So many stories I could share here)
The guitar solo at that specific time was his heart rate and growing insanity. Take it from someone who was blinded, paralyzed and lost 80% of the use of my muscles for a time. The fact that they were communicating with him pushed adrenaline through whatever is left of his body and his mind kicks into overdrive because of it.
I'm sure he'll see it. James LaBrie (Dream Theater) and Tatiana Shmailyuk (Jinjer) are just a few who have connected with Elizabeth after she's reacted to their work.
you have such exaggerated reactions to some of this music that's just infectious to watch. as a depressed person it makes me feel more emotionally connected somehow. not in some weird infatuated way, but you seem like such a nice person with genuine empathy that it makes me think there's still some decency left in the world. thanks for sharing yourself.
I'm in a dangerously depressed and socially isolated state myself also, and I also take some small comfort in these videos recognizing the genuine humanity of their reactions as I try to rediscover my own ability to feel such things
@@carlka3891 thanks, I got a later in life diagnosis of bipolar and finally found a med that seems to be starting to help a bit. I volunteer at an animal shelter every day and that keeps me going
James has said that he related to the soldier after his brother referred him to the book. James’ dad left when he was 13 and his mom died of cancer shortly after. When he wrote the song, he wrote it recalling his own feelings of being trapped in his own body and not knowing how to deal with the anger and grief. This was also Metallica’s first ever music video.
One thing many people miss (including @the charismatic voice) is that in the first 2 choruses the lyrics are "oh please God wake me" and after that its a major sound (which she did hear) but in the 3rd chorus is "oh please God HELP me" and then we basicaly stay in the minor until the end. It shows that in that particular moment the patient realises he is not dreaming (if you watched the movie it shows there) and he is now aware of the situation. This song with this music video is the greatest thing ever made in history and I prefer maybe 5 songs from metallica, but everything put together here deserves an oscar, grammy or whatever can be given to this timeless masterpiece.
I know it’s been said a million times before but it is so insane that this song got the infamous Grammy snub. This music video is an iconic piece of American art, the band perform it AT THE SHOW and then they pull the rug out. Incredible 😂
"I didn't understand the depth of sadness that metal could communicate". I wasn't quite anticipating that sort of reflection for my reasoning in listening to metal as a genre, but it brought a big insight into myself, and I burst out crying, feeling seen by that statement. Thank you, I didn't know I'd get getting therapy and emotional release by witenssing someone listen to, and reflect on Metallica, but hear we are. Thank you Elizabeth!
@@alanandjess7516 It's true, or at least often. It's a style of music very much related to deeply felt, but often tumultuous emotions. Part of the reason that I've connected with Devin Townsend's music so much is that I relate to his own journey of emotional evolution that he demonstrates in his music.
The album version of this song is powerful in its own right. However, the video adds even more punch to tell the story. As a veteran, watching the video hits me in the gut and make me well up every time. Thank you for doing this song, Elizabeth. You are amazing at what you do in analyzing such a wide array of music.
The movie clips definitely add punch but I always urge reactors to listen to the album version as well to let the music and just James come through without the distraction.
"Metal" music is often under rated and misunderstood...It is complex and 100% emotionally driven...If you actually dissect the lyrics from the overwhelming sounds that you hear they express something deep and explore parts of your existence you may not want to confront....This type of music is intense which seems loud... but thats exactly the feeling you are supposed to get!!! Love this reaction video!!!!
I mean you’re not wrong. Even a song like You Suffer by Napalm Death, it’s 3 seconds and a scream. But the official lyrics are “You suffer, but why?”. There’s something to be said for that lol
I'm soon 54 and I grew up with this. Never cried to it till now, until we took it apart and really looked deeply into it. I thank you personally for your endearing ways and your talent
So true. Im gonna spearhead our chapter viewing party of johnny got his gun. This is the song that hooked me. It is available on prime video for 2.99 rental. 😃
I'm 53 and it brings tears to my eyes. I remember when I first heard this album and I was actually pretty dismissive of it - too slow, too boring, WTF - this isn't Metallica!! Where is the aggression from Seek & Destroy, where is the sorrow from Fade To Black, where is the despair from Welcome Home (Sanitarium)? Second listen, OMG how could I have been soooo wrong! I think it was the change after Cliff's passing and the new Bass sound of Jason Newstead. I remember this vividly - it was way, way so much deeper that I could imagine! The Guitaring is frankly superb - on all counts! Honestly this is one of Metallica's best tracks and their very first music video, which in it's self is pretty amazing! Ohhh they fecking nailed it!!!! I didn't see the video for, probably a month, after I heard the album and it blew my mind!! I'd forgotten quite how horrific the video was! Bloody well done!!
X2.. first time I find myself really examining what's unfolding here. Pretty emotional. I've heard this song a million times, but never felt it like this. What an amazingly well crafted work of art.. Hetfield is a genius..
As a nurse, I deeply feel that the guitar solo at the end of the song is relative to the nurse’s internal struggle to ensure life and longevity of the veteran’s body versus treating the intense mental and emotional agony of continuing to live on in the face of utter hopelessness. Her internal struggle to act upon this desire to mercifully end his pain is in direct contradiction to her sworn duty to preserve life and is a weight few will ever experience. I sincerely feel that her final decision to carry out the merciful aspect of her calling as a provider of comfort was robbed from both her and the patient when it was so callously interrupted by those that have NO understanding of TRUE compassion. It is a dichotomy that cannot easily be expressed in one or two paragraphs but rather one or two meaningful moments in time when one’s life hangs in the balance.
This also provides an interesting context for the observation that the movie quote about each person dying alone is immediately followed by the harmonized guitar solo.
I agree and believe this is absolutely part of this, but also believe the solo is representative of this soldiers struggle to have his message/wishes heard by those and once heard, carried out. This apex of his story and the song were represented by the guitar solo as decisions were made, the act was carried out, and the emotional struggle and aftermath for her was administered as she dealt with her own actions which while necessary/requested by her patient were contradictory to her core as a care giver. The solo played a good transition for a lot of themes being carried out in the finale of this song and video.
That's a lot to think about. If someone has DNR tattooed on their chest, does that still stop you? Moral, ethical and other questions come up, are you to take the 0.00000000000001% chance an attempted killer didn't make sure the victim was dead but made a convincing fake tattoo before they left the body? Or if they meant DNR only in natural circumstances, but if they were stabbed, shot or hit by a car they would like to be resuscitated/revived? There isn't an instance of fine print under DNR tats that I've heard of. I think that's the definition of predicament.
As a retired combat veteran, I identify with this song on a mental, spiritual, and emotional level. I have so much to say, there is no way I can say it all. Umm...having PTSD sometimes is like you described, being stuck in your own brain. I also experienced this after a serious accident that should have killed me, I was in a coma for a short time....a couple of days and I was aware of things going on around me at times. I so desperately wanted to reach out to my family and tell them I was okay and I loved them, but could not. This was extended by my time on a ventilator and unable to speak. I thank God, could communicate by writing and I have all my limbs, but not being able to fully express myself was difficult. I can and do understand this video on that level. Thank you for doing this song. I....
Thank you for your service and for the honesty and vulnerability in your post. I am a trained medic and nurse who's spent my adult life (22 years) caring for those who are trapped in their bodies, minds, and/or thoughts. Sometimes it feels like it breaks something inside of you but we bend, not break and get up each day to do it all over again, always knowing that we're stronger for living it. Keep staying strong, you're definitely not alone.
I was never in the service, but I was in a coma for 28 days. I do remember some of it. My heart had stopped and they had to shock me 14 times to get me back. I was fortunate to have only felt 1 shock. It hurt something fierce. I was soon out of it again. Also remeber them using breathing treatments on me. It felt like I was being drowned. I couldn't talk, didn't understand what they were doing to me or who they were. I could only growl. Thats been 6 years ago now. If I felt or was aware of more my brain has locked that away from memory...thank God
As an old Infantryman, this song went from being my high school get fired up song to being a hard dose of reality for many of my brothers and sisters. Decades later, it means so much more.
Wow. Since my teenager years, I've listened to this song THOUSANDS of times, played it probably hundreds, and NOT ONCE have I all-out cried while listening to it! Your channel manages to take emotional songs and intensifiy them! Well done and keep it going! 👏🤘
"Johnny got his Gun" that the clips are from, is the most gut wrenching film you could ever watch. They didn't help the nurse who discovered he could be communicated with by Morse Code, euthanize him, they stopped her and they fired her to cover up their misjudgment of his condition. They wheeled him into a private room so there would be little contact and no one else would discover they made a mistake. Ending scene was wheeling him into the room, turning around, walking away, killing the lights and closing the door leaving him alone. I burst into tears and was sick to my stomach and I'm a 77 yr old man and saw this 2 yrs ago.
Not just the film, but the book is a whole different story. Its enough to mess with your head and look at war and life and any kinda of suffering in a whole different sense. You're the first comment I read mentioning this which saddens me. Thought there would be more Johnny git his gun comments. This song was literally based on the book and film. How some of these fans don't know that, blows my mind. Thank you
@@tomdude96 Also surprised! I'm a pretty avid reader but never that one. Knowing books are always better than the movie that they spun from, probably won't read it. The movie was heartbreaking enough. Movies are never able to capture the real feel. Only one I saw that followed the book well was "Time Travelers Wife" and then they had to spoil it at the very end. Biggest abomination was "Clan of the Cave Bear". An absolutely wonderful complex story that took six books to cover and wound up being a grunting monkey movie. Jean Auel must have been appalled!
@@ronaldmcrae4896 I don't know this first hand, only from what I'd consider a reliable source, but one of the only examples of a movie that follows the exact course of the book it was derived from is Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' based on the book by Anthony Burgess.
@@philphilips1020 Never read that. Was aware of it but the title never drew me to it. You peaked my interest and found a pretty good synopsis of it. Actually sounds interesting. I may give it a whirl, thanks.
@@tomdude96 scrolling through the comments I noticed the same. I realized that after reading the book, later I also heard Lars mention it in an interview.
This is a sadly beautiful song, written by Lars and James you need to remember when this came out it was right around the time of the Berlin Wall coming down and all of the unrest from the Cold War. I remember the first time I saw them play it live half the audience was crying. Very moving. This is the Morse Code pattern for "Kill Me" -.- .. .-.. .-.. -- . And that is what the patient "Johnny" tries to tap out during the movie to the Drs. It follows some of the beats in the song.
I immediately thought of this at around 13:45 when she brings up the almost random changes in time and wondered if they patterned it in on purpose to match the Morse code for “kill me”
When I served in the army in 2013-2014 (I am from Russia, we have a draft army), my country unleashed the first stage of the conflict in Ukraine. I was lucky, I did not participate in hostilities, I had a staff position. But I specifically read the book "Johnny Got His Gun" and listened to this Metallica song so as not to succumb to the false military propaganda. It's absolutely scary, creepy, heavy, but a great book and an equally great song. Thank you for taking it apart in such detail and emotionally. At the end, I broke down and cried. (Excuse me for my English)
In, Russia, can a militray aged male be drafted more than once? For example, since you were drafted to the Invasion in, Ukraine back in, 2014. Can you get drafted again, 2023 for the now, new invasion of ALL of, Ukraine?
@@nexpro6118 After military service in the Russian army, the serviceman is transferred to the reserve. If partial or full mobilization is announced in the country, then he can be called up again in the Armed Forces. In 2014, during the occupation of Crimea, I served, but did not participate in this operation. I served in another region. So yes, in theory, they can call me directly to the region of warfare. So far, this has not happened, but in fact, no one is insured against this.
@@Deft2000 thank you for sharing. Here in the US (I served in the marines from 2004 to 2009 and I was able to get called back until, 2013. After 2013, the ONLY way to get called back would be if the US implemented the Draft again
@@Deft2000 ONLY the President and Governor of the state that martial law is called in can mobilize the National Guard Units but CANNOT mobilize the Regular Full Time Military for martial law events.
Saw this pop up on the scheduled premier list and was very excited to hear your take on it. Such a powerful song. I'd love you to look at "Fade to Black", my all-time favorite song of any genre.
"Johnny got his gun" is one of the most disturbing movies I have ever watched in my life. And while it is a movie masterpiece, I have never had the heart to put myself through it for a second time - and I normally watch war movies like Saving Private Ryan, Fury, 1917 or Band of Brothers fairly regularly… The intensity of the solo at the end is clearly matched to the movie: After they finally figured out, that there was still a human spirit in this pile of flesh (and has been for several years by that time), they indeed learn that his only wish is to be put out of his misery. They refuse, for scientific reasons, only the nurse has a heart and actually tries to kill him. She is stopped however, and the movie ends with the curtains on the window being shut, and he loses his last sensation, the sun on his skin...
I think it's the patient's descent into insanity. I think being trapped as you would be like that, you'd slip into that downward spiral very very easily.
The pentatonic(or maybe it's arpeggio) descent near the beginning of the solo, the "Up down down, up down down, up down down" part before the second set of blast beats, at the end of his tapping, is the man's cries, his literal sobs.
This is the second time I've watch you video about the Song "One" and I loved your commentary and the song/video tore me up again in a good way. I'm and old Metallica fan and your video as always was a joy.
You need to do Metallica’s “Fade to Black”. Musically it is a masterpiece. It deals with with the topic of suicide but I actually find the song uplifting. It’s a power ballad with an amazing guitar solo. Cliff Burton’s influence can definitely be heard on this song. R.I.P. Cliff
Fade to Black is the way... it's probably the song that gave Metallica access to the semi-general public. The amazing part to consider is the year... what, 1986? Maybe '85? The popular music at the time pretty much was nothing close and it was metal and punk trying to out do each other... good times. :)
Fade to black is better than this iteration of the song. Metallica butchered the studio recording of AJFA - RTL is miles better. I only ever listen to AJFA stuff from live recordings!
I am one of many who suffer from PTSD. I served 2 tours in Iraq and it was my second tour that affected me the most because of the length. Our unit was one of the last that served 18 months in country. After it was all over I had the one scar that takes lots of time to heal and that is survivors' guilt. I didn't lose any body parts, only my mind and a sense of humanity. This was a song that I listened to while I was deployed in Desert Storm and now it has more meaning listening to it. I still love it and can say now that I am glad I didn't listen to it during that dark time, I know that I wouldn't have made it to this day. The whole "And Justice For All" album is genius.
@@diesel3333 I do not mean to deny God or impugn your faith, but if our freedoms were God-given, we would not need brave men and women to defend them. Our freedoms come from laws and other institutions created by humans, and they can be taken away by humans if we fail to be vigilant, or are merely unlucky, like Ukraine, possibly.
Served in 1993-97 USMC as a grunt. You are loved brother......by millions of those who served. I agree, the whole album was genius. It was the one of their last great alblums. the Black Album... meh!.
@@JPMadden correct, God doesn't ensure freedom, men and women in uniform do, but when we sign up, are conscripted or drafted, most have God close by. The Ukrainians need as much as we can get to them.
Another song that is lyrically heavy from Metallica is “Dyers Eve.” It’s about Hetfield’s frustration and anger about the way his parents raised him. As a kid, I never thought much of the lyric until my dad asked me “what’s he saying there?” Until I just read him the lyric. He’d never taken any interest in a metal song before but I could tell that he was moved by it, and he said “that’s the way it was for me, “ and “that’s the best song they ever wrote.” I’m glad that I had such a great dad, and that I had the sense to tell him that he wasn’t like them.
dyers eve is my favorite Metallica song hands down... when paurd with to live is to die its just *chef kiss*. dyers eve is easily one of their most angry, aggressive, and bitter songs it's fantastic.
@@TheePIB "Dear mother, dear father, what is this hell you have put me through?" Man... the song is poetry. Not only great thrash, but that's the spirit of rock and roll summed up.
great to hear such stories, i have been metallica fan since early 90's and no one in my peers can stand heavy music and don't understand anything. So its just good for me to read such comments
I served in the Marines during the Afghan War, this song really hits deep for me. I know everyone experiences combat differently, the guitar solo at the end reminds me of the panic and fear you feel when you're assaulting an enemy position. Everything is in fast forward, you have no time to think, barely have time to breathe. You just run and shoot until it's over. For the guy in the video he's fighting with that same desperation.
I’ve heard this song 1,000 times if not more, but never quite like this. Elizabeth you have this amazing gift of enabling people to see some of their favorite songs from different perspectives and that is huge!!! Thank you Elizabeth, love you ❤️
I feel the same way Metallica being one of my favorites, I have heard this song hundreds if not thousands of times, but this time is almost as if it's the first!
As a combat vet, this hit SO much harder then it ever did when it came out. It was a powerful message then - but now hits on an entirely different level. Its amazing what 30+ years and three combat tours can do to ones perspective. Thank you so much for sharing.
Locked In Syndrome., PTSD, anger, frustration, depression,, agony, the waste of war, all put to music in a way only Metallica can! Thank you so much for putting this together for us. Your analysis has inspired an appreciation for this masterpiece on a whole new level.
I have to say, I like your analysis very much, you go into musical theory, lyrics and conceptual interpretation, as well into the emotions that are conveyed to the audience, and you’re also very sensitive to the depth of art, I can see you really live those emotions. This is what an analysis should be like, and you do it wonderfully. I’ve seen a few vocal coaches react and it just doesn’t click with me, reaction without in depth emotion is just.. bland. Very good job! I enjoy your videos!
To be honest, I see this channel as an escape from things like the news and current events. Still, it's hard to imagine a more fitting time to dive into Metallica's chilling, epic monument to the suffering that war brings. The stark look of the video, interspersed.with disturbing scenes and dialog from the movie Johnny Got His Gun definitely enhances the song's terrifying message. Still, amongst all this darkness, it is hard not to be energized by the band's compositional brilliance and instrumental virtuosity, as well as the fierce energy that surges throughout the song, even in it's most somber moments.
Wouldn't it be wonderful Squire Schmidt, if we didn't need songs about the war in the future? And the "worst" song would be Miss Elizabeth's "Always" Unicorn cover? Or "Pump It" by the Eskimo Callboys?
@@joergojschaefer3521 In 1867 a man named Alfred Nobel created something that he thought would end war: dynamite. The Wright Brothers thought the discovery of the airplane and human flight would end war. Unfortunately war seems to be a part of human nature and as long as there is war, with both it's suffering and it's acts of selfless heroism, there will always be artists to confront it. For my money, I have always felt that the most compelling art comes from very dark places, although you did bring up two pretty amazing exceptions to this rule. Now I need to listen to "Always" again! 😊
I remember being in 8th grade, seeing this on MTV, first real Metallica I'd ever heard. I remember those emotions the first time, and 30 some odd years later I still get the same feelings. At the end of the video, where the people are singing "Keep the Home Fires Burning", I always get this sense of futility, where they can sing their songs and pray for the safety of the troops in the war, but they will never truly know the horror that Johnny has faced. This song, and the accompanying video, is one of the reasons I got interested in war history, and it's really polar opposite of a lot of the sanitized depictions of war, where only the bad guys suffer and the hero prevails. Thank you for your analysis of such a great song!
I hear you brother! Had a near-fatal firefighting experience that injured and almost killed some of my firefighting crew. Pink Floyd was my PTSD survival medicine. Comfortably numb...
Thank you for reviewing this song, I used to stay up late on weekends glued to when MTV was just that, always waiting for this video to come on. One of the best songs written of the last 40 years. Continue your path with Metallica.
This lady that I adore since I see these videos, she is more sensitive than a seismograph, she has the ability to put into words what one feels with this type of songs. From Venezuela, thank you Miss Zharoff
I totally agree. Not only does she analyze and explain the technical aspects of singing and more, but she FEELS the music and the visuals. Particularly with the movie background. I am sure some of that is her background and training, but also her personality as well. I love seeing her eyelids flitter during certain portions. It is like a computer saying “PROCESSING” only it is a human thinking and feeling her way through. Not to mention her eyebrows. All of Her facial expression are amazing and priceless. Another amazing reaction from one of the best reactors on UA-cam!
The second solo is Kirk’s expression of what warrior’s tears sound like. He’s absolutely at the end of his sanity. He’s been begging for death, which was slow to come. Crying “out,” relief finally comes in the form of release, and tears of relief take over the tears of terror and grief. He resolves (the outro), gathers himself, and finally - finally - death comes as the song ends.
The thing is, based on the movie the song revolves around, he doesn't die. At least, not then and there. He is kept alive for many more years before he does, which is absolutely terrible.
@@PatchouliPenny I saw the movie in the theater and it is really an unusual and down trodden movie with no redemptive quality and you left the theater in silence. That’s what the movie was meant to be. I was home from Vietnam and didn’t know about the plot of this movie. Left me with nightmares.
Thankfully it's the full video and not the edit 👍 For a band that for a long time didn't want to make a music video, they sure knocked it out of the park on their first try. I love how at the Grammy's back in the day, this song just left the whole tragically hip audience in shock 😂
@@chrislira3574 Even Ian Anderson didn't show up for the ceremony where he won, because he was convinced Metallica would win. The voters were like "This music scares us, but this band has a flute, we like this." Also nominated, an unknown band named Soundgarden. Not metal, but closer.
I've always looked at the solo as the vets spiraling emotional state. This is one of my favorite metallica songs. Every single thing is intentional, the drums sounding like artillery, the slow build into the heavy downfall. Absolutely perfect. Metal as art is beautiful.
Yeah, i've always looked at the solo the same way, with the vet's state of mind... but also the people around him, especially the nurse, who realizes the anguish he is in, and tries to help him out.
or maybe it was inserted because every metal song has its obligatory solo. not everything is intentional to the story but maybe to service metal fans at the time. just a thought.
I always saw it as pure anxiety knowing he can’t really do anything. Panic attacks feel like pure dread and doom looming and the speed of the solo fits it so perfectly.
@@darricshhh sure, it is obligatory to have a solo in metal. But if anywhere, a solo is most intentional in One. This is the most organic solo I've ever heard, even if it wasn't a traditional part of metal songs it would still fit.
i feel the solo would be the chaos that would follow knowing how much pain someone is in to the point he is begging to die and that you are the one causing so much pain by keeping him alive but what are the troubles they would get in for killing him now he has technically been successfully saved in a hospital that a lot of people would know about (based off movie)
This video coaching of Jacob Collier is breath taking. The coach struggles even to form words because the music is so stunning. It's pure, wonderful joy. ua-cam.com/video/9tGtZxgUCCI/v-deo.html
I feel the same! I've listened to "One" a million times but, watching Elizabeth react to it the first time was very emotional for me... felt like a throat punch to my heart strings.
You could do an amazing analysis on Metallica's Unforgiven. Metallica made this trilogy of songs Unforgiven I, II and III. They span almost three decades and explore the changing struggle, perspective and insight of an aging man (Hetfield?). They are all connected musically and very unique in music. Especially for a metal band. I would love to see you tackle it.
@@fondyin I could argue that Dyers Eve and Mama Said are similarly very personal songs for James. In fact, they've only performed Mama Said live only 3 times because it's such a deep, emotional song for James.
@@mdnblues The God That Failed would be another one. It's about his mom dying of cancer because she was a Christian Scientist and refused all treatments relying only on god to heal her.
You know, i actually love you, your passion for music, makes me emotinal, how you speak about music, you can hear in your voice that this has given you huge feeling, i think, for you, this song achived JUST what it was made for, thank you so much for your kind kind words, what a beautiful human you are, you should be proud, im so happy you exsist, lest we forget, happy remembrance day
Love the the line from the movie where the military general asked the Padre, "Don't you have some message for him Padre" and the Padre says back, "He's a product of your profession, not mine"
Except, during the time of WWI, the churches were telling people it was their sacred duty to die for their country. “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" was preached by the Catholic Church and many others, and it means "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country". In other words, unless the "padre" bucked what many churches were saying at the time, he had some culpability as well.
@@metalmark1214 Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori , is from the Odes , by the Roman poet Horace , 67 - 8 years BC , its not from catholic church , its over 320 years older . Also it s was another peat that used part of this poem in his anti war poem during WW 1 , Wilfred Owen , English poet and soldier . You can also see " Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " if you visit Arlington national cemetery , it's over the rear entrance to Memorial Amphitheater .
I'm glad that you have a new understanding of Metal. Metal is one of the most emotional genres of music there is. Definitely not the anger and hate filled music that a lot of people think it is. Metal is very deep and full of passionate emotions. Myself, being a very small part of the genre , having met and worked with some of these very talented artist. I have to say that these artist are also some of the kindest and most passionate people on this planet that would do anything to help out their fellow human being and animal kind.
Agree. Even when (most) metal bands are exploring the themes of war and violence, it's usually trying to communicate how terrible and pointless violence is, instead of celebrating it. There is anger at the injustices of the world in much of metal, but that's the type of anger that is productive and creates empathy.
@@DanKaschel exactly. You hit the nail right on the head. It has anger, it has despair, it has joy, it has an incredibly wide range of emotions. To think it’s fully homogenous is foolish
The solo was the rage of powerlessness and the despair of not being able to even die. It’s the sound of the scream inside your own head that no one on earth will ever be able to hear.
Who remember when the blew the audience away at the Grammys with this song.. When they came on, only people in the back cheered… that changed at the end. They melted their minds..
Even after ten thousand times hearing One I still feel it intensely. The guitar solo crescendo is the release from his prison and ascent to heaven in my mind
Okay, three of your videos I have watched now, and you have gained a follower. Your take on what you hear is mesmerizing. Thank you for doing this, and I can't wait to adsorb more of your interpretations of great music.
Fyi this was the first music video Metallica ever produced. They told the fans they'd never make any. The first time 'they sold out'. To wit Lars (drums) said yes we sell out every show.
The best part is that during the time in 1989, 'metal' music videos were all dudes on Harleys riding with chicks and drinking beer at strip clubs. Metallica comes along and drops this staggering anti-war video that provokes the discussion on the humanity of physician assisted suicide and a persons right to die, a discussion that is only exasperated just a few years later by the practices of Jack Kevorkian. I would definitely not call that selling out.
Yeah, "selling out" means getting more people to listen to your music. As though a band is only being true to themselves (and their fans) if no one ever hears of them. What a crock. Millions of Metallica fans would be missing out on Metallica's music if they didn't "sell out". That would be damn near criminal.
To be fair, they've been accused of "selling out" way before 1989. When Fade to Black was released as a single in 1984, many accused Metallica of going soft and selling out to the music industry. All because the song started with an acoustic guitar, and was not thrash metal all the way through like the previous album Kill 'em All.
@@TeslaMaster2 true people will bitch. I figure it like this they started as a bunch of teenage alcoholics (I can relate) and now they are pushing sixty. Times change! People grow.
I know I'm super late to this conversation and this comment will likely never be seen, but, regarding the question you had about the guitar solo and what it represents within the greater story, I have always interpreted it as the chaos the people in the room are feeling in their heads when they realize that not only is the victim alive, but he has essentially been in true solitary confinement since his injury. When I think about how I would feel if I were in that room, I imagine a level of guilt that verges on panic. I imagine their realizations about what they have put him through coming quickly and chaotically.
I had always related the solo of what what was in his head. His chaos and suffering combined with rage. Especially when he discovers they understand what he wants now, but won't release him from his prison.
I thought that the related solo was also about chaos. What everybody thought they knew was suddenly spinning out of control with bewilderment and confusion. Basically what chaos is.
The bad part is the nurse fails in killing him and he's left in a room at the end of the hospital, kept alive... You can see this in the last parts of the music video, right after the solo.
I always feel like the frenetic guitar solo is a window into the sheer existential panic the patient is feeling, cut off from every sensation just begging for the doctors to end it. Such an amazing song and video!
Nicely put, man. Couldn't have done it better. I was /am still a big fan of Metallica songs. When we ( my friends and myself) were still in our teens, we were naturally and instinctively gravitated to Metallica's music due to the intense and aggressive nature of their music. But as we got older, we dove deeper into their songs, the lyrics particularly. We started trying to decipher the meanings behind the words, and were able to interpret some but not a whole lot. And mind you, English isn't our first language and there was no such thing as Google search back then. Let alone Google translate. But we picked up a lot from Metallica's songs, especially politics and life. It sure was a great time growing up and learning about stuff.
My experience with the song started before the video came out, and is based more on the cd version. So, it's not as colored by the images and additional movie audio that was added for the mtv version. I have always imaged the latter part of the song as a hurricane just ripping through everything, as a manifestation of the man's rage and frustration with his flesh prison, in the solo, the impression was more one of breaking free than being cut off.
To me, the guitar comes in AFTER they become aware that he is communicating, and now he's becomming both elated and frantic, because they now know what he wants, and can deny him that which he so seeks. When he was alone, that was that, now his life is in others hands, and that is even more frightening. And the guitarsolo, to me, sounds like him screaming "DO SOMETHING, DON'T JUST LEAVE!"
Thank you for pointing out the “Johnny got his gun” movie and more specifically the book. No one ever brings it up when this song is directly related to those pieces
@@sheldoncooper8199 They did that to avoid licensing issues. When movies, music, etc. is sampled there is almost always a term length to the license. They bought the distribution rights, so their music video would never have to be truncated.
@@McFeedback1968 I got Mtv in 1990 When THE WALL came down in germany. And Mtv had its own Metal Show. And they made sure to Play This A LOT. I dont even know what else they Played in 1990 sure Some Megadeth and Overkill and Slayer. I was only 10. But this Video had a HUGE impact on me. I thought Metallica were the toughest coolest Guys on Earth.
Dalton Trumbo's screenplay for Johnny Got His Gun made one of the most powerful and difficult to watch movies I have ever seen. It is nevertheless very much worth seeing, although be ready for an emotionally very rough ride when you sit down. Full props to the band for taking on this subject matter.
The guitar solo at the end is his life, all of it in entirety played out fast as a flash before the eyes. Its a persons life, all the passion all the notes rushed into the final moment.
There is no way anyone her age hasnt heard One. Its an absolute impossibility unless she just crawled out of a cave. The same with most of the songs they "say" they never heard before.
@@jvillain9946 When "And Justice For All" was released, she was two years old. I remember, most of my mates just refused to listen to metal music - not one second. When Metallica was accepted by more people, there are people never had contact to Metallica nor to this song. Don't think the whole world is listening to Metallica. I stumble myself upon bands, which exist since forever and I did not know they even existed.
"the depths of sadness that metal could communicate" really touched my metal heart and made me realize why I started listening to metal 25 years ago...
When this video came out a lot of people were stunned. It was one of the most disturbing things they'd seen and for a lot of people it was their introduction to the band. Metallica has a habit of being in your face not just musically but poetically, tackling subjects that need to be talked about and sometimes very bluntly. That's one of the things I love about the band. This song/video came out in 1989. It was rare that anyone was writing with this kind of emotional intensity and probably just as rare today. Metallica helped me to understand different emotions can be conveyed even in heavy music. The video that makes me bawl my eyes out though is for the song Confusion off "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct" since it reminds me so much of my own struggle. I'm so glad you're enjoying yourself because I think you're amazing for doing this. Thank you.
Came back to see you give this comment and express you feelings. about one. Always lifts my spirit and how you use your knowledge about " universal language" wich is music. And I love you and I learn from you. Wow! Amazed that in life problems you make me smile. God bless you charismatic voice.
This was the first video Metallica ever made - they'd resisted through their first 3 albums, and then when they made one, made one of the best music videos ever. The writer / singer / guitarist, James Hetfield has always said what he loves about this is that people don't know what to say and are generally stunned into silence the first time they see it.
its a true example of a video adding a weight and understanding to an already heavy song. I had to have heard the song a dozen times before ever seeing the video. I already knew a little bit of the background of the song at that point but the video really puts that into focus and really makes it sink in in a different way. In reference to another song she recently reacted to I think Peral Jam's Jeremy music video does a similar thing.
...and insanely humble as he recognized Mike Rowe someplace and approached him to say, "Hi - you're that dirty jobs guy, huh?" As the story goes, after some chit-chatting, Rowe (who didn't recognize James) said, "What do YOU do?" Hetfield replies, "Me? Oh, not much. I'm in a band."
"One" is arguably The greatest song that Metallica has ever written, recorded, mixed, mastered and performed live through their entire career in the genre of Heavy Metal!
@@dieseldabberdoug8285 what??? No way. Absolutely not. The Black album is a good album. But, it is NOT And Justice For All OR Master. And, while Enter Sandman is a good song, One is an amazing song. That has real meaning.
If I remember an interview correctly Lars said they bought the rights to the movie and thus were able to use the content of the movie without copyright infringement. I think Metallica still owns those rights.
I have to say.. Your time taken to research bands, history, video content and the meaning behind the songs... That is top knotch attitude and brings me such joy! This is my generation of music that rocked me throughout my youth. I was also in 5 different choirs but rock and metal has always had my heart. All the best and congratulations on the baby!!! (Heart-Hugs) ✌️✨️
This is the song that got me into metal. Instantly. The solo is his decent into madness. He does not know if he is even still alive. All he knows are his own thoughts. Not many people seem to understand that without any thing but your brain functioning that you would be quite literally living in a hellish nightmare that you just want to end. So few seem to understand, No limbs, no hearing, no eyesight, no vocal, no way of communicating until he tries SOS in morse code. He does not know if there is anyone there to see or hear the message. He is only inside his own mind, not knowing if it is day or night, not nowing if he is awake or sleeping. Not knowing if he this is hell/the after life and it will be nothing but self awareness for eternity. That thought, is terrifying for any normal human.
This song definitely made me start appreciating metal more. I don't really listen to much metal - it's all just a bit "much" for my autistic brain - but since listening to this song for the first time I have really come to appreciate the technical precision of a lot of metal musicians. It's this liminal space between being somewhat indifferent to the music itself but being in awe of the skill on display.
I haven't seen this for so long and even after all these years it still chokes me up. Right on the edge of sobbing, lump in the throat, eyes welling up."this is so lulling and soft compared to my first experience with Metallica" made me smile for a moment knowing what is coming. And I broke where I always do at "kill me". To your question about the placement of the solo I've always interpreted from beginning to "Darkness" as the care and compassion of the doctors and nurses trying to care for Johnny and bring him some form of life worth living. "Darkness" begins Johnny's deteriorating mental state knowing full well this is real and not a dream which is when he begins nodding in morse code. The last story line before the solo from the doctor to the general being "he is a product of your profession, not mine" leads back to the horrors and brutality of war and that Johnny's body is dying now but his soul died on the battlefield.
I hadn't seen the video for years either, and I forgot just how devastating all the soundbytes from the movie are and how well they fit around, inside and on top of the song. This video was the first time I ever heard Metallica back in what was it '89?
James said that the movie reminded him how he felt when his father left when he was 13 and his Mother passed away not to long after, he’s an underrated song writer
Jusr yesterday i saw an article calling James the worst lyricist ever, saying that he writes songs with no meaning. Unfortunately, there was no commenting available, otherwise I'd have told him how stupid he has to be to say that.
@@daveaf5281 i think hes referring to james’ actual song writing ability outside sales and overall popularity, lot of their songs have way more meaning then the majority actually understand
Hi, Elizabeth - thanks for doing this video. At first I assumed that your reactions were simply 'put on' or 'for show,' if you will - but I watched the whole video and I found your analysis to be compelling, heartfelt, and thought-provoking. I'm glad I challenged my assumptions and gave it a chance - consider me a fan. Looking forward to seeing more of this kind of video!
I love to hear when non-metal heads listen to Metallica (and other groups) and finally see that it is more than what it appears to be on the surface, more than society says it is, more than it is portrayed in the movies. Metallica saved my life. I'm glad they reached into your soul, too.
I grew up in the 90s listening to tool...I hear ya. People thought they were satan worshippers sacrificing goats turns out they are signing about peace and emotional healing and spirituality 😅
The last line before the intense guitarr solo is "He's a product of your profession... not mine." which always made me interpret it as anger against those responsible for the war but also the horrific state the patient is in.
I got that feeling as well, however, given that the other person was actually trying to get a reaction of mercy from him, kind of like “do something”, that’s how it sounded to me at least, this guy just shut him down in a personal matter, and I think the bigger issue was the state of the patient, and not his own beliefs and ego. Just my opinion.
The medical people are trying to guilt the officer, blaming him as a minister of war for this man's predicament... but the unexpected rebuttal is his brief way of saying "In my line of work people are dead when they are done, it's your ethically questionable work that has kept him alive languishing in this state..."
This is literally the song that launched my interest in Heavy Metal, and music in general. I still remember the first time I heard it. I still remember the person who introduced it to me to this day, and that was nearly 20 years ago. It's usually a difficult thing to think back and determine where something you have cherished your entire life started, but for me, it was this song!
I was a freshman in high school in 89. Saw the video on MTV and was instantly hooked. Didnt even know they had 3 albums out already. Opened the floodgates to metal for me. Good times.
On the school bus fall 1996, friend had his Walkman cassette player and I heard "Sad But True" for the first time. Up to that point I had been forced to listen to whatever my parents or sisters wanted to listen to (old country music, classical music, or 90's pop). Changed my life. Will never forget my friend or that moment.
THE UNFORGIVEN was what really made me fall in love with Metallica’s “softer” side. I had really enjoyed things like Master of puppets and so forth up until this point, whenever I heard this particular song, it was after I had become a Metallica fan and bought the black album because of the Unforgivven. The year was 1991, and I was on the road with a traveling fair. We were setting up a ride called The Gravitron, which looked like a spaceship, and spun around and whoever was in it laid back on their pad on the wall and slid up as it spun faster. We were setting up this ride and playing some music, and that song came on, and I lost my junk! From that moment on, I was giving Metallica way more of an ear than I’ve ever given before. I don’t regret any of it. Rock on!! 🤟🏼🤟🏼🤟🏼
I was already playing guitar, but this album made me want to play professionally. I didn't know music could sound like this. This song opened the door, but 3 minutes into Blackened, I was hooked forever.
Rewatched this and your reaction is so honest, to recognize metal as capable of art to convey emotion and beauty… I find it refreshing and pure. I fell in love with music as a young teen, and still write such music to this day, but it is more understandable to hear you interpret it than I can explain although I musically as a guitarist write it. That may make no sense but in short, thank you Elizabeth
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Metallica is the greatest metal/rock n roll band ever, check out the "S&M" (Metallica and the San Francisco symphony orchestra) double album it is amazing, it's on UA-cam\m/
Enter sandman is Metallica’s best song I’d say 👌 review this if you haven’t already
@@chrisd3211 while yes it's a great song it's not close to their best, The Call of Ktulu, Creeping Death, Orion, Master of Puppets,2×4 and The Frayed Ends of Sanity all better imo 😉\m/
This was my first intro to Metallica. My brother listened to it and played guitar. I did sports and listened to Top 40 and Yo mTV Raps. I was reluctant even at first to hear it.
@@roncriswell2685 my brother once in Jazz Band had the band play Metallica when the teacher stepped out. Before the collab.
Teacher wasn't happy. Like a Twisted Sister video, "We're not Gonna Take It."
I’m a disabled veteran of Desert Storm warfare. I am paralyzed, can’t see or hear well with heavy ptsd. I can relate. I remember when this song came out. I could only feel self pity. I am handicapable now. Keep moving forward not dwelling on the past.
Thank you for your sacrifices brother. May you be blessed
You are an amazing human. Thank you.
Mission before self as they say… God bless you Sir.
Thank you for your service and sacrifice brother! We are all blessed to have men and women like yourself lay your lives on the line for our freedoms, we're not worthy of your gift! 🤘
Jesus man I cant even imagine. That sort of resilience is beyond admirable. Thank you for your service
When this song came out I was failing high school. My 60 year old English teacher had us listen to this song and read the book and she interpreted the drums as being the munitions and gunfire exploding on the battlefield. That moment changed my life because I suddenly understood how art can be used to express emotion and the human experience. And though many more years would go by I eventually did get my BA in English literature and I thank my teacher and Metallica for that. This song will always hold a special and very intimate part in my life.
Thats a great teacher!
Imagine an English teacher telling you to listen to Metallica as an assignment. Best class ever.
Wait, who? Cares.
The drums are the same beat at SOS in morse code as well
@@vinyldash2333 I had an English teacher that wanted us to interpret RHCP - Californication, which I'd say is definitely on the same level xD
The drums were the machine guns and canons, the guitar is the screaming of the wounded, and the singing is the feelings and emotions of the victims. Heavy metal indeed
That's a great way of listening/accepting the song
Low key the bass was just James mourning cliff
@@guitarMaster666PoopI think that's a fact, I don't blame him either ...and justice for all was a banging album, just one step in their massive career 🤘
the bass is the sound of use of arrows and maces
That's the best explanation, why Jasons´ bass was missing. No part in the story.
I served in the Army for 12 years as a Christian. I make that distinction because when I first enlisted in 1998, I was praised by many in my church for doing "God's will" in defending His nation (America). When I went to Iraq and saw the real reason for war (money and resources), I became really jaded towards American idealism and religious marriage to it. Listening to this song time and time again stirs up those emotions and brings tears to my eyes of how so many people are prone to war first, and how so many American churches condone war. Breaks my heart and I am sure breaks the heart of our Heavenly Father.
My dad pretty much forced me to listen to this and watch the video about a year before he died when I was 15/16 to show me Metallica, and how deep it was. I didn’t really get into Metallica and that whole genre until after he passed, so I couldn’t thank him for it, but this song gives me my dad back for just a minute.
I was already emotional before I read your comment because of the song. Now I’m on the verge of crying. I’m here laying in a hospital bed with a Motley Crue shirt on. I lost my dad at 14. He wasn’t a vet but a have a lot of family members who served or are serving. My cousin in the Air Force and my brother is a marine. I wanted to serve. But my health is so bad, my stomach partly paralyzed along with my intestines. I faint and have asthma and cerebral palsy. My dad was also disabled. Spinal cord injury. His body finally gave out a month before I started high school freshman year. He gave me so much. And one of the best thing he has given me is my music taste. I use to be rocked to sleep as a baby to ozzy, kiss, AC/DC, and more. I would sleep to heavy metal and screamo to lullabies. I was singing kid rock and AC/DC as soon as I could talk. I knew the lyrics to at 3 or 4. I grew up with his music and of course my alternative and emo music 😂. Music is one of the reasons I’m still alive. I wish I could hug him and thank him. Without my music I would of felt so alone and never would be able to process emotion. Or even feel close to my dad. I’m in the hospital hooked up to feeding tubes and ivs because i cant get nutrients. I am 20 now and would give anything to have my dad beside me. So I am so grateful for this channel and the music. Thank you so much for sharing. I really needed to hear that. If you ever need to talk I’m here.
@@ollieishere4122 thank YOU for sharing that. I’m sorry for your loss, and all of the medical stuff you have going on. I hope you get to get out of the hospital soon. And thanks to your cousin and brother for their service.
@@LaneyLia thank you so much. Sorry I was in a hard mental place at that time. I am pretty okay with my health and am coping. I’m back home and got some not so good health news. But hey, I can live until I’m 90 and I have wonderful people in my life. So I can be content! Anyway thank you for listening. I hope you are doing well❤️
You're not alone. We belong to the Metal Militia. Hope you feel better right now. I'm a friend from Mexico.
@@SenorSmoke79 thank you 🖤
I spent a month in a coma on full life support in a sealed isolation chamber with every organ in complete failure and given zero chance of ever living or recovering. (Several years of "fuuuuuuck that" later I had an almost complete recovery). It took a couple years before I could listen to this song again. But I could never get even partway through the video for the past twenty years, the movie narration linked with the lyrics just destroys me. This is the first time I've gotten through it since then, and I'm crying my fucking eyes out remembering the eternity of unimaginably horrible things I went through in the coma. But I've finally regained one of my favorite videos ever, and it was your genuine compassion and humanity throughout it that helped me get through it. Thank you for being you, the world is a better place for it
Holy shit man. Glad you came back. Had a friend who went through 3 of them from 3 separate injuries and came back 3 times, he was practically Lazarus, but I don't think he was conscious during those stretches. I can't even imagine.
Holy fuck, dude
So glad you pulled thru man.
Holy shit bro. So glad you are here. You are an extremely strong person
@@Nick-bb9km why thank you. Like I always say, once you go black, it's like smoking crack ❤️
If its emotion and Metallica you want,look no further than Fade To Black,gives a guy the old chicken skin every time he hears it.Cant wait to see what you think of ONE,thank you for doing this!
Sure, but for vocal analysis, the second half of their career, where James actually had to sing instead of yelling in key (his own words), is more interesting, so instead I'd suggest The Unforgiven.
This is one of the greatest metal songs of ALL Time; but it is due to the inspiration that came from the book: Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo!! The clips in music video are from a movie that was created from Trumbo's short novel. I believe someone read the book, then saw the movie and wrote this amazing song! I have always hoped they would remake the movie because it doesn't come close to the power of the book. Metallica's One DOES! But the book is basically the story of a man mutilated by war with only his brain and life functions (breathing, heart pumping) still working, thinking about life and the terrible place he is now trapped in. Pretty difficult to create a movie completely about one mans thoughts! The book actually places you inside the man trapped in his own body! You actually think you might go crazy if you read another page! Its visceral and moving!
Just as Metallica's ONE is!
So glad you are covering this amazing song. I read the book first; but now anytime I hear this song, I have to pause and listen to it until the end... just like the book, you can't put it down.
Thank you!
Everyone should read this novel, it will change your life and perspective and could possibly change the world.
To Live is to die
Fade to Black or Nothing Else Matters would be right up Elizabeth's alley.
I agree if it’s emotion from Metallica you want then fade to black is top tier
My story is very different yet I can relate. I've been through multiple surgeries. First time when I was a 10 year old girl. Woke up too early feeling the tube in my throat and horrible pain, wondering what is happening as nobody prepared me for anything. At the age of 13 I got paralyzed from the neck. Metallica did a terrific job in describing the horrors of being trapped in your head and body and not being able to communicate. I too tired to scream for help, over and over. I could hear the doctors vaguely just like the echoing voices in the video. But I couldn't speak nor move nor open my eyes. Nobody could hear me. I was only 10... Once paralyzed it was also difficult to tell what is real and what not for days. Thank you Metallica for giving a voice to the voiceless and describing the experience this well. I hope that I will have the opportunity to visit a concert - it's one of my dreams. I am 34 and tetraplegic, but my hearing is outstanding and music means everything to me.
"One" is one of the most important songs in music history, more specifically the heavy metal genre. The subject matter and musicianship we're impossible to dismiss. The song was released only 14 years after the end of the Vietnam war so the gravitas of the subject matter was very topical and in the public conscious. The video followed the same vein. There were no dragons, devil's, or scantily clad women. Just four guys in skinny jeans and Reebok's refusing to be ignored.
*13 years not 14 Nam ended in '75 and One dropped in '88
@@coreyabell6332 thank you for looking out.
It's not about only any war, it's about what all wars bring. Only sadness in normal lives.
. . . And Justice for all will always be my favourite Metallica album.
Pretty positive they rocked Nike back in the 80’s, not Reebok.
To be honest, I have heard One so many times that I haven't had an honest emotional reaction to it in a long time...until watching you react to it today. I was moved to tears several times because anticipating your reaction stripped away that jadedness and amplified what I felt from the lyrics. Great video as always.
Same here
Take time to sit down and revisit those old classics. So much great music, so many great bands in the 70's, 80's and 90's.
We are indeed blessed to be living in this time.
Yes!
Completely agree with you here.
Same. I've watched so many live versions over the years that I barely remembered the movie samples
"He's the product of your profession. Not mine." Is one of the most chilling lines in the entire film.
For democracy, any man would give his only begotten son. That gets me every timw
What’s fucked up is the elite will celebrate the winning of a war as if they gave up everything in that sacrifice.
"Kill me. Over and over again, kill me."
That's what got me
@@thememecow1673 good point.
@@raha2470 exactly.
I saw this film, when it came out in 1971, during the Vietnam War. Then I read the book. I still remember it vividly. The most horrifying point is when the doctor realizes that he is conscious and has him hidden away in shame. I knew nothing about this song or video. Thanks for this!
I asked Kirk a similar question about the solo a few years ago. He said it’s his interpretation of death, adrenaline rush followed by euphoria, that’s why it starts intense and slows down at the end.
Name drop much?!!
@@ceebee491 If I knew Kirk Hammett I'd name drop every single day, so would you. lol
@@kentksclark too right, I would !
christ... that makes it even heavier lol. Did you meet him or interview him?
@@alex0589 I got to hang out with him after a show because a friend of mine knows Kirks tour assistant. It was a wild experience since he is my guitar idol.
i always interpreted the insane guitar solo as representing the soldier's increasing desperation and panic. the aggressiveness of it shows just how desperate he is to be freed from his pain and how he's doing everything in his power to communicate that to anyone. he's fighting like an animal with its leg in a trap, and it really puts into perspective the horrors of war that soldiers bear, and relive every time they close their eyes. my grandfathers on both sides were vietnam veterans, and they always said that war is a terrible thing, and i should understand exactly what it is that they ask young people to do. great video. rock on
I could not have said it better myself.
I couldn't agree more with that assessment.
I agree. I don't see this this as an anti war song. But a song about a soldier coming home and struggling with the mental side of what he/she dealt with.
Medically induced? It's 5 times more likely to have living memories while Ina medically induced coma
I bet morse code is also in Jaymz down picking
"This is so much more lulling and soft than my first introduction"
How many of you smiled when she said this and said, "Oh, just wait a bit".
Elizabeth is to music for me as I imagine cataract surgery is for the blind. She makes me see what I would never have otherwise seen.
I was just thinking something similar... "you're at the half way mark of a Metallica song... just wait it's coming"
I started laughing and was like “in a minute that’s gonna change”
I was thinking "Hold on to your seatbelt"
@@alexandrefournel7263 I was thinking the same exact thing!!!!🤣😂
Yeah me too.
I hate watching videos where you get sad about a song, I freaking tear up every damn time. You certainly have a unique way of capturing your listeners ears...BRAVO 👏
When the chaplain is asked " don't you have anything for him " and he replies "he is a product of your profession , not mine " the coldest line in a movie ever . Even worse knowing this has happenned to many soldiers is what makes it all the more terrifying .
Yeah definitely the most brutal
It's definitely a brutal line. But the one where his father says: "Each man faces death by himself, alone" it very cold and scary.
Even the grace of God has abandoned this man.
@kevinmichael9482 When one reads about World War 1, stories like Storm of Steel are as important as stories like All Quiet.
Agree!
The wars are horrible, but even more horrible is the indifference, the stone cold ignorance to the feelings of the others...
Don't know if this has been mentioned already, but this was Metallica's first ever music video. They were famous for refusing to make them. MTV was in their hay day. Metallica had become quite large without mainstream radio play or visibility on MTV. Finally, they relented after finding a way to present one of their songs in a manner that wasn't considered "selling out" to them. Most video's of the time were pretty shallow and without message; regardless of the song's content. It was the end of the "hair band" era. Many videos featured bands looking outrageous and doing outrageous things on stage. This video contrasts all of that, with the band featured in all dark cloths in black and white; placing the focus on the music and lyrics. It was QUITE the contrast to the other videos being played on MTV at the time. Fans were so happy to finally have a video of their favorite band on MTV, that it was voted #1 on MTV's fan selected countdown show for a very long time. I think, they may have had to actually retire it because it kept on getting votes from fans for such a long time it was keeping other videos from getting their rightful exposure.
This video had an incredible impact at the time. Not just the song itself, which is of course incredible in its own way.
Remember when Justice came out ? I waa about 17. Didn't know what to feel about it. Now its music royalty
Having said that, I'm one of those weirdo's that actually like St Anger. Can't really say much for magnetic or hardwired, sounds stock to me ?
@@rossconroy1674 Eww...you are a weirdo. lol j/k I've tried to like St. Anger, just. CAN'T. Frantic is the only song I can listen to. While I LOVE Magnetic and even more so, Hardwired, I don't like the "unfinished" sound to St. Anger.
This video also marked the moment when "fans" started to call them sell-outs.
@@OptimusX1972 Yeah, St. Anger never appealed to me. Death Magnetic however, seems like the proper successor to Justice more so than the Black album did. Hardwired is just too many different riffs in the same song. They probably could have broke those up and made like 50 songs and it would have been better and MUCH easier.
I'm a Marine Corps veteran who joined shortly after 9/11. I was also in a coma for more than 7 days after severe trauma. This song has so much of that experience wrapped up into it. I really didn't know when I was awake or not, but I was totally aware that things were happening around me at times. "One" of my favorite songs.
Thank you my man, hope Uncle Sam paid you well for that damage to your brain bucket.
And I ate all your jello.
Thank you for your service.
Thanks for sharing and thank you for your service
Fair enough fellow I have ben there ( not me) but it was us & you know as I do shits real
SEMPER FI
After all these decades I still can't watch this video without crying. It's a masterpiece.
This is the song that got me into Heavy Metal. I Was in college at the time. At 19 as a single young man with severe lack of confidence, I had gotten great news, I was getting my braces off in a month. I went home excited. 20 minutes later my life would be forever changed. I was crossing the street and a driver hit me sending me 50 feet into the air and 100 feet away from the impact. The result of that accident I lost my front and bottom teeth, I had a fractured jaw and I would need12 hours of maxi facial plastic surgery. My future had just been changed in an eye blink. My original thoughts of what I was expecting were ripped from me. I was alone at home, looking at my damaged face I did not recognize. I was broken emotionally. Then I turned on mtv at the time and they played that song. I was instantly grabbed by it. This resonated with me. And despite the darkness of the song I Realized I Was not alone at all. This saved me. I have been a fan ever since. So glad you did this song.
That is so beautiful and so terrible. I’m a way I understand that pain. Mine wasn’t as shocking and fast. When I was two weeks old o got very sick. Stoped breathing at least 3 times. Had seizures. Now I have cerebral palsy. I didn’t understand I was disabled (I was in a bad living situation too) until I was 16. It hit me. I had just over come it when Covid hit and at 18/19 my stomach became paralyzed. I lost weight, 30lbs, and got put on a feeding tube. I just got the surgical j tube right Uber my belly button. I stare in the mirror and it’s like I’m not seeing myself. I have a tube hanging in out of me. My teeth are messy (I had 6 years of braces) from throwing up everything I eat. My hair had fallen out some from malnutrition so I cut it off and dyed it. I look sickly. I faint now and can’t do much movement. One thing that saved me was my music. I would sit and listen to much. At one point using it to explain to others how I was feeling. I would not be alive without music. That’s a fact.
Music has saved my life for the exact reason, that it helps me feel like I'm not alone. Other people, good people, have struggles as well. I can't explain it, but that gives me strength.
Hang in there. (So many stories I could share here)
❤
The guitar solo at that specific time was his heart rate and growing insanity. Take it from someone who was blinded, paralyzed and lost 80% of the use of my muscles for a time. The fact that they were communicating with him pushed adrenaline through whatever is left of his body and his mind kicks into overdrive because of it.
Lol so much more lulling and soft right before it goes off
Yes
It was urgency for the victim
I wish the guys in metallica could see this. Especially James. Just the appreciation of the entire body of work is awesome. Love the channel
There might be a away for get their attention, could try sharing the video to their social media
I'm sure he'll see it. James LaBrie (Dream Theater) and Tatiana Shmailyuk (Jinjer) are just a few who have connected with Elizabeth after she's reacted to their work.
He'd be getting all emotional like he did on Stern when Elton complimented him 😅😅😅.. You've gotta love Papa Het
Well said. Respectful, intelligent and well prepared are what set these reactions apart.
With the degrees of separation in this modern world, we can make this happen. I shall try!!!
you have such exaggerated reactions to some of this music that's just infectious to watch. as a depressed person it makes me feel more emotionally connected somehow. not in some weird infatuated way, but you seem like such a nice person with genuine empathy that it makes me think there's still some decency left in the world. thanks for sharing yourself.
I'm in a dangerously depressed and socially isolated state myself also, and I also take some small comfort in these videos recognizing the genuine humanity of their reactions as I try to rediscover my own ability to feel such things
@@Scott-fy7fmseek help, my friends, if needed. Wishing you luck
@@lvx4408 even UA-cam doesn't want me connecting with people, I can't even see my comment you are replying to
@@Scott-fy7fmi genuinly hope you do better now
@@carlka3891 thanks, I got a later in life diagnosis of bipolar and finally found a med that seems to be starting to help a bit. I volunteer at an animal shelter every day and that keeps me going
James has said that he related to the soldier after his brother referred him to the book. James’ dad left when he was 13 and his mom died of cancer shortly after. When he wrote the song, he wrote it recalling his own feelings of being trapped in his own body and not knowing how to deal with the anger and grief.
This was also Metallica’s first ever music video.
...after swearing they would never sell-out, or make a music video. So many young fans don't realize this.
@@Mr1Tanker If a band is going to break their no music video rule, this is the way to do it.
"The God That Failed" also derived from his Christian Science mother
@@Mr1Tanker bro it’s been over 30 years 💀
@@Mr1Tanker Most young metallica fans care more about the music than the "Tough Macho 2Cool4U" persona
One thing many people miss (including @the charismatic voice) is that in the first 2 choruses the lyrics are "oh please God wake me" and after that its a major sound (which she did hear) but in the 3rd chorus is "oh please God HELP me" and then we basicaly stay in the minor until the end. It shows that in that particular moment the patient realises he is not dreaming (if you watched the movie it shows there) and he is now aware of the situation. This song with this music video is the greatest thing ever made in history and I prefer maybe 5 songs from metallica, but everything put together here deserves an oscar, grammy or whatever can be given to this timeless masterpiece.
And in the end the lyrics change again to "please god TAKE me"!
I know it’s been said a million times before but it is so insane that this song got the infamous Grammy snub. This music video is an iconic piece of American art, the band perform it AT THE SHOW and then they pull the rug out. Incredible 😂
"I didn't understand the depth of sadness that metal could communicate".
I wasn't quite anticipating that sort of reflection for my reasoning in listening to metal as a genre, but it brought a big insight into myself, and I burst out crying, feeling seen by that statement. Thank you, I didn't know I'd get getting therapy and emotional release by witenssing someone listen to, and reflect on Metallica, but hear we are. Thank you Elizabeth!
I have used metal as a means to allay my emotional lows as well as to help express my joy ever since I discovered the genre back in the early 1970's.
Weirdo
@@xscorpx Why? Apart from your very self descriptive name....
Metal is a very intelligent genre, with poets, philosophers and virtuoso'. Okay not all, but I think it's the most emotive music out there...
@@alanandjess7516 It's true, or at least often. It's a style of music very much related to deeply felt, but often tumultuous emotions. Part of the reason that I've connected with Devin Townsend's music so much is that I relate to his own journey of emotional evolution that he demonstrates in his music.
The album version of this song is powerful in its own right. However, the video adds even more punch to tell the story. As a veteran, watching the video hits me in the gut and make me well up every time. Thank you for doing this song, Elizabeth. You are amazing at what you do in analyzing such a wide array of music.
The movie clips definitely add punch but I always urge reactors to listen to the album version as well to let the music and just James come through without the distraction.
"Metal" music is often under rated and misunderstood...It is complex and 100% emotionally driven...If you actually dissect the lyrics from the overwhelming sounds that you hear they express something deep and explore parts of your existence you may not want to confront....This type of music is intense which seems loud... but thats exactly the feeling you are supposed to get!!! Love this reaction video!!!!
I mean you’re not wrong.
Even a song like You Suffer by Napalm Death, it’s 3 seconds and a scream.
But the official lyrics are “You suffer, but why?”.
There’s something to be said for that lol
I'm soon 54 and I grew up with this. Never cried to it till now, until we took it apart and really looked deeply into it. I thank you personally for your endearing ways and your talent
So true. Im gonna spearhead our chapter viewing party of johnny got his gun. This is the song that hooked me. It is available on prime video for 2.99 rental. 😃
Same for me. I’m 48.
I'm 53 and it brings tears to my eyes. I remember when I first heard this album and I was actually pretty dismissive of it - too slow, too boring, WTF - this isn't Metallica!! Where is the aggression from Seek & Destroy, where is the sorrow from Fade To Black, where is the despair from Welcome Home (Sanitarium)?
Second listen, OMG how could I have been soooo wrong! I think it was the change after Cliff's passing and the new Bass sound of Jason Newstead. I remember this vividly - it was way, way so much deeper that I could imagine! The Guitaring is frankly superb - on all counts!
Honestly this is one of Metallica's best tracks and their very first music video, which in it's self is pretty amazing! Ohhh they fecking nailed it!!!! I didn't see the video for, probably a month, after I heard the album and it blew my mind!!
I'd forgotten quite how horrific the video was! Bloody well done!!
X2.. first time I find myself really examining what's unfolding here. Pretty emotional. I've heard this song a million times, but never felt it like this. What an amazingly well crafted work of art.. Hetfield is a genius..
Never seen a reaction with such emotion in her/your eyes to this song. You totally got it
As a nurse, I deeply feel that the guitar solo at the end of the song is relative to the nurse’s internal struggle to ensure life and longevity of the veteran’s body versus treating the intense mental and emotional agony of continuing to live on in the face of utter hopelessness. Her internal struggle to act upon this desire to mercifully end his pain is in direct contradiction to her sworn duty to preserve life and is a weight few will ever experience. I sincerely feel that her final decision to carry out the merciful aspect of her calling as a provider of comfort was robbed from both her and the patient when it was so callously interrupted by those that have NO understanding of TRUE compassion. It is a dichotomy that cannot easily be expressed in one or two paragraphs but rather one or two meaningful moments in time when one’s life hangs in the balance.
This also provides an interesting context for the observation that the movie quote about each person dying alone is immediately followed by the harmonized guitar solo.
Damn. Wow. 👍
I agree and believe this is absolutely part of this, but also believe the solo is representative of this soldiers struggle to have his message/wishes heard by those and once heard, carried out. This apex of his story and the song were represented by the guitar solo as decisions were made, the act was carried out, and the emotional struggle and aftermath for her was administered as she dealt with her own actions which while necessary/requested by her patient were contradictory to her core as a care giver. The solo played a good transition for a lot of themes being carried out in the finale of this song and video.
That's a lot to think about. If someone has DNR tattooed on their chest, does that still stop you? Moral, ethical and other questions come up, are you to take the 0.00000000000001% chance an attempted killer didn't make sure the victim was dead but made a convincing fake tattoo before they left the body? Or if they meant DNR only in natural circumstances, but if they were stabbed, shot or hit by a car they would like to be resuscitated/revived? There isn't an instance of fine print under DNR tats that I've heard of. I think that's the definition of predicament.
As a retired combat veteran, I identify with this song on a mental, spiritual, and emotional level. I have so much to say, there is no way I can say it all. Umm...having PTSD sometimes is like you described, being stuck in your own brain. I also experienced this after a serious accident that should have killed me, I was in a coma for a short time....a couple of days and I was aware of things going on around me at times. I so desperately wanted to reach out to my family and tell them I was okay and I loved them, but could not. This was extended by my time on a ventilator and unable to speak. I thank God, could communicate by writing and I have all my limbs, but not being able to fully express myself was difficult. I can and do understand this video on that level. Thank you for doing this song. I....
I hear you, brother. In the same boat. 🇨🇦
Ty for your service!!!
We are stronger together my brother. You are NEVER alone...
Thank you for your service and for the honesty and vulnerability in your post. I am a trained medic and nurse who's spent my adult life (22 years) caring for those who are trapped in their bodies, minds, and/or thoughts. Sometimes it feels like it breaks something inside of you but we bend, not break and get up each day to do it all over again, always knowing that we're stronger for living it. Keep staying strong, you're definitely not alone.
I was never in the service, but I was in a coma for 28 days. I do remember some of it. My heart had stopped and they had to shock me 14 times to get me back. I was fortunate to have only felt 1 shock. It hurt something fierce. I was soon out of it again. Also remeber them using breathing treatments on me. It felt like I was being drowned. I couldn't talk, didn't understand what they were doing to me or who they were. I could only growl. Thats been 6 years ago now. If I felt or was aware of more my brain has locked that away from memory...thank God
As an old Infantryman, this song went from being my high school get fired up song to being a hard dose of reality for many of my brothers and sisters. Decades later, it means so much more.
Amen to that bro. Take care
Navy 1981-1985. I was in Beruit in 83-84. I know that feeling.
God damn right battle. Operation Iraqi Freedom 2003-5 6-7.
Affirm, brother. OIF grunt, Purple Heart 10/2004
The internet can be a great place. Teared up reading this while listening to one of the best songs (and reaction) ever.
Wow. Since my teenager years, I've listened to this song THOUSANDS of times, played it probably hundreds, and NOT ONCE have I all-out cried while listening to it! Your channel manages to take emotional songs and intensifiy them! Well done and keep it going! 👏🤘
"Johnny got his Gun" that the clips are from, is the most gut wrenching film you could ever watch. They didn't help the nurse who discovered he could be communicated with by Morse Code, euthanize him, they stopped her and they fired her to cover up their misjudgment of his condition. They wheeled him into a private room so there would be little contact and no one else would discover they made a mistake. Ending scene was wheeling him into the room, turning around, walking away, killing the lights and closing the door leaving him alone. I burst into tears and was sick to my stomach and I'm a 77 yr old man and saw this 2 yrs ago.
Not just the film, but the book is a whole different story. Its enough to mess with your head and look at war and life and any kinda of suffering in a whole different sense. You're the first comment I read mentioning this which saddens me. Thought there would be more Johnny git his gun comments. This song was literally based on the book and film. How some of these fans don't know that, blows my mind. Thank you
@@tomdude96 Also surprised! I'm a pretty avid reader but never that one. Knowing books are always better than the movie that they spun from, probably won't read it. The movie was heartbreaking enough. Movies are never able to capture the real feel. Only one I saw that followed the book well was "Time Travelers Wife" and then they had to spoil it at the very end. Biggest abomination was "Clan of the Cave Bear". An absolutely wonderful complex story that took six books to cover and wound up being a grunting monkey movie. Jean Auel must have been appalled!
@@ronaldmcrae4896 I don't know this first hand, only from what I'd consider a reliable source, but one of the only examples of a movie that follows the exact course of the book it was derived from is Stanley Kubrick's 'A Clockwork Orange' based on the book by Anthony Burgess.
@@philphilips1020 Never read that. Was aware of it but the title never drew me to it. You peaked my interest and found a pretty good synopsis of it. Actually sounds interesting. I may give it a whirl, thanks.
@@tomdude96 scrolling through the comments I noticed the same. I realized that after reading the book, later I also heard Lars mention it in an interview.
This is a sadly beautiful song, written by Lars and James you need to remember when this came out it was right around the time of the Berlin Wall coming down and all of the unrest from the Cold War. I remember the first time I saw them play it live half the audience was crying. Very moving.
This is the Morse Code pattern for "Kill Me"
-.- .. .-.. .-.. -- .
And that is what the patient "Johnny" tries to tap out during the movie to the Drs. It follows some of the beats in the song.
That's the main riff rythmn when they kick into "Land mine, taken my arms..."
I immediately thought of this at around 13:45 when she brings up the almost random changes in time and wondered if they patterned it in on purpose to match the Morse code for “kill me”
That is incredible! I never knew that.
As a drummer, that blows my mind that they could have had the ability to incorporate that in an artistic way.
It reminds me of the precise rhythm on the snare beats, just before the lead guitar solo begins.
I thought I was the only one who had ever figured that out. I used to tell people that and no one would accept it 🤣
Glad to know I wasn't crazy
When I served in the army in 2013-2014 (I am from Russia, we have a draft army), my country unleashed the first stage of the conflict in Ukraine. I was lucky, I did not participate in hostilities, I had a staff position. But I specifically read the book "Johnny Got His Gun" and listened to this Metallica song so as not to succumb to the false military propaganda.
It's absolutely scary, creepy, heavy, but a great book and an equally great song. Thank you for taking it apart in such detail and emotionally. At the end, I broke down and cried.
(Excuse me for my English)
In, Russia, can a militray aged male be drafted more than once? For example, since you were drafted to the Invasion in, Ukraine back in, 2014. Can you get drafted again, 2023 for the now, new invasion of ALL of, Ukraine?
@@nexpro6118 After military service in the Russian army, the serviceman is transferred to the reserve. If partial or full mobilization is announced in the country, then he can be called up again in the Armed Forces.
In 2014, during the occupation of Crimea, I served, but did not participate in this operation. I served in another region.
So yes, in theory, they can call me directly to the region of warfare. So far, this has not happened, but in fact, no one is insured against this.
@@Deft2000 thank you for sharing. Here in the US (I served in the marines from 2004 to 2009 and I was able to get called back until, 2013. After 2013, the ONLY way to get called back would be if the US implemented the Draft again
@@nexpro6118 Does the US provide for the possibility of introducing mobilization in case of martial law?
@@Deft2000 ONLY the President and Governor of the state that martial law is called in can mobilize the National Guard Units but CANNOT mobilize the Regular Full Time Military for martial law events.
NEVER CHANGE THE WAY YOU DO YOUR REVIEWS ELIZABETH!!!!! FANTASTIC!!!! YOU AND EVERY MEMBER OF YOUR TEAM!!!!
Saw this pop up on the scheduled premier list and was very excited to hear your take on it. Such a powerful song. I'd love you to look at "Fade to Black", my all-time favorite song of any genre.
True,powerful song,and best ballad ever,along with Unforgiven,yet Fade to Black sounds better🤘🤘
Me too!!! Its been my all time fav song for as long as I can remember! 😁
Man Capp, you're everywhere lol
Fade to Black is an absolute work of art.
From this title, I remember Fort Minor's song, Red to Black... what a damn song that is...
"Johnny got his gun" is one of the most disturbing movies I have ever watched in my life. And while it is a movie masterpiece, I have never had the heart to put myself through it for a second time - and I normally watch war movies like Saving Private Ryan, Fury, 1917 or Band of Brothers fairly regularly…
The intensity of the solo at the end is clearly matched to the movie:
After they finally figured out, that there was still a human spirit in this pile of flesh (and has been for several years by that time), they indeed learn that his only wish is to be put out of his misery. They refuse, for scientific reasons, only the nurse has a heart and actually tries to kill him. She is stopped however, and the movie ends with the curtains on the window being shut, and he loses his last sensation, the sun on his skin...
I'm a U.S. Marine combat veteran...and that movie is extremely disturbing for me. I was in a coma after my second TBI and I am so grateful I woke up.
I’ve never seen it aside from these clips but that description sounds like it’s a must watch movie before you die. I’ll add it to my list
Read the original book by Dalton Trumbo, it’s way better than the movie.
The book makes it even more terrifying, if that's possible.
@@lv-426paradise3 just bought the book and audio book. I’ll listen to it on my way to work
That guitar solo was that man’s screams, that man’s pain, it directly captures the essence of chaos in his soul. Painfully beautiful
I think it's the patient's descent into insanity. I think being trapped as you would be like that, you'd slip into that downward spiral very very easily.
@@exzyle2k very well said, so terrifying to imagine, something I hope I never have to experience, may the lord make it quick when he takes me.
and maybe the relief of sending that message and it beeing heard, in the more "happy" parts of it
The pentatonic(or maybe it's arpeggio) descent near the beginning of the solo, the
"Up down down, up down down, up down down" part before the second set of blast beats, at the end of his tapping, is the man's cries, his literal sobs.
Agreed. It's the screaming chaos of his mind and descent into madness.
This is the second time I've watch you video about the Song "One" and I loved your commentary and the song/video tore me up again in a good way. I'm and old Metallica fan and your video as always was a joy.
You need to do Metallica’s “Fade to Black”. Musically it is a masterpiece. It deals with with the topic of suicide but I actually find the song uplifting. It’s a power ballad with an amazing guitar solo. Cliff Burton’s influence can definitely be heard on this song. R.I.P. Cliff
Fade to Black is the way... it's probably the song that gave Metallica access to the semi-general public. The amazing part to consider is the year... what, 1986? Maybe '85? The popular music at the time pretty much was nothing close and it was metal and punk trying to out do each other... good times. :)
Exactly bro. I thought of "Fade to Black" too.
It really doesn't get much sadder than "Fade to Black."
Damed right!
...but please the Moskow 91 s**t
Unbeatable! 🤘
Fade to black is better than this iteration of the song. Metallica butchered the studio recording of AJFA - RTL is miles better. I only ever listen to AJFA stuff from live recordings!
I am one of many who suffer from PTSD. I served 2 tours in Iraq and it was my second tour that affected me the most because of the length. Our unit was one of the last that served 18 months in country. After it was all over I had the one scar that takes lots of time to heal and that is survivors' guilt. I didn't lose any body parts, only my mind and a sense of humanity. This was a song that I listened to while I was deployed in Desert Storm and now it has more meaning listening to it. I still love it and can say now that I am glad I didn't listen to it during that dark time, I know that I wouldn't have made it to this day. The whole "And Justice For All" album is genius.
*Thank you for your service, sir! We appreciate you greatly!*
Stand for our GOD given FREEDOM!
Amen
🙏🙌✝️🇺🇲✡🙌🙏
Thank you for your service 🙏
@@diesel3333 I do not mean to deny God or impugn your faith, but if our freedoms were God-given, we would not need brave men and women to defend them. Our freedoms come from laws and other institutions created by humans, and they can be taken away by humans if we fail to be vigilant, or are merely unlucky, like Ukraine, possibly.
Served in 1993-97 USMC as a grunt. You are loved brother......by millions of those who served.
I agree, the whole album was genius. It was the one of their last great alblums. the Black Album... meh!.
@@JPMadden correct, God doesn't ensure freedom, men and women in uniform do, but when we sign up, are conscripted or drafted, most have God close by. The Ukrainians need as much as we can get to them.
Another song that is lyrically heavy from Metallica is “Dyers Eve.” It’s about Hetfield’s frustration and anger about the way his parents raised him. As a kid, I never thought much of the lyric until my dad asked me “what’s he saying there?” Until I just read him the lyric. He’d never taken any interest in a metal song before but I could tell that he was moved by it, and he said “that’s the way it was for me, “ and “that’s the best song they ever wrote.” I’m glad that I had such a great dad, and that I had the sense to tell him that he wasn’t like them.
Agreed, fantastically heavy song lyrically, with well-matched music and rhythm.
dyers eve is my favorite Metallica song hands down... when paurd with to live is to die its just *chef kiss*. dyers eve is easily one of their most angry, aggressive, and bitter songs it's fantastic.
Best pure thrash song they have written.
One of the best thrash metal songs ever.
@@TheePIB "Dear mother, dear father, what is this hell you have put me through?" Man... the song is poetry. Not only great thrash, but that's the spirit of rock and roll summed up.
great to hear such stories, i have been metallica fan since early 90's and no one in my peers can stand heavy music and don't understand anything. So its just good for me to read such comments
One of the greatest pieces of music ever composed. I fight back tears every time I hear it. Great job on the analysis.
I served in the Marines during the Afghan War, this song really hits deep for me. I know everyone experiences combat differently, the guitar solo at the end reminds me of the panic and fear you feel when you're assaulting an enemy position. Everything is in fast forward, you have no time to think, barely have time to breathe. You just run and shoot until it's over. For the guy in the video he's fighting with that same desperation.
Have you heard red gums only 19 it’s about a Vietnam war vet
Thank you for your service Sir.
My interpretation is the man reaching his boiling point and wanting everything to be over but you could be right 🧐
❤
God Bless you Devil Dog. Semper Fi!
Haven't cried in a year or so until now. Just had a nice 15 minute cry watching you experience this masterpiece for the first time. Thank you.
Me too
lol
its weird, isn't it? I watched it back a year ago when it first came out and watching it again just now and welling up.
dudes, she's faking it, lol
@ramacabral4399 you need to watch more of her channel, and listen to her sing, too. Her life is music, man. More than yours or mine.
I’ve heard this song 1,000 times if not more, but never quite like this. Elizabeth you have this amazing gift of enabling people to see some of their favorite songs from different perspectives and that is huge!!! Thank you Elizabeth, love you ❤️
I feel the same way Metallica being one of my favorites, I have heard this song hundreds if not thousands of times, but this time is almost as if it's the first!
You're welcome! ❤️
As a combat vet, this hit SO much harder then it ever did when it came out. It was a powerful message then - but now hits on an entirely different level. Its amazing what 30+ years and three combat tours can do to ones perspective. Thank you so much for sharing.
“This is so much more lulling and soft, than my intro to Metallica…”
Me: visibly giggling at the screen in anticipation
So did I!
Me: “wait for it…. Wait for it….!!” I
Exactly 😜
damn straight
Give it some time
Love when she said its so soft compared to the other song, and I was like "Wait there's more!"
❤ yeah definitely. just wait .
Haha me too! 🙂
Got to the point you mentioned. I LoL.
DARKNESS
I was like that too and was like "wait for the darkness bridge "
Locked In Syndrome., PTSD, anger, frustration, depression,, agony, the waste of war, all put to music in a way only Metallica can! Thank you so much for putting this together for us. Your analysis has inspired an appreciation for this masterpiece on a whole new level.
I have to say, I like your analysis very much, you go into musical theory, lyrics and conceptual interpretation, as well into the emotions that are conveyed to the audience, and you’re also very sensitive to the depth of art, I can see you really live those emotions. This is what an analysis should be like, and you do it wonderfully. I’ve seen a few vocal coaches react and it just doesn’t click with me, reaction without in depth emotion is just.. bland. Very good job! I enjoy your videos!
To be honest, I see this channel as an escape from things like the news and current events. Still, it's hard to imagine a more fitting time to dive into Metallica's chilling, epic monument to the suffering that war brings. The stark look of the video, interspersed.with disturbing scenes and dialog from the movie Johnny Got His Gun definitely enhances the song's terrifying message. Still, amongst all this darkness, it is hard not to be energized by the band's compositional brilliance and instrumental virtuosity, as well as the fierce energy that surges throughout the song, even in it's most somber moments.
Wouldn't it be wonderful Squire Schmidt, if we didn't need songs about the war in the future?
And the "worst" song would be Miss Elizabeth's "Always" Unicorn cover? Or "Pump It" by the Eskimo Callboys?
@@joergojschaefer3521 In 1867 a man named Alfred Nobel created something that he thought would end war: dynamite. The Wright Brothers thought the discovery of the airplane and human flight would end war. Unfortunately war seems to be a part of human nature and as long as there is war, with both it's suffering and it's acts of selfless heroism, there will always be artists to confront it. For my money, I have always felt that the most compelling art comes from very dark places, although you did bring up two pretty amazing exceptions to this rule. Now I need to listen to "Always" again! 😊
Or how about "Eye of the Beholder" for how anyone who speaks out against the governemnt is shut up.
@@oglschmitt "Always" is always WOOT WOOT because it's a Miss Elizabeth cover... 😁
@@michaelb1761 Great song. Almost feels like an evil nursery rhyme. That would be another very prescient reaction.
I remember being in 8th grade, seeing this on MTV, first real Metallica I'd ever heard. I remember those emotions the first time, and 30 some odd years later I still get the same feelings. At the end of the video, where the people are singing "Keep the Home Fires Burning", I always get this sense of futility, where they can sing their songs and pray for the safety of the troops in the war, but they will never truly know the horror that Johnny has faced. This song, and the accompanying video, is one of the reasons I got interested in war history, and it's really polar opposite of a lot of the sanitized depictions of war, where only the bad guys suffer and the hero prevails. Thank you for your analysis of such a great song!
Back when I was in the worst part of my combat PTSD and depression, Metallica's music saved my life, literally....
God bless you, brother.
Thank you for your service - regardless from where in this world you hail.
Semper Fi, brother.
I hear you brother! Had a near-fatal firefighting experience that injured and almost killed some of my firefighting crew. Pink Floyd was my PTSD survival medicine. Comfortably numb...
@@firetukker oh yeah, stay strong bro
Thank you for reviewing this song, I used to stay up late on weekends glued to when MTV was just that, always waiting for this video to come on. One of the best songs written of the last 40 years. Continue your path with Metallica.
This lady that I adore since I see these videos, she is more sensitive than a seismograph, she has the ability to put into words what one feels with this type of songs. From Venezuela, thank you Miss Zharoff
This is EXACTLY what I thought
@@OBS_GHOST thats a woman
I totally agree. Not only does she analyze and explain the technical aspects of singing and more, but she FEELS the music and the visuals. Particularly with the movie background. I am sure some of that is her background and training, but also her personality as well. I love seeing her eyelids flitter during certain portions. It is like a computer saying “PROCESSING” only it is a human thinking and feeling her way through. Not to mention her eyebrows. All of Her facial expression are amazing and priceless. Another amazing reaction from one of the best reactors on UA-cam!
The second solo is Kirk’s expression of what warrior’s tears sound like. He’s absolutely at the end of his sanity. He’s been begging for death, which was slow to come. Crying “out,” relief finally comes in the form of release, and tears of relief take over the tears of terror and grief. He resolves (the outro), gathers himself, and finally - finally - death comes as the song ends.
The thing is, based on the movie the song revolves around, he doesn't die. At least, not then and there. He is kept alive for many more years before he does, which is absolutely terrible.
Nicely done.
@@mlgamings6110 the book is excruciating
Didn't know that. Thanks for the info
@@PatchouliPenny I saw the movie in the theater and it is really an unusual and down trodden movie with no redemptive quality and you left the theater in silence. That’s what the movie was meant to be. I was home from Vietnam and didn’t know about the plot of this movie. Left me with nightmares.
Thankfully it's the full video and not the edit 👍
For a band that for a long time didn't want to make a music video, they sure knocked it out of the park on their first try.
I love how at the Grammy's back in the day, this song just left the whole tragically hip audience in shock 😂
Was this the Grammy's where Jethro Tull won for Best Heavy Metal Band? That would be the peak of irony if so.
@@chrislira3574 And When metallica finally won a Grammy, Lars Thanked Jethro Tell For not releasing an album that year :)
@@chrislira3574 Even Ian Anderson didn't show up for the ceremony where he won, because he was convinced Metallica would win. The voters were like "This music scares us, but this band has a flute, we like this." Also nominated, an unknown band named Soundgarden. Not metal, but closer.
Thanks!
I've always looked at the solo as the vets spiraling emotional state. This is one of my favorite metallica songs. Every single thing is intentional, the drums sounding like artillery, the slow build into the heavy downfall. Absolutely perfect. Metal as art is beautiful.
Yeah, i've always looked at the solo the same way, with the vet's state of mind... but also the people around him, especially the nurse, who realizes the anguish he is in, and tries to help him out.
or maybe it was inserted because every metal song has its obligatory solo. not everything is intentional to the story but maybe to service metal fans at the time. just a thought.
I always saw it as pure anxiety knowing he can’t really do anything. Panic attacks feel like pure dread and doom looming and the speed of the solo fits it so perfectly.
@@darricshhh sure, it is obligatory to have a solo in metal. But if anywhere, a solo is most intentional in One. This is the most organic solo I've ever heard, even if it wasn't a traditional part of metal songs it would still fit.
i feel the solo would be the chaos that would follow knowing how much pain someone is in to the point he is begging to die and that you are the one causing so much pain by keeping him alive but what are the troubles they would get in for killing him now he has technically been successfully saved in a hospital that a lot of people would know about (based off movie)
Watching Elizabeth listening to One is so hard for me to handle. Her empathy to the sadness in this song is contagious.
Her eyes! OMG, you can see her empathy in just her eyes.
Shock.
Empathy.
Sorrow.
This video coaching of Jacob Collier is breath taking. The coach struggles even to form words because the music is so stunning. It's pure, wonderful joy.
ua-cam.com/video/9tGtZxgUCCI/v-deo.html
Right? Have I become so desensitized that I can’t feel this anymore? Elizabeth breathes new wind in my sails. Thank you ❤️❤️❤️❤️
I feel the same! I've listened to "One" a million times but, watching Elizabeth react to it the first time was very emotional for me...
felt like a throat punch to my heart strings.
Man I've never teared up listening to this song until watching her. Tremendous emotion!
You could do an amazing analysis on Metallica's Unforgiven. Metallica made this trilogy of songs Unforgiven I, II and III. They span almost three decades and explore the changing struggle, perspective and insight of an aging man (Hetfield?). They are all connected musically and very unique in music. Especially for a metal band. I would love to see you tackle it.
The Unforgiven" is James Hetfield's most personal track of all Metallica songs. The song explores James' tumultuous childhood. That was from the wiki.
Yes!! This...
@@fondyin I could argue that Dyers Eve and Mama Said are similarly very personal songs for James. In fact, they've only performed Mama Said live only 3 times because it's such a deep, emotional song for James.
@@mdnblues The God That Failed would be another one. It's about his mom dying of cancer because she was a Christian Scientist and refused all treatments relying only on god to heal her.
@@mdnblues true the BAND hasn't played it live but 3 times but James has performed it SOLO many times.
You know, i actually love you, your passion for music, makes me emotinal, how you speak about music, you can hear in your voice that this has given you huge feeling, i think, for you, this song achived JUST what it was made for, thank you so much for your kind kind words, what a beautiful human you are, you should be proud, im so happy you exsist, lest we forget, happy remembrance day
Love the the line from the movie where the military general asked the Padre, "Don't you have some message for him Padre" and the Padre says back, "He's a product of your profession, not mine"
Except, during the time of WWI, the churches were telling people it was their sacred duty to die for their country. “Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori" was preached by the Catholic Church and many others, and it means "It is sweet and fitting to die for one's country".
In other words, unless the "padre" bucked what many churches were saying at the time, he had some culpability as well.
Yeah, priests lie.
@@johncrafton8319 Good to know John, thanks. Then it doesn't surprise me about the Catholic Church. No offense to anyone.
@Neslepaks their whole vocation amd existence is predicated on the biggest lie of them all: the existence of the supernatural.
@@metalmark1214 Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori , is from the Odes , by the Roman poet Horace , 67 - 8 years BC , its not from catholic church , its over 320 years older . Also it s was another peat that used part of this poem in his anti war poem during WW 1 , Wilfred Owen , English poet and soldier .
You can also see " Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori " if you visit Arlington national cemetery , it's over the rear entrance to Memorial Amphitheater .
I'm glad that you have a new understanding of Metal. Metal is one of the most emotional genres of music there is. Definitely not the anger and hate filled music that a lot of people think it is. Metal is very deep and full of passionate emotions. Myself, being a very small part of the genre , having met and worked with some of these very talented artist. I have to say that these artist are also some of the kindest and most passionate people on this planet that would do anything to help out their fellow human being and animal kind.
Agree. Even when (most) metal bands are exploring the themes of war and violence, it's usually trying to communicate how terrible and pointless violence is, instead of celebrating it.
There is anger at the injustices of the world in much of metal, but that's the type of anger that is productive and creates empathy.
Absolutely!!!
I mean. There is a LOT of anger in metal music. I think the mistake is to think of metal as homogenous, either musically or emotionally.
@@DanKaschel exactly. You hit the nail right on the head. It has anger, it has despair, it has joy, it has an incredibly wide range of emotions. To think it’s fully homogenous is foolish
The solo was the rage of powerlessness and the despair of not being able to even die. It’s the sound of the scream inside your own head that no one on earth will ever be able to hear.
The excitement of finally being heard. Now I can die. Wait….. what? Let the nurse finish killing me.
Thank you so much, I love watching you interpret some of my favorite songs. It makes me look at them in a whole different way.
Who remember when the blew the audience away at the Grammys with this song.. When they came on, only people in the back cheered… that changed at the end. They melted their minds..
That was one of the coolest performances ever. I bet the stuck up people in the front got theirs lol
More remembered for the year the Best Rock/Metal Recording Grammy went to Jethro Tull instead. I've given zero craps for the Grammys ever since.
@@templarpunk9332 I was trying to block that out. Lol
And then *immediately* lost to Jethro Tull for best Heavy Metal album...unbelievable juxtaposition.
They aint heavy metal but jethro tull pretty sick.
Even after ten thousand times hearing One I still feel it intensely. The guitar solo crescendo is the release from his prison and ascent to heaven in my mind
You’ve clearly done the most comprehensive breakdown of the music, lyrics and video of anyone I’ve ever seen or heard prior. Spectacular !
Okay, three of your videos I have watched now, and you have gained a follower. Your take on what you hear is mesmerizing. Thank you for doing this, and I can't wait to adsorb more of your interpretations of great music.
When he finally realized they could understand his SOS and resorts to “Kill me” over and over…
Gets me every time 🥺😔
Fyi this was the first music video Metallica ever produced.
They told the fans they'd never make any. The first time 'they sold out'. To wit Lars (drums) said yes we sell out every show.
The best part is that during the time in 1989, 'metal' music videos were all dudes on Harleys riding with chicks and drinking beer at strip clubs. Metallica comes along and drops this staggering anti-war video that provokes the discussion on the humanity of physician assisted suicide and a persons right to die, a discussion that is only exasperated just a few years later by the practices of Jack Kevorkian.
I would definitely not call that selling out.
Yeah, "selling out" means getting more people to listen to your music. As though a band is only being true to themselves (and their fans) if no one ever hears of them. What a crock.
Millions of Metallica fans would be missing out on Metallica's music if they didn't "sell out". That would be damn near criminal.
To be fair, they've been accused of "selling out" way before 1989. When Fade to Black was released as a single in 1984, many accused Metallica of going soft and selling out to the music industry. All because the song started with an acoustic guitar, and was not thrash metal all the way through like the previous album Kill 'em All.
@@TeslaMaster2 true people will bitch. I figure it like this they started as a bunch of teenage alcoholics (I can relate) and now they are pushing sixty. Times change! People grow.
This isn't their first 'sell out' that was fade to black, the 'ballad'. And it was Jason that replied with 'we sell out every seat at every show'
I know I'm super late to this conversation and this comment will likely never be seen, but, regarding the question you had about the guitar solo and what it represents within the greater story, I have always interpreted it as the chaos the people in the room are feeling in their heads when they realize that not only is the victim alive, but he has essentially been in true solitary confinement since his injury. When I think about how I would feel if I were in that room, I imagine a level of guilt that verges on panic. I imagine their realizations about what they have put him through coming quickly and chaotically.
I had always related the solo of what what was in his head. His chaos and suffering combined with rage. Especially when he discovers they understand what he wants now, but won't release him from his prison.
@@dcharger69 Yeah, I could see that as well.
The guitar solo is recreating morse code for 'kill me'
I thought that the related solo was also about chaos. What everybody thought they knew was suddenly spinning out of control with bewilderment and confusion. Basically what chaos is.
The bad part is the nurse fails in killing him and he's left in a room at the end of the hospital, kept alive... You can see this in the last parts of the music video, right after the solo.
Watching this for the first time deeply affected me when I was a kid. This song made me love Metallica. You’re amazing at analyzing this.
I always feel like the frenetic guitar solo is a window into the sheer existential panic the patient is feeling, cut off from every sensation just begging for the doctors to end it. Such an amazing song and video!
Nicely put, man. Couldn't have done it better. I was /am still a big fan of Metallica songs. When we ( my friends and myself) were still in our teens, we were naturally and instinctively gravitated to Metallica's music due to the intense and aggressive nature of their music. But as we got older, we dove deeper into their songs, the lyrics particularly. We started trying to decipher the meanings behind the words, and were able to interpret some but not a whole lot. And mind you, English isn't our first language and there was no such thing as Google search back then. Let alone Google translate. But we picked up a lot from Metallica's songs, especially politics and life. It sure was a great time growing up and learning about stuff.
The internal cry, not even for help, just agony.
I would add that the falling scale is reminiscent of a falling mortar
My experience with the song started before the video came out, and is based more on the cd version. So, it's not as colored by the images and additional movie audio that was added for the mtv version. I have always imaged the latter part of the song as a hurricane just ripping through everything, as a manifestation of the man's rage and frustration with his flesh prison, in the solo, the impression was more one of breaking free than being cut off.
To me, the guitar comes in AFTER they become aware that he is communicating, and now he's becomming both elated and frantic, because they now know what he wants, and can deny him that which he so seeks. When he was alone, that was that, now his life is in others hands, and that is even more frightening. And the guitarsolo, to me, sounds like him screaming "DO SOMETHING, DON'T JUST LEAVE!"
Thank you for pointing out the “Johnny got his gun” movie and more specifically the book. No one ever brings it up when this song is directly related to those pieces
not only they that but Metallica bought the rights to the movie which is why so much of it shown
@@thedamian329
Really Wow they had to buy the Whole Rights to the movie ? just for One music Video.
@@sheldoncooper8199 They did that to avoid licensing issues. When movies, music, etc. is sampled there is almost always a term length to the license. They bought the distribution rights, so their music video would never have to be truncated.
@@McFeedback1968
I got Mtv in 1990 When THE WALL came down in germany. And Mtv had its own Metal Show. And they made sure to Play This A LOT. I dont even know what else they Played in 1990 sure Some Megadeth and Overkill and Slayer. I was only 10. But this Video had a HUGE impact on me. I thought Metallica were the toughest coolest Guys on Earth.
Dalton Trumbo's screenplay for Johnny Got His Gun made one of the most powerful and difficult to watch movies I have ever seen. It is nevertheless very much worth seeing, although be ready for an emotionally very rough ride when you sit down. Full props to the band for taking on this subject matter.
The guitar solo at the end is his life, all of it in entirety played out fast as a flash before the eyes. Its a persons life, all the passion all the notes rushed into the final moment.
Beautiful chaos...
Kirk Hammett is a living legend.
i like this analysis
Your analysis is amazing...The way you describe the feeling of the music is compromised of the words many of us feel, but cannot describe
She just casually stumbled upon one of the most iconic rock songs of all time.... Awesome
There is no way anyone her age hasnt heard One. Its an absolute impossibility unless she just crawled out of a cave. The same with most of the songs they "say" they never heard before.
@@jvillain9946you just don't realize lol.
@@jvillain9946 When "And Justice For All" was released, she was two years old. I remember, most of my mates just refused to listen to metal music - not one second. When Metallica was accepted by more people, there are people never had contact to Metallica nor to this song. Don't think the whole world is listening to Metallica. I stumble myself upon bands, which exist since forever and I did not know they even existed.
@@jvillain9946 I used to think that too but, to be fair, I have not heard any of her style of music either. (Opera)
Guess I came out of the cave today too
"the depths of sadness that metal could communicate" really touched my metal heart and made me realize why I started listening to metal 25 years ago...
I’m sure you always knew why bro🤘
I've just started listening to metal recently, and that statement did the same to me.
I heard it said that metal is the white mans blues
When this video came out a lot of people were stunned. It was one of the most disturbing things they'd seen and for a lot of people it was their introduction to the band. Metallica has a habit of being in your face not just musically but poetically, tackling subjects that need to be talked about and sometimes very bluntly. That's one of the things I love about the band. This song/video came out in 1989. It was rare that anyone was writing with this kind of emotional intensity and probably just as rare today. Metallica helped me to understand different emotions can be conveyed even in heavy music. The video that makes me bawl my eyes out though is for the song Confusion off "Hardwired...to Self-Destruct" since it reminds me so much of my own struggle. I'm so glad you're enjoying yourself because I think you're amazing for doing this. Thank you.
Came back to see you give this comment and express you feelings. about one. Always lifts my spirit and how you use your knowledge about " universal language" wich is music. And I love you and I learn from you. Wow! Amazed that in life problems you make me smile. God bless you charismatic voice.
This was the first video Metallica ever made - they'd resisted through their first 3 albums, and then when they made one, made one of the best music videos ever. The writer / singer / guitarist, James Hetfield has always said what he loves about this is that people don't know what to say and are generally stunned into silence the first time they see it.
its a true example of a video adding a weight and understanding to an already heavy song. I had to have heard the song a dozen times before ever seeing the video. I already knew a little bit of the background of the song at that point but the video really puts that into focus and really makes it sink in in a different way. In reference to another song she recently reacted to I think Peral Jam's Jeremy music video does a similar thing.
Hetfield is a metal god. Insanely creative, extremely talented, and a pretty good guitar player lol😉
...and insanely humble as he recognized Mike Rowe someplace and approached him to say, "Hi - you're that dirty jobs guy, huh?"
As the story goes, after some chit-chatting, Rowe (who didn't recognize James) said, "What do YOU do?"
Hetfield replies, "Me? Oh, not much. I'm in a band."
@@charlesdugaw7067 Ah, that sounds like the Troll James we all know and love
"One" is arguably The greatest song that Metallica has ever written, recorded, mixed, mastered and performed live through their entire career in the genre of Heavy Metal!
Couldn't agree more!
Everything but the mix!
I politely disagree, enter sandman, is so much more.
As far as substance of story and meaning.
@@dieseldabberdoug8285 what??? No way. Absolutely not. The Black album is a good album. But, it is NOT And Justice For All OR Master. And, while Enter Sandman is a good song, One is an amazing song. That has real meaning.
And the best version of it ever recorded is on S&M v1
If I remember an interview correctly Lars said they bought the rights to the movie and thus were able to use the content of the movie without copyright infringement. I think Metallica still owns those rights.
That's correct. 👍🏽
Yeah buying the rights where cheaper than the other options so it was an easy pick.
They do! In fact, I don't know if that is still the case, but you could by the DVD for the movie straight from Metallica's website.
I have to say..
Your time taken to research bands, history, video content and the meaning behind the songs...
That is top knotch attitude and brings me such joy!
This is my generation of music that rocked me throughout my youth. I was also in 5 different choirs but rock and metal has always had my heart.
All the best and congratulations on the baby!!!
(Heart-Hugs) ✌️✨️
At agr 15 I saw Metallica, Guns N Rose's, & Moterhead live in Seattle...
Amazing 👏 💪
I raised my kids on this music, we use to discuss the topics and breakdown the emotional content in car rides.. now they see these bands in concert 😊
This is the song that got me into metal. Instantly.
The solo is his decent into madness. He does not know if he is even still alive. All he knows are his own thoughts. Not many people seem to understand that without any thing but your brain functioning that you would be quite literally living in a hellish nightmare that you just want to end.
So few seem to understand, No limbs, no hearing, no eyesight, no vocal, no way of communicating until he tries SOS in morse code. He does not know if there is anyone there to see or hear the message. He is only inside his own mind, not knowing if it is day or night, not nowing if he is awake or sleeping. Not knowing if he this is hell/the after life and it will be nothing but self awareness for eternity. That thought, is terrifying for any normal human.
Wow, man. That's VERY scary, if not the scariest thing. It's like you are trapped in a nightmare that won't end. Horrible.
This is extremely deep. Only a true metalhead can give this kind of analysis of Metallica’s incredible work.
This song definitely made me start appreciating metal more. I don't really listen to much metal - it's all just a bit "much" for my autistic brain - but since listening to this song for the first time I have really come to appreciate the technical precision of a lot of metal musicians. It's this liminal space between being somewhat indifferent to the music itself but being in awe of the skill on display.
I haven't seen this for so long and even after all these years it still chokes me up. Right on the edge of sobbing, lump in the throat, eyes welling up."this is so lulling and soft compared to my first experience with Metallica" made me smile for a moment knowing what is coming. And I broke where I always do at "kill me".
To your question about the placement of the solo I've always interpreted from beginning to "Darkness" as the care and compassion of the doctors and nurses trying to care for Johnny and bring him some form of life worth living. "Darkness" begins Johnny's deteriorating mental state knowing full well this is real and not a dream which is when he begins nodding in morse code. The last story line before the solo from the doctor to the general being "he is a product of your profession, not mine" leads back to the horrors and brutality of war and that Johnny's body is dying now but his soul died on the battlefield.
I agree, well said !
I hadn't seen the video for years either, and I forgot just how devastating all the soundbytes from the movie are and how well they fit around, inside and on top of the song. This video was the first time I ever heard Metallica back in what was it '89?
Well said.
James said that the movie reminded him how he felt when his father left when he was 13 and his Mother passed away not to long after, he’s an underrated song writer
Jusr yesterday i saw an article calling James the worst lyricist ever, saying that he writes songs with no meaning.
Unfortunately, there was no commenting available, otherwise I'd have told him how stupid he has to be to say that.
@@animacs1 That article was written by Dave Mustaine. Just ignore it...
The lead singer/writer of one of the greatest, most well-known bands of all time is underrated?
@@daveaf5281 i think hes referring to james’ actual song writing ability outside sales and overall popularity, lot of their songs have way more meaning then the majority actually understand
@@animacs1 if James is considered a bad lyricist then whom do they consider a good one?
Hi, Elizabeth - thanks for doing this video. At first I assumed that your reactions were simply 'put on' or 'for show,' if you will - but I watched the whole video and I found your analysis to be compelling, heartfelt, and thought-provoking. I'm glad I challenged my assumptions and gave it a chance - consider me a fan. Looking forward to seeing more of this kind of video!
I love to hear when non-metal heads listen to Metallica (and other groups) and finally see that it is more than what it appears to be on the surface, more than society says it is, more than it is portrayed in the movies. Metallica saved my life. I'm glad they reached into your soul, too.
I have zero doubt that Metallica's music/lyrics have saved thousands of lives, maybe tens of thousands, from suicide.
I grew up in the 90s listening to tool...I hear ya. People thought they were satan worshippers sacrificing goats turns out they are signing about peace and emotional healing and spirituality 😅
The Black album onwards are blasphemy. Repugnant. When Cliff died Metallica died and they made Jason pay the price of all their anger and pain.
WTF
The last line before the intense guitarr solo is "He's a product of your profession... not mine." which always made me interpret it as anger against those responsible for the war but also the horrific state the patient is in.
yes fully agree with your interpretation
I got that feeling as well, however, given that the other person was actually trying to get a reaction of mercy from him, kind of like “do something”, that’s how it sounded to me at least, this guy just shut him down in a personal matter, and I think the bigger issue was the state of the patient, and not his own beliefs and ego. Just my opinion.
The medical people are trying to guilt the officer, blaming him as a minister of war for this man's predicament... but the unexpected rebuttal is his brief way of saying "In my line of work people are dead when they are done, it's your ethically questionable work that has kept him alive languishing in this state..."
In the end, both men saw that person as a “product”. One admittedly, and the other being informed of that fact.
This is literally the song that launched my interest in Heavy Metal, and music in general. I still remember the first time I heard it. I still remember the person who introduced it to me to this day, and that was nearly 20 years ago. It's usually a difficult thing to think back and determine where something you have cherished your entire life started, but for me, it was this song!
I was a freshman in high school in 89. Saw the video on MTV and was instantly hooked. Didnt even know they had 3 albums out already. Opened the floodgates to metal for me. Good times.
On the school bus fall 1996, friend had his Walkman cassette player and I heard "Sad But True" for the first time. Up to that point I had been forced to listen to whatever my parents or sisters wanted to listen to (old country music, classical music, or 90's pop). Changed my life. Will never forget my friend or that moment.
THE UNFORGIVEN was what really made me fall in love with Metallica’s “softer” side. I had really enjoyed things like Master of puppets and so forth up until this point, whenever I heard this particular song, it was after I had become a Metallica fan and bought the black album because of the Unforgivven. The year was 1991, and I was on the road with a traveling fair. We were setting up a ride called The Gravitron, which looked like a spaceship, and spun around and whoever was in it laid back on their pad on the wall and slid up as it spun faster. We were setting up this ride and playing some music, and that song came on, and I lost my junk! From that moment on, I was giving Metallica way more of an ear than I’ve ever given before. I don’t regret any of it. Rock on!! 🤟🏼🤟🏼🤟🏼
I was already playing guitar, but this album made me want to play professionally. I didn't know music could sound like this. This song opened the door, but 3 minutes into Blackened, I was hooked forever.
I heard this song for the first time at 10 years old watching Beavis and Butthead in 1992. It changed my life forever.
Rewatched this and your reaction is so honest, to recognize metal as capable of art to convey emotion and beauty… I find it refreshing and pure. I fell in love with music as a young teen, and still write such music to this day, but it is more understandable to hear you interpret it than I can explain although I musically as a guitarist write it. That may make no sense but in short, thank you Elizabeth