"where do I take this pain of mine? I run but it stays right by my side". Really powerful, amazing way to start a song and incredibly underrated in his library of great lyrics.
That's weird, because James literally only wrote one song with lyrics about Addiction and that is Master of Puppets and he has always said he was writing about Drugs that he WASN'T taking!
Indeed. Even in helping struggling youth find the meaning of life and their role in the world. So much wisdom and philosophy in the lyrics. I came late to the party (est 1993) but never left.
Griffin, art is to make us feel a little better about our shitty reality. I'm incurably ill (not cancer but close) so I made this song into my life anthem a decade ago. Pain is inside, I can't take it out ($30k min surgery, cash or credit only), so it *all* fits in my life as if he knows me, lmao. That's why this song pulled me from deep depths (wanting to commit the undead) on multiple occasions. It's definitely up to us to find our own interpretation & meaning in any work of art. All the best to you!
I had cancer in 2013 and I really thought that "Until it sleeps" is about that. It was really dark period with a lot of pain, fear, depression and so on. Metallica played huge role in my life, espessially when I got cancer.
Hi Anna ! I sincerely hope that this period is over. If you re doing good, you have to see the band on stage, great exchange of energy with people in the crowd from all over the world ! Take care ! 😉
@@breakerbreaker4990 Thanks, it's over long time ago. And I attended Metallica concert in summer of 2019. But now my older son (3 y.o.) asks me to play "Mama said" 😎. Even if he will not love Metallica as I do, I think that this song is very important. And it is really suitable for little kids, because it is absolutely not heavy 😃😍
@@annabudova3268 Sometimes it's good for songs to be "undefined" and for people to be able to interpret them as they need them to be. :D By the way, your name sounds slavic, hope you are safe!
Actually it is about Hetfield's mother's battle with cancer and her refusal to get treatment due to her extreme religious beliefs. So it kinda is about cancer but also James' frustration at the whole situation because of her mother's beliefs that contributed to her death. It is a very emotional song
It's about whatever your interpretation of it is about. Songs mean different things to different people. I never thought of Until it Sleeps in that way, Depression, Anxiety but I can understand how it can be seen that way. Because I read that James wrote it regarding his mother's battle with cancer, and refusing treatment, and James frustration with her decision, I never looked for a personal meaning in it. I think your interpretation fits the song perfectly. 🙏
Shortest straw and harvester of sorrow is about a lonely farmer who’s kids all grew up and his wife died and he limps cuz his tractor ran over his foot. And now he barely gets by because the government is screwing him over, based on little house on the prairie
I always though it was like about a demon that never leaves. 😂💀 "Just like the curse, just like the stray You feed it once and now it stays Now, it stays"
It also can be insecurity. Insecurity is hard to vanish when you feed it with enough self deprecating thoughts, also a mental disease, hurting you and hurting others, or a toxic relationship. It can be whatever fits the needs of the listener.
Anyone with an incurable illness, with mental illness, chronic pain, etc. relates to this song deeply. Whatever the intention of the writer was, we interpret it in a way that helps us survive our shitty reality. Forever grateful for this song - sums up my life perfectly, so I adopted it as a "life anthem" (cringe) over a decade ago. 🤘
I think this can be a valuable lesson in lyric writing. Good lyrics don't always have to be about something specific. It can be a vague description thats completely open to interpretation. Many people can relate to it for different reasons. Someone who ha depression may relate to it, because to them it describes their depression while someone else with a drinking problem can relate to it because to them the lyrics describe their drinking problem. Writing lyrics like that can open up a much larger door to an audience.
Song is so universal. Can impact anything from addition. Hardship. Cancer. Thats what music is about. That why post black album Metallica is important.
I never even thought it needs "explanation'. Isn't it about the very "common stuff": depression, desperation, inner pain? He even says "Where do I take this pain of mine..?"
@@MickAshMetalMan Gotcha! I associated it with my own reality. To me, that's the true beauty of such songs - can be interpreted in diff ways, and help people in completely different situations.
Yeah me too. It’s clearly about James mental health/depression. He mentions “and the shame still hates me”… shame innately having to come from other people. How that affected him. “Dirt still stains me” how he can’t get rid of that shame/trauma.
@@A_Duckyit can be about whatever you want, but James wasn’t in physical pain during the load album to our knowledge. It’s not like panteras “I’m broken” song. We do know he was trying to quit drinking and depressed, so that’s why. It still can be whatever applies to you. James has clearly struggled mentally not physically historically too. Fade to black etc…
Like James said, it can be about whatever. I personally see it as depression pulling you down. "Just like the curse, just like the stray. You feed it once, and now it stays" how depression is like a curse, you get those depressing thoughts feeding the depression and then it stays with you for a long time, "So tell me why you've chosen me, don't want your grip, don't want your greed" it's like how you really hate depression but at the same time it keeps following you and some days you are against it, you don't want it's terrible affects, other days it takes control over you and your life. Any other lyrics in the song shows depression to me, probably because I suffered from it a lot and this was one of my biggest venting songs. Still has an extremely special place in my heart, so I may see at as this, but if you see it as cancer, that's great, it has meaning to you in that way.
Guys, I fucking love Until It Sleeps. I’m genuinely surprised it’s not about cancer / related to his mother. Regardless, Until It Sleeps is a fucking masterpiece and I will die on this hill. It may not be metal, but it is MUSIC!
The song was written about any type of feeling that’s ruining your life causing you pain. Whether it be cancer anxiety or depression or anything like that.
Never underestimate the power of any art or perception of it. 'Pain' could be a perfect example. Is it physical or mental. Now that song or poem can go each way x100.
@@calebr9736 Yup. This song, and some others, have literally pulled me through the worst times.. coz it feels like I'm not alone in suffering. I'm forever grateful for it being made, whatever the reason the writer had originally.
@@MrCaCaaaaaaaaa Struggle for sure , I’m pretty sure I’ve heard James and Jason say Blackened is about Nuclear war or the constant looming threat of it in the Cold War period .
Although James talks about Cancer in this song, the truth is that he "NOT" did it that way, but he did do it because his father died in the 90s. from that disease. James once said that, unlike his mother, at least in the case of his father, he was able to say goodbye to him in peace.
It is not just about cancer but James' frustration about the situation because his mother refused to get treatment due to her beliefs. This song is an emotional song about James feeling helpless at the time because his mother's life could have been saved if she took the treatment. So this song isnt only about cancer but James frustration with the whole situation. Truly an heartbreaking and emotional song
I always thought it was about coming to terms with the darker side of your nature. The cancer thing seems like a bit of a stretch but I can see how someone might think so.
It was fairly common for many years for people to attach it to his mother’s death, and I believe there was an interview that lent some credence to it as well, but I don’t recall who interviewed him or what exactly was said now. It’s been nearly thirty years ago.
The lyrics of the song, written by Hetfield, address his mother's battle with cancer, to which the "it" in the title refers. They can be seen as either describing the emotional pain he feels for the loss, or the physical pain his mother was feeling while she was ill. Both of his parents were Christian Scientists, and did not believe in medicine. The lyrics are also interpreted as dealing with anger issues. Hetfield's father, Virgil, died in late 1996, during Metallica's Load tour. - Wikipedia
So he wrote 2 songs about his mother and her death as a result of not seeking treatment for her cancer? Cause God That Failed is blatantly written in that vein
Dude comes in with a Wikipedia quote stating it’s a song about cancer… when we have the writer of, and guitarist on, the song, in less than 30 seconds, telling us it’s not about cancer…..
I thought of that song as a depression song. When you welcome depression then it is hard to make it leave. When you are depressed you are not just sad, you are angry and frustrated and lash out at people. That's what I take from the line "I'll tear me open, make you gone, no longer will you hurt anyone" hold me until it sleeps. It's going to therapy.
The idea behind music is that it can be mutable but not necessarily so . It depends on the perspective of the individual as to how it comes across the them and how a song is intepreted Whatever the artist who wrote the song reflects compared to another individual who listens to it will not always turn out the same
It's honestly one of their best songs and entire Load deserves more praise for how fuckin amazing it is. It's a literal piece of art and it's only underrated because it's Metallica and it "doesn't suit their style" Which is stupid. Yes it's not fast or thrashy but it's a impressive masterpiece
It’s very clearly about the depression and shame James faced. How he’s seeking comfort in other to cope with past negative experiences. “Hold me until it sleeps” I could see cancer but cancer doesn’t sleep
I think the point James is trying to get at (to which I agree) is that the song is not *_specifically_* about cancer, but if someone can relate to it through that lens, it's more able to help them to cope with a difficult time in their life, and he loves it when he's able to provide them that help.
Yo creo q se refiere a los demonios interiores que te atacan en un momento de tu vida y que no te dejan en paz ejemplo : depresión ataques de pánico y ansiedad ,no al cáncer 😑
Yep, didn't he write it at the time his mother had cancer? I have an incurable illness for the past 16yrs and this song has been my anthem. It resonates with anyone in chronic pain, be it physical or mental.
Ajá, durante mas de 30 años dijo que Fade to Black NO trataba sobre el suicidio, y ahora lo dice abiertamente. Hasta donde sé, Until it Sleeps la escribió por la muerte de su papá, esa y Bleeding Me.
That’s what an artist does. At least the good ones. They create an interpretation of their own thought, or to work through something that they’re dealing with, but as with any painting made, music is the same. It’s not solely meant to be interpreted in just one way. Sure, the artist had their own idea of what they wanted when they made it, but art is meant to be re-interpreted through the eyes (and ears) of the person observing it. That’s why it’s art.
it is all about his father; James' father (Virgil Hetfield) leaves home when James is 13 years old. Hetfield talking about his personal struggles as a teen when his father, virgil hetfield, abandoned the family when the singer was only 13 years old. "he left without saying goodbye," hetfield recalls in the documentary. "he left a note, and it wasn’t even to me. i wasn’t the man ... i wasn’t taught to step up." over time, the elder hetfield made an attempt to reconnect with his famous son and was even filmed in a brief interview for the band's 1992 two-part documentary, 'year and a half in the life of metallica,' which was based around the making of the group's 'the black album.' during hetfield's interview he unearths the emotional undertakings he faced while trying to re-establish a relationship with his father. "it feels so weird saying this but, i really tried to get close with him again ... get back together ... but it was never close. [it was] very surface-y." During that time, James Hetfield describes it as follows: James, born in 1963, his father, Virgil Hetfield, leaves home in 1976. Sixteen years later, in 1992, during the period of the Black Album when they started to gain a lot of fame and money, his father Virgil Hetfield suddenly reappears. During this time, he shows closeness to James and tries to benefit from him, taking money from him and constantly trying to be around him. However, this closeness doesn't translate to James. Between 1992 and 1996, this period turns into agony for James, along with childhood traumas. Virgil Hetfield dies in 1996, spending his last few years battling illness. This period from '92 to '96, marked by major emotional outbursts and dilemmas, coincides with the writing of the Load and Reload albums. It's a tumultuous period where you both hate and love, but you're uncomfortable with the falseness you see instead of the closeness and love you expected when he resurfaced, and you want him to leave but suffer because of it. And those are the words that spill out: it = he (his father) sleeps = die where do i take this pain of mine? i run, but he stays right by my side so tear me open, pour me out there’s things inside that scream and shout and the pain still hates me so hold me until he sleeps (die) just like the curse, just like the stray you feed him once and now he stays now he stays so tear me open but beware there’s things inside without a care and the dirt still stains me so wash me until i’m clean he grips you, so hold me he stains you, so hold me he hates you, so hold me he holds you, so hold me until he sleeps so tell me why you’ve (his father) chosen me don’t want your grip don’t want your greed don’t want it i’ll tear me open, make you (his father) gone no more can you (his father) hurt anyone and the fear (As his father was about to die) still shakes me so hold me until he sleeps he grips you, so hold me he stains you, so hold me he hates you, so hold me he holds you, holds you, holds you until he sleeps i don’t want him so tear me open but beware there’s things inside without a care and the dirt still stains me so wash me... till clean i’ll tear me open, make you (his father) gone no longer will you (his father) hurt anyone and the hate (to his father) still shapes me so hold me until he sleeps until he sleeps
One of the best examples of keeping it vague is the song Bloody Kisses from Type O Negative. Believe it or not this song is about a cat th-cam.com/video/C4BoqO9bBjE/w-d-xo.html
I always believed it was directly talking about addiction. The cancer theory has always been bs to me. It makes way more sense to read the lyrics and apply it to alcoholism than to apply it to cancer. Just like the curse, just like the stray - you feed it once and now it stays.
@@A_Ducky I think the beauty of his lyrics post justice is exactly this , you can pull so many meanings from them where before they tended to be far more direct with what the songs about .Still great just less universal
So it was published... I'm not even sure what it was about. I'd had a few things in my head coming up with it. As with other, a bit of things in me my life was about, besides plugging "Me"(another bit through my other friend) that got done by Keoki. So, yeah, COOOOMEDY. I plugged it from 1995- 2005. If you notice in When Nietzche Wept(the Wagner scene) how the character pronounces " ..hate you".
For me it could be about a kind of depression or trouble deep inside. Something that make you feel sad and dirty. You need to run, to wash yourself but this pain is still inside of you. You only feel good when it fall asleep sometimes few minutes. You need to hold your wife until this pain sleeps
For some reason I got to remember the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray after watching this video. And here's how it goes. THE ARTIST is the creator of beautiful things. To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim. The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things. The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a mode of autobiography. Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all. The nineteenth century dislike of Realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass. The nineteenth century dislike of Romanticism is the rage of Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass. The moral life of man forms part of the subject-matter of the artist, but the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium. No artist desires to prove anything. Even things that are true can be proved. No artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style. No artist is ever morbid. The artist can express everything. Thought and language are to the artist instruments of an art. Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art. From the point of view of form, the type of all the arts is the art of the musician. From the point of view of feeling, the actor's craft is the type. All art is at once surface and symbol. Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril. Those who read the symbol do so at their peril. It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors. Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital. When critics disagree the artist is in accord with himself. We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it. The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely. All art is quite useless. OSCAR WILDE.
I never understood why anyone would ever think this song was about cancer. its clearly about depression. Jesus Christ anyone with a brain would know that. or just anyone who has ever been through depression. "where do I take this pain of mine, I run but it stays right by my side" ya know like how no matter what you do when you are truly depressed you can't just shake it off. -_- " so tear me open pour me out there's things inside that scream and shout" clearly this line is about internalizing your issues which tend to make you even more depressed. he is crying for help in this song obviously .
"where do I take this pain of mine?
I run but it stays right by my side".
Really powerful, amazing way to start a song and incredibly underrated in his library of great lyrics.
well your shadow is always by your side and that the"dark" side
I always felt a lot of addiction struggles through Jame’s lyrics and that’s how I’ve related to it.
That's weird, because James literally only wrote one song with lyrics about Addiction and that is Master of Puppets and he has always said he was writing about Drugs that he WASN'T taking!
Indeed. Even in helping struggling youth find the meaning of life and their role in the world. So much wisdom and philosophy in the lyrics. I came late to the party (est 1993) but never left.
Lol junkie
Griffin, art is to make us feel a little better about our shitty reality. I'm incurably ill (not cancer but close) so I made this song into my life anthem a decade ago. Pain is inside, I can't take it out ($30k min surgery, cash or credit only), so it *all* fits in my life as if he knows me, lmao. That's why this song pulled me from deep depths (wanting to commit the undead) on multiple occasions. It's definitely up to us to find our own interpretation & meaning in any work of art. All the best to you!
@@A_Ducky your mom looks like art kid
I had cancer in 2013 and I really thought that "Until it sleeps" is about that. It was really dark period with a lot of pain, fear, depression and so on. Metallica played huge role in my life, espessially when I got cancer.
Hi Anna ! I sincerely hope that this period is over. If you re doing good, you have to see the band on stage, great exchange of energy with people in the crowd from all over the world ! Take care ! 😉
@@breakerbreaker4990 Thanks, it's over long time ago. And I attended Metallica concert in summer of 2019. But now my older son (3 y.o.) asks me to play "Mama said" 😎. Even if he will not love Metallica as I do, I think that this song is very important. And it is really suitable for little kids, because it is absolutely not heavy 😃😍
@@annabudova3268 Sometimes it's good for songs to be "undefined" and for people to be able to interpret them as they need them to be. :D By the way, your name sounds slavic, hope you are safe!
Actually it is about Hetfield's mother's battle with cancer and her refusal to get treatment due to her extreme religious beliefs. So it kinda is about cancer but also James' frustration at the whole situation because of her mother's beliefs that contributed to her death. It is a very emotional song
Lost my dad to spinal cord cancer when I was 14, I'm happy you beat this monster and I wish you good health altogether. 🤘
Until it sleeps is about a young couple trying to put a grouchy baby to sleep at night.
Lol! ....and Megadeth's Family Tree is about a guy trying to fuck a Orange Tree in his Family's Backyard!
If that's what it mean to you...cool!
Hahahaha, having a two year old and a 4 year old I can relate
Yeah... you could interpret it that way.
jajajajajaja a
That's the magic of music
I always thought it was about your inner monster. Your shadow. Your depression and anxiety.
It can be interpreted as that. that’s why it’s a good song it can have personal meaning for anyone.
Yo también pienso lo mismo
It's about whatever your interpretation of it is about.
Songs mean different things to different people.
I never thought of Until it Sleeps in that way, Depression, Anxiety but I can understand how it can be seen that way.
Because I read that James wrote it regarding his mother's battle with cancer, and refusing treatment, and James frustration with her decision, I never looked for a personal meaning in it.
I think your interpretation fits the song perfectly. 🙏
It could be about that...and it can also be about addiction. Anybody can become addicted to anything.
Just some "Food for thought".
It is for me..
Shortest straw and harvester of sorrow is about a lonely farmer who’s kids all grew up and his wife died and he limps cuz his tractor ran over his foot. And now he barely gets by because the government is screwing him over, based on little house on the prairie
that is misinformation. You need to be cancelled and thrown off the platform.
@@arto2533 ok
I didn’t know everything on the internet had to be true
Sad but true was written about the internet
@@weareparkerful haha, that is funny! sad but true that they were stuck with 33.6kb/s dial up back then lol.
@@frayedsanity I just got back from a korn show and they play part of one by Metallica
I think that song is about masterbation
@@arto2533 Yeah, off with his head, right? 😕
I always though it was like about a demon that never leaves. 😂💀
"Just like the curse, just like the stray
You feed it once and now it stays
Now, it stays"
It also can be insecurity. Insecurity is hard to vanish when you feed it with enough self deprecating thoughts, also a mental disease, hurting you and hurting others, or a toxic relationship. It can be whatever fits the needs of the listener.
@@fatimapalacios2292 true.
it's definitely about his alcohol addiction.He took the first sip and it stays just like how a stray dog tries to stay with you when u feed it.
@@fatimapalacios2292 yeah, I always thought it was about insecurity and feeding the insecurity etc
He made 2 songs about his Mom's battle with cancer, this & "God that failed" which concentrates more on her beliefs (no meds)
Anyone with an incurable illness, with mental illness, chronic pain, etc. relates to this song deeply. Whatever the intention of the writer was, we interpret it in a way that helps us survive our shitty reality. Forever grateful for this song - sums up my life perfectly, so I adopted it as a "life anthem" (cringe) over a decade ago. 🤘
Blackened is about cooking salmon on the grill
GIMME FOOD, GIMME FRIES, GIMME SALAD ON THE SIDES! OOH!!!!
I think this can be a valuable lesson in lyric writing. Good lyrics don't always have to be about something specific. It can be a vague description thats completely open to interpretation. Many people can relate to it for different reasons. Someone who ha depression may relate to it, because to them it describes their depression while someone else with a drinking problem can relate to it because to them the lyrics describe their drinking problem. Writing lyrics like that can open up a much larger door to an audience.
Shut up!
@@MrParkerman6 what’s your problem
Best comment on here.
@@zman_1148 Oh I know this kid. They're a world class troll lurking all over metallica relayed videos. Don't bother with them.
Maynard Keenan is a master of writing lyrics that can be applied to a variety of things.
I love the song and I personally always related it to depression
Song is so universal. Can impact anything from addition. Hardship. Cancer. Thats what music is about. That why post black album Metallica is important.
This doesn’t add up…
Loneliness and fear are two main themes that i see in james' lyrics. And loss of control.
Metallica has been there for me when everything else fails
And don't forget DEATH
With the new album released I think it the main themes are guilt and inner struggle.
I wish they would they would play it live more often.
I'd die to hear it live
They just did for the first time since 2008!
@@TheBsparks72 Amazing
They play it at the M72 Tour currently!
I saw the videos. Nice@@gamejunk2707
The House that Jack Built, Outlaw Torn and Reload are my favorite 90's Metallica moments. I was 10 when Reload came out.
I never even thought it needs "explanation'. Isn't it about the very "common stuff": depression, desperation, inner pain? He even says "Where do I take this pain of mine..?"
Why can't it be about physical pain? In my case it applies to both.
@@A_Ducky well it can :) I just said that to me it always sounded like...
@@MickAshMetalMan
Gotcha! I associated it with my own reality. To me, that's the true beauty of such songs - can be interpreted in diff ways, and help people in completely different situations.
Yeah me too. It’s clearly about James mental health/depression. He mentions “and the shame still hates me”… shame innately having to come from other people. How that affected him. “Dirt still stains me” how he can’t get rid of that shame/trauma.
@@A_Duckyit can be about whatever you want, but James wasn’t in physical pain during the load album to our knowledge. It’s not like panteras “I’m broken” song. We do know he was trying to quit drinking and depressed, so that’s why. It still can be whatever applies to you. James has clearly struggled mentally not physically historically too. Fade to black etc…
Like James said, it can be about whatever. I personally see it as depression pulling you down. "Just like the curse, just like the stray. You feed it once, and now it stays" how depression is like a curse, you get those depressing thoughts feeding the depression and then it stays with you for a long time, "So tell me why you've chosen me, don't want your grip, don't want your greed" it's like how you really hate depression but at the same time it keeps following you and some days you are against it, you don't want it's terrible affects, other days it takes control over you and your life. Any other lyrics in the song shows depression to me, probably because I suffered from it a lot and this was one of my biggest venting songs. Still has an extremely special place in my heart, so I may see at as this, but if you see it as cancer, that's great, it has meaning to you in that way.
Guys, I fucking love Until It Sleeps. I’m genuinely surprised it’s not about cancer / related to his mother. Regardless, Until It Sleeps is a fucking masterpiece and I will die on this hill. It may not be metal, but it is MUSIC!
Great song but there are others on Load and Reload that I think are even better. Hero of the day comes to mind
It's about a once a year craving for as many peeps as you can eat.
The song was written about any type of feeling that’s ruining your life causing you pain. Whether it be cancer anxiety or depression or anything like that.
Never underestimate the power of any art or perception of it. 'Pain' could be a perfect example. Is it physical or mental. Now that song or poem can go each way x100.
It doesn't even have to be pain in the way you'r imagining, it could be an allegory for an entirely different thing!
@@calebr9736
But for many of us in chronic pain, it explains our lives/feelings down to a T
@@A_Ducky That's the beauty of lyrics, it can describe something for everything and for anyone
@@calebr9736
Yup. This song, and some others, have literally pulled me through the worst times.. coz it feels like I'm not alone in suffering. I'm forever grateful for it being made, whatever the reason the writer had originally.
I like the song about how it's darkness sometimes and James struggles with things.
Yeah, he's speaking for us.
every song
Blackened and The Struggle Within
@MrCaCaaaaaaaaa
Blackened is about an Apocalypse, dumbass.
@@MrCaCaaaaaaaaa Struggle for sure , I’m pretty sure I’ve heard James and Jason say Blackened is about Nuclear war or the constant looming threat of it in the Cold War period .
Although James talks about Cancer in this song, the truth is that he "NOT" did it that way, but he did do it because his father died in the 90s. from that disease.
James once said that, unlike his mother, at least in the case of his father, he was able to say goodbye to him in peace.
I think the song it's about how the beliefs of his mother, put the things really hard for James, when he was trying to help his mother.
It's art: it is up to you.
Amen to that. 🙏
As you get older you'll understand why that statement is untrue.
@@mudchair16 also as you get older your brain begins to fade
It is not just about cancer but James' frustration about the situation because his mother refused to get treatment due to her beliefs. This song is an emotional song about James feeling helpless at the time because his mother's life could have been saved if she took the treatment. So this song isnt only about cancer but James frustration with the whole situation. Truly an heartbreaking and emotional song
to me it battles my inner demons
I always thought it was about coming to terms with the darker side of your nature. The cancer thing seems like a bit of a stretch but I can see how someone might think so.
It was fairly common for many years for people to attach it to his mother’s death, and I believe there was an interview that lent some credence to it as well, but I don’t recall who interviewed him or what exactly was said now. It’s been nearly thirty years ago.
It never occurred to me, but yeah I can see it. I always thought it was about facing personal demons.
The lyrics of the song, written by Hetfield, address his mother's battle with cancer, to which the "it" in the title refers. They can be seen as either describing the emotional pain he feels for the loss, or the physical pain his mother was feeling while she was ill. Both of his parents were Christian Scientists, and did not believe in medicine. The lyrics are also interpreted as dealing with anger issues. Hetfield's father, Virgil, died in late 1996, during Metallica's Load tour.
- Wikipedia
Wikipedia is not a source. It's used to find sources.
So he wrote 2 songs about his mother and her death as a result of not seeking treatment for her cancer? Cause God That Failed is blatantly written in that vein
@@Hey-Its-May unfortunately many people use it as propaganda and put their own thinking. Their own minds as sources.
That's exactly the way i always interpreted the lyrics - fighting own anger and selfdestructive thaughts.
Dude comes in with a Wikipedia quote stating it’s a song about cancer… when we have the writer of, and guitarist on, the song, in less than 30 seconds, telling us it’s not about cancer…..
James is seriously such like a cute bunny rabbit still to this day 🐰
I thought of that song as a depression song. When you welcome depression then it is hard to make it leave. When you are depressed you are not just sad, you are angry and frustrated and lash out at people. That's what I take from the line "I'll tear me open, make you gone, no longer will you hurt anyone" hold me until it sleeps. It's going to therapy.
“Just like the curse, Just like the Strays, You feed it once, and now it stays” for some reason those lyrics hit. And idk why
Wow. I thought it WAS about James' MOM'S cancer and he was singing on her behalf. Dopey me! Thanks fer clearin that up Jimmy Boy!
The idea behind music is that it can be mutable but not necessarily so .
It depends on the perspective of the individual as to how it comes across the them and how a song is intepreted
Whatever the artist who wrote the song reflects compared to another individual who listens to it will not always turn out the same
Completely wrong, dumbass.
Completely correct!
I love the ambient Moby remix of Until It Sleeps, phenomenal song!
Music is a tool for culture and mental health. Subjective goodness. ✨🌞👍
I always thought it was about inner rage, the demon within. I guess that’s just my interpretation
of course it's not, the song is clearly about Lars ...."I run but it stays right by my side" "you feed it once and now it stays"
It's honestly one of their best songs and entire Load deserves more praise for how fuckin amazing it is. It's a literal piece of art and it's only underrated because it's Metallica and it "doesn't suit their style" Which is stupid. Yes it's not fast or thrashy but it's a impressive masterpiece
I relate that song to my stutter.
IT GRIPS YOU!
IT HOLDS YOU!
IT STAINS YOU!
I don't want it, want it, no-woah-woah-oh!
It’s very clearly about the depression and shame James faced. How he’s seeking comfort in other to cope with past negative experiences. “Hold me until it sleeps” I could see cancer but cancer doesn’t sleep
i always felt it was about anxiety or addiction and i felt that way about it
Cancer crisis so prolific it can easily stretch into metaphor and analogy.
off their best album, LOAD, James is an all time A leaguer
For me it's about anger, plain and simple. And it hits hard.
Man that was out when the world was a wonderful place… I still watch the video and marvel at the imagery.
I always thought it was, it helped me get through when my Dad had it
I think the point James is trying to get at (to which I agree) is that the song is not *_specifically_* about cancer, but if someone can relate to it through that lens, it's more able to help them to cope with a difficult time in their life, and he loves it when he's able to provide them that help.
I love that the older he gets the more he looks like the Cowardly Lion from Wizard of Oz.
Holy shit, seeing James looking so old already, makes me feel very old as well.
The end of the line is about doing coke with Dave mustaine
It's about addiction clearly
I always thought it was about James alcohol addiction and him opening up to the world about it
Yo creo q se refiere a los demonios interiores que te atacan en un momento de tu vida y que no te dejan en paz ejemplo : depresión ataques de pánico y ansiedad ,no al cáncer 😑
I feel like until it sleeps is about the odds being against you at pretty much anything in life and you (the listener) fighting those odds
The thing that should not be was about a relationship with a narcissist
It's about one Lions struggle to find courage.
I thought cancer, then trying to defeat your inner demons while feeling helpless
Notice he didn’t mention UIS specifically. He has said in past interviews that song is actually about his mother dying of cancer
That's what The God that Failed and The Cure are about, but about BOTH his parents dying of Cancer.
Yep, didn't he write it at the time his mother had cancer? I have an incurable illness for the past 16yrs and this song has been my anthem. It resonates with anyone in chronic pain, be it physical or mental.
Also, we could take plenty of such clips out of context and make videos that... Sandman is about furries/LGBTQ! Just splice splice BAM! Mind blown! 🙃
Until It Sleeps justly describes myself...
Despite the actual meaning of this song, the cool thing about it is that "it" can be so many different things to people
It’s actually about someone taking a dump but, it just won’t come out.
Ajá, durante mas de 30 años dijo que Fade to Black NO trataba sobre el suicidio, y ahora lo dice abiertamente.
Hasta donde sé, Until it Sleeps la escribió por la muerte de su papá, esa y Bleeding Me.
words of a legend!
That’s what an artist does. At least the good ones. They create an interpretation of their own thought, or to work through something that they’re dealing with, but as with any painting made, music is the same. It’s not solely meant to be interpreted in just one way. Sure, the artist had their own idea of what they wanted when they made it, but art is meant to be re-interpreted through the eyes (and ears) of the person observing it. That’s why it’s art.
Sometimes I pretend this song is about one's struggle to maintain of the monster that dwells inside.
a song can be whatever you want it to be.
Now that we’re dead is how they felt when a bus fell on cliff, but normally a bus falls off the cliff
it is all about his father;
James' father (Virgil Hetfield) leaves home when James is 13 years old.
Hetfield talking about his personal struggles as a teen when his father, virgil hetfield, abandoned the family when the singer was only 13 years old. "he left without saying goodbye," hetfield recalls in the documentary. "he left a note, and it wasn’t even to me. i wasn’t the man ... i wasn’t taught to step up."
over time, the elder hetfield made an attempt to reconnect with his famous son and was even filmed in a brief interview for the band's 1992 two-part documentary, 'year and a half in the life of metallica,' which was based around the making of the group's 'the black album.'
during hetfield's interview he unearths the emotional undertakings he faced while trying to re-establish a relationship with his father. "it feels so weird saying this but, i really tried to get close with him again ... get back together ... but it was never close. [it was] very surface-y."
During that time, James Hetfield describes it as follows: James, born in 1963, his father, Virgil Hetfield, leaves home in 1976. Sixteen years later, in 1992, during the period of the Black Album when they started to gain a lot of fame and money, his father Virgil Hetfield suddenly reappears. During this time, he shows closeness to James and tries to benefit from him, taking money from him and constantly trying to be around him.
However, this closeness doesn't translate to James. Between 1992 and 1996, this period turns into agony for James, along with childhood traumas. Virgil Hetfield dies in 1996, spending his last few years battling illness. This period from '92 to '96, marked by major emotional outbursts and dilemmas, coincides with the writing of the Load and Reload albums.
It's a tumultuous period where you both hate and love, but you're uncomfortable with the falseness you see instead of the closeness and love you expected when he resurfaced, and you want him to leave but suffer because of it. And those are the words that spill out:
it = he (his father)
sleeps = die
where do i take this pain of mine?
i run, but he stays right by my side
so tear me open, pour me out
there’s things inside that scream and shout
and the pain still hates me
so hold me until he sleeps (die)
just like the curse, just like the stray
you feed him once and now he stays
now he stays
so tear me open but beware
there’s things inside without a care
and the dirt still stains me
so wash me until i’m clean
he grips you, so hold me
he stains you, so hold me
he hates you, so hold me
he holds you, so hold me
until he sleeps
so tell me why you’ve (his father) chosen me
don’t want your grip
don’t want your greed
don’t want it
i’ll tear me open, make you (his father) gone
no more can you (his father) hurt anyone
and the fear (As his father was about to die) still shakes me
so hold me until he sleeps
he grips you, so hold me
he stains you, so hold me
he hates you, so hold me
he holds you, holds you, holds you
until he sleeps
i don’t want him
so tear me open but beware
there’s things inside without a care
and the dirt still stains me
so wash me... till clean
i’ll tear me open, make you (his father) gone
no longer will you (his father) hurt anyone
and the hate (to his father) still shapes me
so hold me until he sleeps
until he sleeps
Where is this footage from? Can you send the link for full video pls?
I know a TON of songs that mean different things to me than they probably meant to the song writer.
I wish OP would post the link to the full video so we could hear more of what James has to say about it
I really think that the attitude started as a coping mechanism for severe pain
Pain can be many things. If he wanted to make it about cancer he would have put cancer there.
One of the best examples of keeping it vague is the song Bloody Kisses from Type O Negative. Believe it or not this song is about a cat
th-cam.com/video/C4BoqO9bBjE/w-d-xo.html
If that is what Peter Steel said then fare enough . But it is about a death in the family so it could be anyone who considers that person family
i always felt it was talking about depression or addiction and depression
Where is this from??..full clip plz
It's sad it happened and it's a shame
I always believed it was directly talking about addiction. The cancer theory has always been bs to me. It makes way more sense to read the lyrics and apply it to alcoholism than to apply it to cancer. Just like the curse, just like the stray - you feed it once and now it stays.
It isn't about Alcohol Addiction or Addiction.at all, dumbass.
@@MrParkerman6 Reading the lyrics it could totally be about addiction , would you care to elaborate on what you think it’s about :)
Cancer & endometriosis also hit you once.. then feed off of you until they kill you.
@@A_Ducky I think the beauty of his lyrics post justice is exactly this , you can pull so many meanings from them where before they tended to be far more direct with what the songs about .Still great just less universal
@@megaduck7965
This duck completely agrees 🤗
Addiction
Anyone have the link to the full interview?
Where's the full interview?
MasterClass: Metallica Teaches Being a Band. It's not on TH-cam. You need to pay to watch it.
So it was published...
I'm not even sure what it was about. I'd had a few things in my head coming up with it. As with other, a bit of things in me my life was about, besides plugging "Me"(another bit through my other friend) that got done by Keoki. So, yeah, COOOOMEDY. I plugged it from 1995- 2005.
If you notice in When Nietzche Wept(the Wagner scene) how the character pronounces " ..hate you".
What a nice grandpa'...
So whats the song about? I can not figure out yet
I also thought it was about cancer.. Lol! But I can also easily see how it can be applied to personal demons/depression etc.
It´s about "hate". And the anger that can make you nuts. I´m 100% sure.
I'm trying to watch a 27 second video... why do I have to watch a fucking ad
I wish I could do something about that, bro
You still watched it tho
Download an ad blocker
Does anyone know which interview this clip is from?
MasterClass - Metallica Teaches Being a Band
So true. As an addict who is clean, I can turn damn near any song into a song about heroin or a song about saving one self. Hahaha.
For me it could be about a kind of depression or trouble deep inside. Something that make you feel sad and dirty.
You need to run, to wash yourself but this pain is still inside of you.
You only feel good when it fall asleep sometimes few minutes. You need to hold your wife until this pain sleeps
About grief
Mama said is about the movie the water boy
For some reason I got to remember the preface to The Picture of Dorian Gray after watching this video. And here's how it goes.
THE ARTIST is the creator of beautiful things.
To reveal art and conceal the artist is art's aim.
The critic is he who can translate into another manner or a new material his impression of beautiful things.
The highest as the lowest form of criticism is a mode of autobiography. Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault.
Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope.
They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty.
There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.
The nineteenth century dislike of Realism is the rage of Caliban seeing his own face in a glass.
The nineteenth century dislike of Romanticism is the rage of Caliban not seeing his own face in a glass.
The moral life of man forms part of the subject-matter of the artist, but the morality of art consists in the perfect use of an imperfect medium.
No artist desires to prove anything. Even things that are true can be proved.
No artist has ethical sympathies. An ethical sympathy in an artist is an unpardonable mannerism of style.
No artist is ever morbid. The artist can express everything.
Thought and language are to the artist instruments of an art.
Vice and virtue are to the artist materials for an art.
From the point of view of form, the type of all the arts is the art of the musician.
From the point of view of feeling, the actor's craft is the type.
All art is at once surface and symbol.
Those who go beneath the surface do so at their peril.
Those who read the symbol do so at their peril.
It is the spectator, and not life, that art really mirrors.
Diversity of opinion about a work of art shows that the work is new, complex, and vital.
When critics disagree the artist is in accord with himself.
We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.
The only excuse for making a useless thing is that one admires it intensely.
All art is quite useless. OSCAR WILDE.
0:22 okay…cool🤗
I’ve always thought until it sleeps was about ptsd
"Until It Sleeps" & Load album was Metallica's start of mellow phase genre.
What's the meaning?
I never understood why anyone would ever think this song was about cancer. its clearly about depression. Jesus Christ anyone with a brain would know that. or just anyone who has ever been through depression. "where do I take this pain of mine, I run but it stays right by my side" ya know like how no matter what you do when you are truly depressed you can't just shake it off. -_- " so tear me open pour me out there's things inside that scream and shout" clearly this line is about internalizing your issues which tend to make you even more depressed. he is crying for help in this song obviously .