Life, it seems, will fade away
Drifting further every day
Getting lost within myself
Nothing matters, no one else
I have lost the will to live
Simply nothing more to give
There is nothing more for me
Need the end to set me free
Things not what they used to be
Missing one inside of me
Deathly lost, this can't be real
Can't stand this hell I feel
Emptiness is filling me
To the point of agony
Growing darkness taking dawn
I was me, but now he's gone
No one but me can save myself, but it's too late
Now I can't think, think why I should even try
Yesterday seems as though it never existed
Death greets me warm, now I will just say goodbye, *Goodbye*
Metallica 1984
Arguably the best heavy metal ballad ever written, "Fade to Black" is a staple in most hard rock fans play lists. This song was written by James Hetfield after the band's gear was stolen and they had been kicked out of their managers home. This was Metallica's first ballad. Coming off an album with songs like "Fight Fire with Fire" and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" this song was certainly a change.
The song is pretty straight forward, there is no hidden agenda yet it is open to perception. One might argue this is simply a suicide song. You can hear the depression, the hopelessness and what appears to be the end. You can feel the gloom in the song, the utter despair. James and Lars were obsessed with death at the time of this album so it makes sense this song ends in "Goodbye".
I have a different take on the song, of course from the beginning I pull the depression, I hear the despair. I hear the loss of oneself. Being so lost and depressed you don't think anymore, you don't see yourself when you look in the mirror is heard in the tone. Yet after the goodbye the song takes off, I hear strength in the guitar. I hear the "f*ck you, it's not over". This song to me is about pulling yourself out of that hole and make into life.
What do you think?
I've never really considered this song a ballad because of the intensity that kicks in after the singing is done. That little bit was one of Metallica's trademarks until they met Bob Rock... the rest is history.
ReplyDeleteOne thing I also never considered was this song to be strictly about suicide strictly in the sense of ending one's own physical life (yeah, I know that's the definition of the word, but bear with me). It's easy to see where one gets that idea as the lyrical imagery is pretty open.
I always held the lyrics in this song to describe a more intangible suicide - the death of a person's essence, the individuality that makes each person unique. Imagine if you will a prisoner of war, or a victim of rape or molestation, or someone who has fallen into an addiction. Those things change people forever. Nobody is the same after that. Whatever made that person who they were is more often than not dead after the event and what's left is something else entirely.
But this song is about the self. I've always seen this song as empowering. The singer has reached a point in his life where it (whatever it happens to be) can no longer be sustained. In that regard, he is deciding that it's time to kill that with which he is dealing.
We can't see tomorrow in the lyrics, but who can ever see tomorrow during a mental death?