Philosophical Analysis: "One" - Metallica

This thread is the second installment of the series, the first being:
1. Philosophical Analysis: "Schism" - Tool





2. Philosophical Analysis: "One" - Metallica

In my opinion, the rock band 'Metallica' has unintentionally described the suffering of premature and incomplete Awakening/Enlightenment in a Gnostic-context, in their famous song "One."

As a picture is worth a thousand words, so too does every song have a different meaning to different people. The song "One" appears to be in reference to a soldier's struggle with paralysis, severed limbs, or some other battle-related injuries. Although I do not know the motives or intentions of the artists' work, I will give my personal interpretation to the lyrics.

I hope you enjoy this analysis, and please share your thoughts also.

Peace.






Link

"One"
- Metallica

I can't remember anything,
can't tell if this is true or dream.
Deep down inside I feel to scream,
this terrible silence stops me.
Now that the war is through with me,
I'm waking up I can not see,...
that there's not much left of me.
Nothing is real but pain now.

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

Back in the womb its much too real,
in pumps life that I must feel.
But can't look forward to reveal,
look to the time when I'll live.
Fed through the tube that sticks in me,
just like a wartime novelty.
Tied to machines that make me be,
cut this life off from me.

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

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

Darkness,
Imprisoning me!
All that I see,
absolute horror!
I can not live!
I can not die!
Trapped in myself,
body my holding cell!

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

• "I can't remember anything, can't tell if this is true or dream."
Upon spirit being birthed into the physical world, the illusion of material reality envelopes and veils the knowledge of what lies beyond the physical realm. The material plane lulls us into believing that the physical is the ultimate reality.


• "Deep down inside I feel to scream, this terrible silence stops me."
The veil of forgetfulness that arises when spirit is encased in a material vehicle can be terrifying because one's origin and purpose become unknown. There is no gain to attain from screaming, because the conscious "I AM" observes in silence.


• "Now that the war is through with me, I'm waking up I can not see,... that there's not much left of me."
The "war" is the seemingly opposing forces of duality; Light/Dark, Good/Evil, Spirit/Physical, Life/Death. Taking on a physical human body, the spirit becomes confined to relativity and subjectivity, and can no longer "see" the fulness of unified existence. In becoming a "part of the whole", we are greatly diminished from the glory and grandeur of wholeness; One.


• "Nothing is real but pain now."
Gnosticism conceptualizes the spirit as a prisoner, held captive and tortured in the physical body and material realm. The Buddha has rationalized, to live is to suffer (Truth of dukkha).


• "Hold my breath as I wish for death. Oh please God wake me."
In the realization of consciousness and existence beyond this physical human life, some wish for death and anticipate the afterlife more than appreciating this present life.


• "Back in the womb its much too real,
in pumps life that I must feel."
Living this physical human life, our thoughts, our emotions, and our sensory perceptions are intense and shape our very reality.


• "But can't look forward to reveal, look to the time when I'll live."
In this physical human life, we are confined to the relativity and subjectivity of time and space/place, which limits our anticipation of our fate and destiny. Death and the afterlife are awaited and anticipated in hopes of being liberated from the suffering of this prison and hell of physical existence. The next life is anticipated to be better than this current life.


• "Fed through the tube that sticks in me, just like a wartime novelty. Tied to machines that make me be, cut this life off from me."
This physical reality is a fully interconnected construct, with each connection and relationship supporting and sustaining all life. Some wish for the ending of their life in this physical reality.


• "Now the world is gone I'm just one."
The "world" includes all thoughts, emotions, sensory perceptions, events, and time. Strip away all qualities and we find that Consciousness is One.


• "Darkness, imprisoning me! All that I see, absolute horror!"
Beyond our physical perceptions, thoughts, and emotions lies the ever-expansive emptiness of the void. Vast nothingness where time, space, perspective, and personal identity cease to exist.


• "I can not live! I can not die!"
In the void, the cyclical dynamic of life and death cease.


• "Trapped in myself, body my holding cell!"
Many esoteric philosophies teach that all of physical existence exists in the Mental Plane, emanating from the Monad. Thus, being "trapped within ourself". In relation to human life, we the eternal Consciousness, according to Gnostic teachings, are spirit imprisoned within physical body. Our bodies are our holding cells.


• "Landmine, has taken my sight! Taken my speech! Taken my hearing! Taken my arms! Taken my legs! Taken my soul! Left me with life in hell!"
A "landmine" is a bomb, an explosion of energy, a burst of light; Awakening, Enlightenment, Illumination. Such a realization dissolves the physical body and its qualities to unveil the True/Higher Self, which is Consciousness. Realizing the confinement of Consciousness into the physical body, life appears to be Hell.

The reason I say this song describes premature and incomplete Enlightenment/Awakening is because there is a great disdain for physical life within the song.

When we transcend the illusions and mechanisms of time, thought, emotion, and sensory perception, we should realize that death, afterlife, and the next life are not the goal nor the matter of greatest importance to us in this current life. Instead, we should realize that this life is entirely temporary, transitory, and fleeting,... and as such, each moment of this life should be savored, enjoyed, and experienced to the utmost.

No real secret behind the lyrics to this song.
All it means is life id=s good, until it can no longer be.
Then, exit stage left.
But Metallica sold out and pursued their fans, screw Metallica.

(Edit)
Before they got all commercial, good music, bad politics.

reply to post by g146541

But Metallica sold out and pursued their fans, screw Metallica.

There's not one thing in this existence that is immune to 'change'. The concept of change seems to be the main constant of physical reality. Seasons change, musicians change. Gotta respect the change :p

Peace.

I have never really listen to this song.
This is deep, what you speak of is, kind of how I feel.

I know of these things you speak of.

I would of not come up with this, from this song.

Thank's

May I present this as what happens when that sell out doesn't keep up the steam....


Wish I may
Wish I might
Have this I wish tonight
Are you satisfied?
Dig for gold
Dig for fame
You dig to make your name
Are you pacified?

All the wants you waste
All the things you've chased

Then it all crashes down
And you break your crown
And you point your finger
But there's no one around

Just want one thing
Just to play the king
But the castle's crumbled
And you're left with just a name

Where's your crown, King Nothing?
Where's your crown?

Hot and cold
Bought and Sold
A heart as hard as gold
Yeah! Are you satisfied?

Wish I might
Wish I may
You wish your life away
Are you pacified?

All the wants you waste
All the things you chased

Then it all crashes down
And you break your crown
And you point your finger
But there's no one around

Just want one thing
Just to play the king
But the castle's crumbled
And you're left with just a name

Where's your crown, King Nothing?
Where's your crown?


I have a great interest in artists that hint toward regret for a "decision" if that's what we'll call it...a huge influence from blues makes this phenomenon seem a bit too easy to grasp for comfort if I'm really honest....

Holy wow.

no 'talica by this stage were not so deep. The song has nothing to do with awakening or enlightenment.

en.m.wikipedia.org...

its based on this 1971 anti war movie.

This is how people over analyse everything and how things are made into things they are not.

I like your (alternative) interpretation. It does appear to have an unintentional meaning, and I caught on to that as well. However, the song really was just written about a paralyzed man with no limbs, stuck in his body, attached to life support systems.

en.wikipedia.org...(Metallica_song)
"The song's theme and lyrics are based on Dalton Trumbo's 1939 novel 'Johnny Got His Gun', telling the tale of a soldier who is hit by an artillery shell and loses his limbs, eyes, ears and mouth. His mind functions perfectly, however, leaving him trapped inside his own body (which could also be described as a special form of locked-in syndrome)."

-edit-

Poster above beat me to it.

Many book's are written on different levels, some levels if you were to read the book a hundred times, you might still not understand the other levels.

I think a simple example would be the book, " Moby Dick " or the Bible on one level it's a story for a child, in another level a deeper meaning is found.

This was their most powerful song in my opinion.

I have never seen that in the lyrics until now.

The music video had me brainwashed.



The lyrics describe the Matrix

Animatrix - 2nd Renaissance - "The very essence of the second renaissance"
www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9s48_DPi_0
www.youtube.com...

reply to post by OOOOOO


Indeed, and the artist realizes this when one's work makes it to the public. It's completely up to interpretation, imo. It matters little the artist's original intent many times, but the ways that a work can relate to the observer's life. Part of the beauty behind art, really.

I like that song where the guy from SNL goes back in time, and his time machine plays a show tune because he hacked something else to make his time machine. I get it. Ha ha.

Now "Johnny Get His Gun" why was it not "Johnny gets his Gun Blown off and Everything else to Boot"

It's just like in "Moby Dick" It wasn't the whale the dude was fighting it was something inside of his self.

reply to post by Sahabi

Cool thread,s+f.Metallica is the hubby's alltime fave group+music,along with the Dropkick Murphy's whom is a massive fave of mine too.
I will be sure to show him this thread tonight,he will find it very fascinating,thanks so much for posting this

reply to post by winofiend

reply to post by WeAre0ne


Hello winofiend and WeAreOne.

Thanks for supplying the "Johnny Got His Gun" novel, which which served as the original inspiration to the song.

In the op, I mention the perspective of an injured soldier, which is overtly obvious from the song lyrics:

The song "One" appears to be in reference to a soldier's struggle with paralysis, severed limbs, or some other battle-related injuries. Although I do not know the motives or intentions of the artists' work, I will give my personal interpretation to the lyrics.

Each song holds different meanings to each individual. I was sharing what the song says to me on a deeper, philosophical level. In no way was I attempting to supplant the original artist's intention.

Peace.

reply to post by Sahabi


very nice interpretation

indeed... you are actually shaping the most unique thing ever, your transitory life as this person, and you only get one chance in this exact way and connections with everything else, so make the most of it, its quite beautiful I agree

also, its the nature of things

I can remember reading some time ago that the Huna (Hawaiians) philosphy stated that night was the creative area. During the day we practiced the creativity.

It seems to me that a great many if not all of the popular bands stretching back to the 50's have submerged themselves into the pits of darkness giving their power away along the route in the chase of hunger for fame and fortune.

Also a great many of them try to express this feeling through the songs they write, reaching out for something, they also express in their songs that the only time they feel truly alive is when they are on stage, or singing.

They always "claim" to be singing about something other than themselves, but in truth, they are the center of their world and would not be able to find the words to express someone else's demise.

I am not sure anyone could feel the depth of emotion he describes here unless you had actually been there yourself.

I can empathize with the tortured words of a lost soul crying out for salvation from the self created hell.

However, I have to also admire a soul that chooses a path such as this, as they are on their way to true greatness, if they can hold it together as they travel on this journey.

I lay brick's, and I had a porch I was building, it had three columns and I wanted to twist the columns, but most times brick layer's twist them all thee same way.

I know it's not a song, but I twisted the right one to the right and the left one to the left, I think it was plotted for 7.5 degrees.

But the one in the middle was going back and forth, but to me the columns were like people, one went to the right one went to the left, but the one in the middle was confused, didn't know which way to go like some people. Yea, I freaked the whole porch out, the house sold quick.

Oh well.

I'm not to musical, but I would hear jazz in my head at night, it is some wild stuff but I can't write music. There was one it was just like a bass guitar and a harmonica, I wish I could of recorded it. A lot of it is like 30s jazz, but can be anything just about.
I have a Jazz drummer friend, was suppose to record the lyric's for one, they were simple, but I think I need copyright
I was going nut's where this stuff was coming from. Mainly left ear that's? right hemisphere, must been bored.

reply to post by finitedualities


Except 'tallica said it was based on the book/movie, and there are clips from the movie in the video for the song.

It's not really open for interpretation, unless you want to exactly deny their intent and make one of your own up. Which is fine.

But it's not accurate.

reply to post by OOOOOO


Lol.

Well the kid wanted to go to war. He got his gun. And now he's a prisoner of war in his own mind.

Hence, anti-war movie/book.

"Hey kids, you want to fight? you want to shoot people? Here, grab your gun and kill for your country!"
*kabloom*
"Momma, pappa, are you there?"

reply to post by Sahabi


Fair call!

I misunderstood that. I thought you had not realised there was a defined story to go with the song. Before metallica sold out they had a lot of brilliant songs that had deeper meanings.

But since they went all shiny and moved out of the garage, they have become country and western nu metal baloney, in my ignorant opinion on the matter. AJFA was where they left being who they were. when Cliff died, what made them special left with him.