“Unforgiven”, by Metallica. I’m not too into heavy metal, but I have to credit the lyrical genius of Metallica with this song. To be frank, it’s one of, if not THE, deepest songs that I’ve ever heard.
I did recently did a post on Thoreau, Holmes, and William Wallace on truly living a meaningful life. To the themes of “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation” (Thoreau), “along for those that never sing, but die with all their music in them” (Holmes), and “ever man dies; not every man really lives” (Wallace). This song, and these themes, also get at Plato’s Allegory of the Cave as well. Are we even aware that we are in ideological chains?
Dying without truly living is the tragedy, what Metallica beautifully describes as “unforgiven”. The song is aiming at the existential crisis of taking full responsibility of your being – coming to your own thoughts, passions, identity, and agency. Though conformity is the easier path (which is why most go that way), it’s the ultimate tragedy. If you’re not listening with an attentive ear or meditating on the lyrics, you could miss the profound tie to the themes above.
Let’s dive into some of the lyrics:
New blood joins this Earth and quickly he’s subdued, through constant pained disgrace, the young boy learns their rules… Deprived of all his thoughts, the young man struggles on and on… he’s known, a vow unto his own… that never from this day… his will they’ll take away…
This is incredibly deep: “subdued”, “disgraced”, “learns their rules”, and “deprived of all his thoughts”. But something incredible happens: he makes “a vow” that from that point on, they’ll never take away his will.
The inspiration for the song taps into themes from band member and song writer James Hetfield’s Christian Science upbringing, his father leaving when he was a teenager, and his mother dying of cancer due to adherence to Christian science belief of no medicine or medical treatment [1]. Growing up, Hetfield was not allowed to go to the doctor, was forced to sit out of health classes, and wasn’t allowed to get a physical for sports [2]. The lyrics represent Hetfield’s chains: “I lived my life for other people, trying to please everyone else except myself and at the end of the day blaming everyone else instead of yourself and not really taking responsibility for yourself” [3]. These chains actually helped him make him, as described in the song, make a “vow on to his own” to “carve my own path” [4].
This is the ultimate dilemma; to be one’s true self or to conform to the herd, stay chained, and never truly live:
What I’ve felt, what I’ve known… Never shined through in what I’ve shown
Never be, never see… Won’t see what might have been… Never free… Never me… So I dub thee unforgiven
Giving into your chains, not being aware that you’re in chains, and/or never truly being yourself – this is unforgivable.
They dedicate their lives to running all of his… He tries to please them all, this bitter man he is… Throughout his life the same, he’s battled constantly… This fight he cannot win… A tired man they see no longer cares… The old man then prepares… To die regretfully… That old man here is me…
The old man dying regretfully – this is the “lives of desperation” Thoreau diagnoses, the “die with the music in them” Holmes warns, and the “never truly lives” tragedy Wallace asserts. For Metallica, “never free” is “never me” as he has “never shined” and will “never see” what “might have been” – these are the unforgiven.
Whether or not you’re aware you’re in chains, you’ve been warned by Metallica. Do not be the old man who dies regretfully or you too will be dubbed unforgiven.
References:
[1] https://metal.fandom.com/wiki/James_Hetfield
[2] https://www.loudersound.com/features/metallicas-james-hetfield-my-life-story
[3] https://ultimateclassicrock.com/metallica-the-unforgiven-song/
[4] https://www.loudersound.com/features/metallicas-james-hetfield-my-life-story
Image credit:
Saad Faruque, Metallica concert 2011 @Bangalore
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In