Metallica Songs With the Best Lyrics

Metallica songs ranked by lyrics. The most beautiful, poetic, and inspirational.
The Top Ten
1 One

Darkness imprisoning me
All that I see
Absolute horror
I cannot live
I cannot die
Trapped in myself
Body my holding cell.

No doubt, this has the best lyrics for a Metallica song.

One is a timeless classic and will go down in history as one of the best-written songs.

2 The Unforgiven

The lyrics really are relatable to kids with very rough childhoods. The second verse is absolutely unbelievable. One of my favorite lines is, "You labeled me, I label you!" What makes it even better is that James wrote it when he was 13.

One of the best lyrics in all of music history! Epic!

In The Unforgiven, you can hear every drop of James's emotions in the lyrics. An absolute work of art.

3 Fade to Black

This is the song that I want to be played at my funeral. It says everything.

Their first ballad and one of the most beautiful music pieces ever created.

Another emotional piece by Metallica that has helped countless suicidal kids across the world.

4 Welcome Home (Sanitarium)

SANITARIUM!
Welcome to where time stands still
No one leaves, and no one will
Moon is full, never seems to change
Just labeled mentally deranged

Dream the same thing every night
I see our freedom in my sight
No locked doors, no windows barred
No things to make my brain seem scarred

Sleep, my friend, and you will see
That dream is my reality
They keep me locked up in this cage
Can't they see it's why my brain says rage

This song has a significant backstory about someone trapped in a mental hospital being abused. The lyrics are very powerful and meaningful.

5 Wherever I May Roam
6 Master of Puppets
7 Nothing Else Matters

James didn't want to use this song in the album, saying, "It's gonna make us look weak." It ended up being one of the best.

Although the original meaning of Nothing Else Matters is often ignored, it doesn't need a deeper meaning. It's a greatly written song in which listeners can find a meaning for themselves.

8 For Whom the Bell Tolls

The lyrics are chilling, and James' voice makes them even more powerful. "Take a look to the sky just before you die, it's the last time you will!" DAMN.

9 Until It Sleeps

I'll tear me open, make you gone
No more can you hurt anyone
And the fear still shakes me
So hold me until it sleeps.

James wrote this about his mother. The lyrics really show the pain he went through.

10 Disposable Heroes

Bodies fill the fields I see, hungry heroes end
No one to play soldier now, no one to pretend
Running blind through killing fields, bred to kill them all
Victim of what was said should be, a servant 'til I fall

Incredible lyrics. I gave my vote to One, but otherwise, this is the Metallica song with the best lyrics.

Soldier boy, made of clay,
Now an empty shell.
Twenty-one, only son,
But he serves us well.
Bred to kill, not to care,
To do as we say.
Finished here.
Greetings, Death,
He's yours to take away.

The Contenders
11 Creeping Death
12 Bleeding Me

One of the greatest songs ever written. Deep meaning, and everything is on point. In my opinion, it's really underrated.

13 Don't Tread On Me
14 My Friend of Misery
15 Harvester of Sorrow

Why is this last? The lyrics are epic.

16 Dyers Eve

Dear mother, dear father, what is this hell you have put me through?
Believer, deceiver, day in, day out, live my life through you
Pushed onto me what's wrong or right
Hidden from this thing that they call life

Dear mother, dear father
Every thought I'd think you'd disapprove
Curator, dictator
Always censoring my every move
Children are seen but are not heard
Tear out everything inspired

17 Hero of the Day

"Excuse me while I tend to how I feel
These things return to me that still seem real
Now, deservingly, this easy chair
But the rocking stopped by wheels of despair

Don't want your aid
But the fist I make
For years can't hold or feel
No, I'm not all me
So please excuse me while I tend to how I feel."

Unbelievable lyrics.

18 Sad But True
19 The Outlaw Torn

Unlike many others, I think Load is one of Metallica's best albums - their only better album is the Black Album. This is such an underrated track, it's so sick! It also happens to be one of Metallica's longest tracks, clocking in at just under ten minutes!

Hear me
And if I close my mind in fear
Please pry it open

See me
And if my face becomes sincere
Beware

Hold me
And when I start to come undone
Stitch me together

Save me
And when you see me strut
Remind me of what left this outlaw torn

So sad, but James definitely took his time. The lyrics are absolutely amazing, especially at this part.

20 Eye of the Beholder

"It doesn't matter what you see, or into it what you read, you can do it your own way, if it's done just how I say." This is so powerful. This whole album speaks on the injustice of the world and the irony of it all. I love this album.

21 Orion
22 Fixxxer

I don't know how James keeps writing songs as amazing as these. The chorus is my favorite part of the song. "But tell me, can you heal what fathers done?" Man, those lyrics are awesome.

23 The Unforgiven III

Wow. This song changed my life. It's been my favorite Metallica song since 2012. The lyrics mean so much to me. It's incredible the work James has done with this one - brilliant from start to finish.

24 ...And Justice for All
25 Low Man's Lyric

So low, the sky is all I see
All I want from you is to forgive me
So you bring this poor dog in from the rain
Though he just wants right back out again

And I cry to the alleyway
Confess all to the rain
But I lie, lie straight to the mirror
The one I've broken to match my face

This is not the normal Metallica song. It's different, but I think it has amazing lyrics. It's also just an amazing song in general.

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