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When a man lies, he murders some part of the world
These are the pale deaths, which men miscall their lives
All this I cannot bear to witness any longer
Cannot the kingdom of salvation, take me home
These are the pale deaths, which men miscall their lives
All this I cannot bear to witness any longer
Cannot the kingdom of salvation, take me home
Lyrics submitted by fennsk, edited by RyanWolfeh
Track duration: 02:55
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R.I.P. Cliff Burton, an inspiration to all.
Yes the lyrics to this song is a poem that cliff really loved. Yes, it was also spoken in excalibur. Yes the intro was written by cliff. Now Metallica release garage days revisited to get in tune with Jason, they began working on To Live Is To Die. When it came time for the lyrics, they used cliffs poem because it touched home more deeply than anyone can understand. So i'll break it down line by line
"When a man lies..." <-- The bus driver claimed there was black ice, James walked the road for countless hours after the accident to find the black ice and could not find one spot. (This can be found in VH1's behind the Music of Metallica).
"He murders some part of the world" <-- This is the loss of cliff.
"All these pale deaths in which men miscall thier lives" <-- This line goes back to the bus driver, as he had been drinking. When you watch VH1's behind the music they show the toxicology reports.
"All this i cannot bare to witness any longer" <-- This line was touching for Kirt, Kirt and Cliff had a deep friendship. Kirt was cliff’s pick to replace Dave Mustaine. Another touching part is that Cliff was the one who consoled Kirt when Mustane slept with kirts girl friend when kirt replaced him.
"Cannot the kingdom of Salvation take me home” <-- This is asking for cliff’s blessing. Asking them to stay beside them, and guide them. While James, Kirt, and Lars are extremely talented musicians, Cliff was the one that was extremely open minded. He was very analytical, and a truly brilliant. The second meaning for this line is to wish cliff peace.
Alright, the one thing that people make common mistakes about is that Cliff was the original bassist for Metallica. Not true, the first bassist, Ron McGovern, was on the compilation album. The Compilation Album predates Kill’em all for almost two years. Cliff was actually Mustaine, and Lars pick to replace Ron.
While I am an avid Metallica fan, as well as a guitar player myself, I’ve learned almost every song that Metallica has release. This is the only song, and Orion are the only two songs from Metallica I will not touch. The main reason for Orion is it was the only Metallica song to be played at Cliff’s Funeral.
Dave Mustaine also wrote a tribute to cliff burton after forming Megadeath. The title of the song is In My Darkest Hour.
This truly is a masterpiece. It is a lovely piece of music and a great composition which is a fitting piece to commemorate a band mate especially one who was as great a bassist as Cliff. No words they would have written would have matched up to this, true James is a gifted lyricist but I think their emotions where well expressed here.
R.I.P Cliff
If you don't understand the emotions of the song, and the meaning of the poem, then my dear faggot, you lack basic human emotion and I must say, I'd probably loose IQ points from having a long conversation from you.
R.I.P. Cliff Burton.
Sincerely
MetallicaOwns