Metallica – Of Wolf And Man

• 0
  My Interpretation:This reminds of leg of lamb by Queens of the stone age, that song's about how looking for a nice partner for the night is like looking for a nice joint of meat- I took that and I thought maybe metallica think of it as a hunt "Taking of the fallen lamb"? Maybe an easy kill? A vulnerable girl who wants to cuddle up to somebody for that night and is an easy fuck? Also how you let all primal instinct take control in sex just like a feeding frenzy in a pack of wolves after a kill.
  
  "So seek the wolf in thyself"
  Maybe that's telling you that world's much more ordered when you're looking for chaos, you'll enjoy "hunting" somebody more than you'll enjoy trying to persuade somebody

  Flag Jamfaceon February 20, 2013   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• 0
  Song Meaning:Wow! Im going to go out on a limb here.......out from the new days mist i come and go. harvest the land. taking of the fallen lamb. Sounds to me like taking shrooms. We shift consciousness in ways depending on the company we keep. Shape shift....hmmm. pulsing with the earth...hmmm. In case you did not know, shrooms can reveal things about yourself that you didnt know about, and it can get very scary. however it puts you in complete connection with the earth and when you reach that point, you gain the knowledge of the meaning of life. Earths gift to the meaning of life, Shrooms.

  Flag hatchetnationon September 15, 2011   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• +2
  General Comment:When Metallica played at Hultsfred Sweden with the Sonisphere tour, James said that this song is about the animal that´s in all of us. Basically meaning the primal instints and urges that´s in all of us. James has just used a lyrical werewolf-metaphore in this song.

  Flag Mika1978on July 04, 2011   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• 0
  Song Meaning:Plain and simple, it's about Jacob Black

  Flagged punkandjunkon February 23, 2011   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• +1
  General Comment:ok guys, its about a WAREWOLF. metallica certainly has lots of meanings you have to look for, but i really dont think there are any in this one. its a raw, blasting song from second #1

  Flag thrashmanon April 19, 2010   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• -1
  General Comment:it's fuckin about werewolves. no deep meaning, not drugs or anything else. Fuckin awsome song though, my fav on the album.

  Flag DOOMRPon January 29, 2010   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• +2
  My Interpretation:Most comments are debating whether the song is about a werewolf or whether there's a deeper meaning about our wild side as human beings. My answer is yes. They're both saying the same thing. No one can deny (I hope) that it's about a werewolf; the title gives that away. Here's why he talks about werewolves. In the first two choruses, he finishes with "back to the meaning of life", but in the final chorus he says "back to the meaning of wolf and man". The point made is that we can find the meaning in our lives by recognizing that we're werewolves; by seeing that we are both wolf and man- wild and tame. He also talks about the transformation from Man to Wolf: "shape shift". If we can transform from one to the other, then there's clearly a difference between the two, and Hetfield says that becoming wild is good: "I feel a change/Back to a better day". "mullet2k" points out the line "In wildness is the preservation of the world". This is a line from Walden, which is a book about the relationship between humans and nature. The book says that we have to accept and live our wild side to really understand ourselves. Everyone's different interpretation of the song depends on how we interpret that "wild side". For some- maybe Hetfield- that's about the partying lifestyle, for others it can be drugs or playing music or anything that makes us wild. That's why it's up to everyone to interpret the song for themselves.

  Flagged jim0watkinson October 21, 2009   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• +1
  General Comment:I would say that this song works on both concrete and metaphorical levels. It is about werewolves, but isn't the very concept of a werewolf a metaphore for releasing your inner beast? Your inner beast could be anything that releases you from the confinement of human institutions. Taking drugs, being violent, roaming free... anything goes as far as I'm concerned.

  Flag krikkeron August 20, 2009   Link

  • 1 Reply Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
    0

    I'm voting this my favorite interpretation

    Flag bad_noozeon February 11, 2010  
• 0
  General Comment:if anyone's ever seen or read The Island of Dr.Moroeu (don't know how to spell it) this song makes me think of
  it

  Flag DOOMRPon August 18, 2009   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.
• 0
  General Comment:This might be too obvious, but I think these lyrics are about Of mice and man.
  
  "Off through the new day's mist I run" - Lenny makes a mistake, and they have to run away
  "Harvest the land" - that's what they do
  "Earth's gift back to the meaning of life" - the novel is party about what Lenny"s life means and about the question weather George had the right to kill Lenny or not
  "So seek the wolf in thyself" - Lenny definately has a wolf in himself
  
  And this theory about running away from the someone is passing into my version. They are running away from the punishments Lenny would get if they stayed in certain places. That's why they're "Roaming the land while you sleep"
  
  

  Flag goldpallon December 05, 2008   Link

  • No Replies Log in to reply
    
      There was an error.

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!