In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Where do I take this pain of mine?
I run but it stays right my side
So tear me open, pour me out
There's things inside that scream and shout
And the pain still hates me
So hold me, until it sleeps
Just like the curse, just like the stray
You feed it once and now it stays, now it stays
So tear me open but beware
There's things inside without a care
And the dirt still stains me
So wash me, until I'm clean
It grips you, so hold me
It stains you, so hold me
It hates you, so hold me
It holds you, so hold me
Until it sleeps (until it sleeps, until it sleeps)
So tell me why you've chosen me
Don't want your grip, don't want your greed, don't want it
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
It grips you, so hold me
It stains you, so hold me
It hates you, so hold me
It holds you, holds you, holds you
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps, until it sleeps
I don't want it
I don't want it, want it, want it
Want it, want it, no
So tear me open but beware
The things inside without a care
And the dirt still stains me
So wash me 'til I'm clean
I'll tear me open, make you gone
No longer will you hurt anyone
And the hate still shapes me
So hold me, until it sleeps
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps
I run but it stays right my side
So tear me open, pour me out
There's things inside that scream and shout
And the pain still hates me
So hold me, until it sleeps
Just like the curse, just like the stray
You feed it once and now it stays, now it stays
So tear me open but beware
There's things inside without a care
And the dirt still stains me
So wash me, until I'm clean
It grips you, so hold me
It stains you, so hold me
It hates you, so hold me
It holds you, so hold me
Until it sleeps (until it sleeps, until it sleeps)
So tell me why you've chosen me
Don't want your grip, don't want your greed, don't want it
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
It grips you, so hold me
It stains you, so hold me
It hates you, so hold me
It holds you, holds you, holds you
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps, until it sleeps
I don't want it
I don't want it, want it, want it
Want it, want it, no
So tear me open but beware
The things inside without a care
And the dirt still stains me
So wash me 'til I'm clean
I'll tear me open, make you gone
No longer will you hurt anyone
And the hate still shapes me
So hold me, until it sleeps
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps
Until it sleeps, until it sleeps
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Great version of a great song,
Personally I don't like to use the phrase 'This song is about.....' as whatever inspired the lyrics be it cancer, heroine or personal demons it means different things to different people. For me this is one of the most powerful songs ever written, not just by Metallica, but anyone, obviously James Hetfield has drawn on personal anguishes but kept the source of the pain hidden making it easy for each and every one of us to relate it to the lowest point of our lives. When I first heard the lyrics I was amazed at how it explained exactly the pain I was currently feeling as if he'd got inside my head and put into words the absolute agony I was suffering, esp 'Hold me until it sleeps' suggesting that I'd get through but never exorcise the underlying causes. I hope i've made sense!! You can see why I need lyrics to express myself, I just cant project the same depth of emotion!
Either way this is my favourite Metallica song and possibly fave song ever.
I think this song represents a struggle with a darker side of a person, that was cause by a lot of pain, such as Jame's Dad's cancer. The lines seem to be talking about a horrible thing inside that,.."hates you" it could mean the person is lashing out at people, because of all the pain they hold inside.
though the song may have been written about his mother's heroine addiction or cancer or his father's cancer, or his battle with abusing alcohol, or what ever, this song is truly for the listener, in a sense that it is for your interpertation, like for however it speaks to you personally. here are some of the lyrics and what they mean to me:
I RUN BUT IT STAYS RIGHT BY MY SIDE he tries to escape the addiction but he cannot
DONT WANT IT, WANT IT, WANT IT, NO....SO TEAR ME OPEN BUT BEWARE... the point in addiction where you know you shouldnt do it and you know its bad, but the horrible temptation is there and you give in
THERES THINGS INSIDE THAT SCREAM AND SHOUT inside him he knows he is torn because of the addiction;this embodies his two sides, the sane and addicted sides, providing almost a bi-polarity
so much for analyzing it...i love metallica anyway they come!
When i hear the song it kinda sybolizes darkness and depression that lives in us. It never leaves and always has grip on you. (where do i take this pain of mine, i run but it stays by my side) Thats exactly how i feel.
It's about cancer.
This song is OBVIOUSLY about Heroin... & For Anyone who's ever been on a 3-Month National Tour with a Band, & has been gripped by Heroin before would know that. "...Tear me open and pour me out", "You Feed it Once & now it Stays", "There's things inside that Scream & Shout" (Addiction, not Cancer), <br /> "Now tear me open make you gone<br /> No Longer will You hurt Anyone" (Meaning he's Silencing his Cravings/Addiction...because with heroin, if you get really Hooked on the White Falcon & you don't get it, you get WICKED SICK. That's Why Methadone Clinics are Necessary, to keep people trying to get straight from getting VIOLENTLY ill)
Dude, I think James even said it was about cancer in an interview. But good thinking. That could be the meaning.
i definitely think that the fact that jaymz was raised as a christian-scientist has a lot to do with the pain and religious anxiety in this song. this song has gotten me through so much. last summer i sat down with a razor blade up to my wrist. as if from nowhere my stereo turned on skipped to disk 4 and to the track until it sleeps. i dropped the blade, began to cry, and sang my pain out. this song can carry your burdens. it's like bleeding your heart with a leech.
ummm dood, only pussies kill themselves...it's the coward's way out...i have no sympathy for people who kill themselves becuz u did it on ur own...everybody deals with their own problems and ur no one special and have some many more issues...remember, pussies and cowards kill themselves
Please do not take any heed of what bechtel35 says. I am happy you made it through your tough times. That person is being very cold hearted and obviously has no empathy for anybody other than himself. Do not let what he says get you down! Awesome song by the way!
Actually bechtel is right,<br /> suicide is a method of escape for fools and cowards.<br />
I was thinking what HijoDelMetallica wrote. Clearly it's about the struggle to overcome an addiction (more generally, it could also refer to compulsive, destructive behavior).
There's nothing in this song to suggest anything regarding cancer, so I'm not quite sure where others are getting that from (other than some mysterious quote from James than no one seems to have a link to).
@MasterOfLyrics<br /> <br /> Until it sleeps symbolises the cancer going into remission. It doesn't work if the song was was about depression. Other lyrics are "wash me, til I'm clean", again a reference to washing the cancer out until he's "clean".
To me this song is about dealing with depression. How a person struggles to break free from it but is consuming him.
This sounds like somebody coming down off of whatever...amphetamines, alcohol ect. They desperately want comfort but it's a false sort of comfort...they'll go right back to doing what they do once they feel alright, until then they sincerely want/need somebody to help them deal 'until it sleeps' I don't believe the person sincerely wants to be helped, even though they promise to reform (I'll tear me open make you gone, no longer can you hurt anyone) they're just seeking any form of comfort they can (hold me until it sleeps).
Ive heard that this song is about the death of James's dad, i think from cancer. But i think it also goes deeper than that. It has to do with general interal pain and loss and the inablily to make sense or cope with it. But if youve ever seen the video, which was based on a painting, you've seen the recuring scenes of Jesus's death and Adam and Eve's fall from grace. To me it represents the redemption given by Chirst's sacrifice on the cross and the remorse of having sinned. Its one of their best songs i think and has comforted me in tough times. I cant get enough of it.