So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

So close, no matter how far
It couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

I never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us, something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I know, yea-yeah

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No, nothing else matters

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Lyrics submitted by elmoz, edited by Ashram, LHGL

Nothing Else Matters Lyrics as written by Lars Ulrich James Alan Hetfield

Lyrics © Word Collections Publishing

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Nothing Else Matters song meanings

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335 Comments

+28
My Interpretation
I read through some of the comments before writing my own opinion of the song's meaningful nature. Some of them were useless and a whole lot'a babble, others were religiously based, which made me want to gague and roll on the floor, and occasionally some good points were mentioned. My interpretation of the song will probably have the same reactions to the ones I'd seen above or worse of ones. So, here I go, I'll try and summerize as best I can!

Nothing Else Matters-Metallica

When I'd first heard this song I was stumped, I didn't know what they were talking about, how could such a melody have lyrics of such dark nature, well, this is how I percieve it after replaying it to the point of having 567 plays on my Itunes:
```
So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Comment: The narrator speaks of a first love, or maybe even a true love after searching many years for him/her (perhaps also a signifacant other). In love we need to trust, and even more so in ourselves. The narrator says that in love trust and being true to your heart is all that matters.

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters

Comment: The narrator is opening himself to him/her like a book, telling secrets and sharing things he/she'd of never imagined sharing. He/she is having a spur of reality, rebellion even, deciding that their life is their own and that he/she is determined to live it how they want no matter what people say. Being true to you is all that matters.

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Comment: The narrator now is finding a sense of belonging and trust in their significant other, learning new things and keeping an open mind towards what's happening. Being open and willing to change is all that matters.

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know

Comment: The narrator is accusing people of not caring enough for their actions and shaming them for not using their knoweledge. He says he knows, something of the reality. Perhaps a break in the trust? 

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say

Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us, something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters

Comment: The narrator repeats himself, obviosuly destressed from some event, telling you that he/she needs to stay true to themselves and rebuild a trust. Again, he/she says that trust and staying true is all that matters.

Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I know

Comment: Now we know there has been a break somewhere between then and now. The narrator tells us that they don't care about their actions, that they're playing games and know it. He/she might appear oblivious to what's going on, but he/she makes it clear that they KNOW what's happening, that they have and still do.

So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No, nothing else matters

Comment: The song ends with a specific cluster of lyrics, saying that you need to trust in you and not others. He/she says that no matter how far you are, or how close you are to love or something more than what you have, always stay close and true to you, that's all that matters.
```
Anyway, that's my disection of the song, and how I interpreted it so many times over. Feel free to agree and disagree, but that's how I see it. A song is a song and a song holds a meaning; how we as individuals take in that meaning is how we as individuals will learn to appreciate the song as a piece of art, and even at times, a part of us. We relate and understand things differently, hope this helped!
I read through some of the comments before writing my own opinion of the song's meaningful nature. Some of them were useless and a whole lot'a babble, others were religiously based, which made me want to gague and roll on the floor, and occasionally some good points were mentioned. My interpretation of the song will probably have the same reactions to the ones I'd seen above or worse of ones. So, here I go, I'll try and summerize as best I can! Nothing Else Matters-Metallica When I'd first heard this song I was stumped, I didn't know what they were talking about, how could such a melody have lyrics of such dark nature, well, this is how I percieve it after replaying it to the point of having 567 plays on my Itunes: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ So close, no matter how far Couldn't be much more from the heart Forever trusting who we are And nothing else matters Comment: The narrator speaks of a first love, or maybe even a true love after searching many years for him/her (perhaps also a signifacant other). In love we need to trust, and even more so in ourselves. The narrator says that in love trust and being true to your heart is all that matters. Never opened myself this way Life is ours, we live it our way All these words I don't just say And nothing else matters Comment: The narrator is opening himself to him/her like a book, telling secrets and sharing things he/she'd of never imagined sharing. He/she is having a spur of reality, rebellion even, deciding that their life is their own and that he/she is determined to live it how they want no matter what people say. Being true to you is all that matters. Trust I seek and I find in you Every day for us something new Open mind for a different view And nothing else matters Comment: The narrator now is finding a sense of belonging and trust in their significant other, learning new things and keeping an open mind towards what's happening. Being open and willing to change is all that matters. Never cared for what they do Never cared for what they know But I know Comment: The narrator is accusing people of not caring enough for their actions and shaming them for not using their knoweledge. He says he knows, something of the reality. Perhaps a break in the trust? Never opened myself this way Life is ours, we live it our way All these words I don't just say Trust I seek and I find in you Every day for us, something new Open mind for a different view And nothing else matters Comment: The narrator repeats himself, obviosuly destressed from some event, telling you that he/she needs to stay true to themselves and rebuild a trust. Again, he/she says that trust and staying true is all that matters. Never cared for what they say Never cared for games they play Never cared for what they do Never cared for what they know And I know Comment: Now we know there has been a break somewhere between then and now. The narrator tells us that they don't care about their actions, that they're playing games and know it. He/she might appear oblivious to what's going on, but he/she makes it clear that they KNOW what's happening, that they have and still do. So close, no matter how far Couldn't be much more from the heart Forever trusting who we are No, nothing else matters Comment: The song ends with a specific cluster of lyrics, saying that you need to trust in you and not others. He/she says that no matter how far you are, or how close you are to love or something more than what you have, always stay close and true to you, that's all that matters. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Anyway, that's my disection of the song, and how I interpreted it so many times over. Feel free to agree and disagree, but that's how I see it. A song is a song and a song holds a meaning; how we as individuals take in that meaning is how we as individuals will learn to appreciate the song as a piece of art, and even at times, a part of us. We relate and understand things differently, hope this helped!

Reason:

00Birdie00on November 18, 2012 Link
- 9 Replies Log in to reply
There was an error.

@00Birdie00

Amazing :)

Kaya1on March 10, 2013

awesome i agree but... i dont think its bout... like a guy or girl that means a lot to him but his parents and and how they are going through caner or whatever... thats what i heard anyways but great response and it really does make me think every time i listen to a metallica song. btw if i come off as ignorant or stupid or something like that im not im 14!!!! :3 cheers tho now i kinda get it and i keep trying to do the same with other songs now like trying to analyse them :3

omfgididntknowon July 07, 2013

That to me is 100% on the ball! It makes perfect sense to the music, and the way he sings the different parts of the song. Even the parts that repeat he sings them differently and the music changes! THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS!! Metallica is one of my favorite bands and this song kind of stumped me. Metallica puts so much meaning in their music, and as a listener I love hearing what other people think.

DJN8on February 02, 2014

I think you decided to take it to a "dark place". However, I have always thought this was one of the most beautifully written and honest love songs I've ever heard and it's got the gentle soothing melodic guitar paired with the heavy drums to show how tender yet firmly passionate or perhaps showing the feminine paired with masculine in their union. It's about two people who have found each other and have fallen into a love that is so deep and heartfelt that distance cannot separate them and they are "Forever trusting who we are" and they know that nothing else matters but that love that they share together. When they speak about the "Never cared for what they say, Never cared for games they play, Never cared for what they do, Never cared for what they know, And I know…" they are referring to the other lovers who came before who all broke their hearts and their trust. About how their understanding in their partner and themselves and their past lost loves that did not appreciate the things they had to offer or understand them but that they do know each other, unlike those that came before and they do appreciate them and understand them with an "Open mind for a different view...And nothing else matters". I see something totally different than something dark...

altamber8on July 16, 2015

@00Birdie00 I think you are dead on. However, I think this song is a bit more positive which might be the genious behind the instrumental. First, I think when he says "They," he doesn't mean this significant other, because he refers to that person with the word "you." I think when he says "they" he means the world. Secondly, I think this song is more about love. Meaning these two people fall so much in love with each other to where he doesn't care about "they" do, but only cares about the other person. - And nothing else matters Finally, as you stated, the end has one difference in the lyics: "Forever trusting who we are". To me this tells me there wasn't a break in trust from when he said "but I know", but it is stating they forever have this bond. - I think the "but I know" means that nobody else knows what the "lovers" have, but he does. NOTE: This could be about family or a friend, but I read it as strong relationship between two people.

zacharyiggon September 18, 2016

@00Birdie00 I wanted to explode the entire planet when I think that some person out there, which is you, could be so incredibly delusional, cringeworthy and unaware of his stupidity. And that goes for any repliers who even in the slightest agree with him. How the hell does this song talk about a love of a significant other? You're looking too deep into the lyrics and giving your ego's intellectual/deep identity a fucking blowjob. The lyrics are straight forward which when u said u listened hundreds of times and couldn't figure it out made me wanna face palm my head to the center of the earth. It's about being different and not fitting into what "they" mainstream society think/know/do it's about being who you are and having the best most adventurous life because of it. And nothing else matters.

hellaguaptoron June 28, 2018

@00Birdie00 You know, I was driving this morning and listening to this song while feeling a little down. I heard the lyrics, "trust I see and I find in you" and it struck a nerve. I have loved this song for YEARS but never thought a whole lot into what it truly meant. It's so easy to believe that this song is about finding trust in someone else but for some reason, this morning, I found comfort in the fact that it was reinforcing an idea that I've come to terms with that we can only really trust ourselves. This may seem grim or cynical but it doesn't mean you have to be guarded and closed off; more it is empowering. Each and every one of us contains our own key to success and happiness. The energy we share with others should be parallel energies not overlapping.

allblknblueon July 24, 2020

P.S. I came on here to see what other people had to say after I had this epiphany and boom, #1 comment was staring me in the face haha

allblknblueon July 24, 2020

@hellaguaptor Watch the fucking interview with James Hetfield, you muppet. The song has nothing to do with what you're saying. 

allblknblueon July 24, 2020