Songfacts®:

• Group leader Dave Mustaine considers this deep cut the hidden gem in the Megadeth catalog. "I think one of the best songs I've ever written - as far as drama is concerned, like a picture within a song - is 'Wanderlust,'" he said in a Songfacts interview. "I always thought 'Wanderlust' was one of the best songs that we had recorded, with the lyrics, the singing, the climax to the song."
• Wanderlust is a restless feeling that compels us to get out and seek adventure. In this song, Mustaine sings from the perspective of an Old West gunslinger whose wanderlust takes him from town to town, where he often finds trouble. He knows his days are numbered, but has made peace with that.
• Mustaine is a huge Clint Eastwood fan, and his Westerns like The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and The Outlaw Josey Wales were an influence on his lyric and delivery here. Mustaine would keep a photo of Eastwood in the vocal booth to get him into the right mindset.
• The song is part of Megadeth's eighth album, Risk, which veered into alternative music at the behest of their guitarist, Marty Friedman. "Wanderlust" is more typical of their classic thrash metal sound and holds up well with their core fans. In going alternative, Megadeth was making a valiant effort to keep up with the times, but it didn't suit them. The album fared poorly, and Friedman left the group soon after.
• Megadeth wasn't the first to release a song called "Wanderlust." Paul McCartney released a song with that title in 1982. Other artists to use the title include Metric and Black Country Communion.
• The band's manager Bud Prager earned a writing credit on this track for helping out with the lyrics; Mustaine and Friedman are the other credited writers. Prager, who also managed Foreigner and Damn Yankees at various times, has credits on five tracks from the album.