My World

Album: St. Anger (2003)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Metallica never called St. Anger a concept album, but the way "My World" flows out of the song preceding it is interesting ("Invisible Kid" is the fifth track and "My World" is the sixth).

    "Invisible Kid" is about a kid (presumably a teen) who's feeling isolated while spending time alone in his room. "My World" seems to pick up that same theme, maybe even the same character, as it opens with Metallica frontman James Hetfield singing about being alone in his room.

    Mama, why's it rainin' in my room?
    Cheer up boy, clouds will move on soon
    Heavy fog got me lost inside
    Gonna sit right back and enjoy this ride


    Listened to back-to-back, the songs seem to tell the story of a young man's evolution. The difference between the two songs is that in "Invisible Kid," other people have sealed the kid off from the world and driven him into isolation in his room. In "My world," he's trying to fight people off from getting inside his head; he's learned to enjoy and even protect his isolation. It's as if the same kid from "Invisible Kid" has now become hardened to his condition and to the people who drove him to it.

    For whatever the kid's internal world is worth, it is his. It belongs to him. He won't let anyone else invade it, especially not the very people who he's learned to distrust and despise.
  • Metallica never performed "My World" live, and few fans will list it in their top tracks, but their in-house journalist Steffan Chirazi stands up for it along with the St. Anger album as a whole.

    "We're talking about emotions in records, and this band wears their heart on their sleeve in their albums, and St. Anger was another absolute powder keg of emotions," Chirazi said on the Songfacts Podcast. "Just massive tension on that record. It's the "lost" Metallica album for me, or the least appreciated, but it is the most definitive of where they were at that time as people."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

80s Video Director Jay Dubin

80s Video Director Jay DubinSong Writing

Billy Joel and Hall & Oates hated making videos, so they chose a director with similar contempt for the medium. That was Jay Dubin, and he has a lot to say on the subject.

Desmond Child

Desmond ChildSongwriter Interviews

One of the most successful songwriters in the business, Desmond co-wrote "Livin' La Vida Loca," "Dude (Looks Like A Lady)" and "Livin' On A Prayer."

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots

Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple PilotsSongwriter Interviews

Stone Temple Pilots bass player Robert DeLeo names the songs that have most connected with fans and tells the stories behind tracks from their Tiny Music album.

Pam Tillis

Pam TillisSongwriter Interviews

The country sweetheart opines about the demands of touring and talks about writing songs with her famous father.

Eric Clapton

Eric ClaptonFact or Fiction

Did Eric Clapton really write "Cocaine" while on cocaine? This question and more in the Clapton edition of Fact or Fiction.

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.