Album: Death Magnetic (2008)

Charted: 48 50

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• Sleep and dream of this
  Death angel's kiss
  Brings final bliss completely
  
  Empty they say
  Death, won't you let me stay?
  Empty they say
  Death, hear me call your name
  Oh, call your name
  
  Suicide, I've already died
  You're just the funeral I've been waiting for
  Cyanide, living dead inside
  Break this empty shell forevermore
  
  Wait, wait patiently
  Your death black wings
  Unfolding sleep
  Spreading o'er me
  
  Empty they say
  Death, won't you let me stay?
  Empty they say
  Death, hear me call your name
  Oh, call your name
  
  Suicide, I've already died
  You're just the funeral I've been waiting for
  Cyanide, living dead inside
  Break this empty shell forevermore
  
  Say, is that rain or are they tears?
  That stained your concrete face for years
  The crying, weeping, shedding strife
  Year after year, life after life
  
  An air of freshly broken ground
  A concrete angel laid right down
  Upon the grave which swallows fast
  It's peace at last, oh, peace at last
  
  Empty they say
  Death, won't you let me stay?
  Empty they say
  Death, hear me call your name
  Call your name
  
  Suicide, I've already died
  You're just the funeral I've been waiting for
  Cyanide, living dead inside
  Break this empty shell forevermore
  Forevermore, forevermore
  It's just the funeral I've been waiting for Writer/s: James Alan Hetfield, Kirk L. Hammett, Lars Ulrich, Robert Augustine Trujillo
  Publisher: Word Collections Publishing
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 15

• Ewan from SwedenI feel like the line "That stained your concrete face for years" disproves the abortion theory tho
• Azrael from CanadaI cannot thank Metallica enough, and James especially, for making this song for me. I was just coming back into the light when I reached out on the Metallica fan club website.
  
  In all honesty, I had forgotten all about it, and the upcoming album. Years later when I learned about it, must have been 2011 or so, I didn't realize what had happened, until I bought the album and watched the subsequent making of DVD. I was deeply touched, even though you couldn't get my name to rhyme.
  
  It's been a pleasure to heat your art through the years. I love you guys and wish you and yours the best, always.
• Let Loose from NjI going to side with the abort claim.
  
  Originally I thought this was a song about suicide because of the given line. “Suicide, I’ve already died” but now think about it though the lens of a baby about to be aborted, I think it wouldn’t be too far off the take the “comma” about of the sentence and replace it with a “question mark.” It changes the meaning for someone long for death to someone who cynically excepting a fair they have no control over.
  
  Furthermore the intro to the song is morse code for S.O.S. I noticed it when I first heard the song and always questioned “why would a song about someone who wants to die have that at the beginning?” It was always off putting for me. I know that people who usually attempt suicide give signs before they do it, but it makes more logical to assume that this is coming form a person that doesn’t want to die. When an “sos” is usually sent it from someone that is trying with all the ability to live.
• Fire From Below from Fort Collins, Colorado I love Metallica, I don't think this song is about suicide, I like the idea that it is about abortion from an unborn baby's view.
• Eric from IndianaThe guitar riffs at the start of the song and at the end of the song, 3 fast 3 slow and 3 fast, is Morse Code for SOS. So the song begins and ends with an SOS call, plus a couple thrown in the song, as well. Metallica is so creative and deep like that.
• Matt from NjI believe most of you who said the songs about suicide are 100% right it's definitely not about abortion but I have a little more to add. This song was written at a time in their careers where they made it already they were going strong for at least 20 years by that point. So that seemed fishy to me because why would any of the band write a song about suicide when they were on top of the world at that points. So what I think is that the song is about suicide but most importantly it's about the reason certain members could have felt suicidal and that reason is their struggle with drug addiction. From personal experience I never considered myself suicidal but once I started my struggle with drug addiction I thought of suicide more than I'd like to admit. It's the way your brain is when your on that stuff the thoughts that go through your head everyday u would seem crazy to Charles Manson. Like I was shocked just how gone my mind got. Now to get to the point sorry it took so long. They had suicide on their minds because every junkie does. And the little proof I have is the song lyrics " Death, won't you let me stay?" which seems like he's just saying he tried to kill him self and failed but I think it means he's overdosed and lived so now the only way out is suicide. And the other line "Death, won't you call your name?" Relates to what I said about the other line. Idk if I'm just talking out my ass but I thought this was interesting possibly.
• Yavuz from Ankara, TurkeyDuring WWII, high ranking German soldiers used to carry cyanide pills with themselves so that in case they had nowhere to escape from the enemy, they would just take the pill and kill themselves rather than getting caught and tortured to death or something. Hence, this song is clearly about suicide.
• Joe from Clemmons, NcThis song is about abortion, written from the point of view of the unborn baby. Note the picture of the ultrasound that adorns the Cyanide lyrics in the booklet that comes with the Death Magnetic CD. (You can find this same ultrasound picture if you research Cyanide on Wikipedia). Anyway, here are just some of the most obvious lyrics that point to abortion. "Sleep, and dream of this, death angel's kiss, brings final bliss--completely! (The "Death Angel: is the abortionist. His "kiss" is anytime he comes in contact with you. His kiss brings death) "Break this empty shell forevermore" (The amniotic sac that surrounds an unborn baby is the baby's "shell". The abortionist breaks that shell while he/she is exterminating the unborn baby). Now here comes the part where the unborn baby is talking to his would-be mother..."Say, is that rain or are they tears? (The baby sarcastically asks if the mother could possibly be crying--given the fact that she is a hardened woman) "That stained your concrete face for years" (Her "concrete face" is a way of saying that she has no emotion or feeling) "The crying, weeping, shedding strife" (She attempts to "shed strife" by having abortions, as she sheds the developing baby inside her) "Year after year, life after life" (Means that she has had many abortions, over the course of many years). So--is the unborn baby welcoming death? At first, it would appear so. But if you consider the song as a whole you will see that the baby is speaking in dramatic terms. The baby is resigned to the fact that he is going to be killed--but clearly is angry at the would-be mother--taking the opportunity to tell her just how heartless she is before she has a chance to snuff him out. Finally, he decides that he would rather live and cries out. "Death, won't you let me stay?"
• Tessa from Washingtonville, PaThis is really heavy metal.... I like it, strangely. Catchy...
• Kirk Hammet from San Fransico, CaThis one was mainly about committing suicide. It's like how most suicide victims feel there's nothing to live for, they might as well have "already died". Suicide just makes it an official "funeral" they've "been waiting for". And as for, "Death, hear me call your name...won't you let me stay", it's referring to when people say "Why won't I die?" or "Just kill me now!". Although lyrically, it's a pretty morbid song, I must say it's pretty fun to play. Bill, Nick, Kody, and N, thanks for supporting one of my favorite songs and for supporting Death Magnetic. The longer the fans support us, the longer we'll play kick ass shows and write kick ass albums!
• Adel from Jonesborough, Tnabortion sounds plausable... idk...
• N from Heusduh, Netherlandsi thought it was about abortion or something, suicide ive already died, like it cant be born so it has already died, death, wont you let me stay, that it doesnt have the choice to live on this world, so it wont let the child stay,
  
  just a thought
• Kody from North Bonneville, Waisnt this song about commiting suicide?
• Nick from Cairns, AustraliaEmpty they say, death, won't you let me STAY!!!!
• Bill from Waco, TxSweet song, go Metallica

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