Ronnie
Metallica Lyrics


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Story starts, quiet town
Small town boy, big time frown
Never talks, never plays
Different path, lost his way
Then streets of red, red, I'm afraid
There's no confetti, no parade
Nothing happens in this boring place
But, oh my god, how it all did change

Now they all pray
Bloodstain, wash away

He said, lost my way this bloody day, I lost my way
I heard it
He said, lost my way this bloody day, I lost my way
Oh, please wash away
But blood stained the sun red today

I always said there's something wrong
With little, strange Ronnie Long
Never laughed, never smiled
Talked alone for miles and miles and miles
The gallows calls, son, I say
Keep your smile and laugh all day
Think once again in this boring place
For little boys, how they soon change

Now they all pray
Bloodstain, wash away

He said, lost my way this bloody day, I lost my way
Yeah, I heard it
He said, lost my way this bloody day, I lost my way
Oh, please wash away
But blood stained the sun red today, yeah

Yeah, well all the green things died
When Ronnie moved to this place
He said, don't you dare ask
Why I'm cursed to wear this face
Well, now we all know why children called him Ronnie frown
When he pulled that gun from his pocket
And they all fall down, down, down

He said, lost my way this bloody day, I lost my way
Yeah, yeah, I heard it
He screamed lost my way this bloody day, I lost my way
Oh, please wash away
But blood stained the sun red today

That's right, all things wash away
And they all fall down
But blood stained the sun today, yeah, yeah
All things wash away




And they all fall down
But blood stained the sun today

Overall Meaning

"Ronnie" is a powerful song by Metallica that seems to be about a troubled and introverted boy named Ronnie Long. The song begins by describing the town where Ronnie grew up, a quiet and boring place with nothing ever happening. Ronnie, according to the lyrics, was a small-town boy with a big-time frown who never talked or played with the other kids. He lost his way and found himself in a situation that caused a drastic change in his life. The streets turned red, and something terrible happened, leaving everyone praying for the bloodstain to be washed away.


Throughout the song, we are given a glimpse into Ronnie's troubled mind and the alienation he feels from everyone else. The lyrics describe him as strange and different, never laughing or smiling, and talking to himself for miles and miles. The song implies that something terrible happened to Ronnie, and we hear his cry of despair as he repeats, "I lost my way, this bloody day, lost my way." In the end, the song suggests that Ronnie has become a monster, pulling a gun out of his pocket and making the children fall down.


Overall, "Ronnie" by Metallica is a dark and haunting song that explores themes of isolation, madness, and violence. The story is portrayed in an eerie and chilling way, as if we are witnessing the tragic events unfold before our eyes.



Line by Line Meaning

Story starts, quiet town
The story begins in a peaceful town.


Small town boy, big time frown
Ronnie Long was a young man from a small town who always looked unhappy.


Never talks, never plays
He never spoke to anyone and never did anything fun.


Different path, lost his way
He chose a different path in life and became lost.


Then streets of red, red, I'm afraid
The streets turned red with blood, creating fear.


There's no confetti, no parade
There is no reason to celebrate the horrific event that occurred.


Nothing happens in this boring place
The town was unexciting and nothing interesting occurred.


But, oh my God, how it all did change
However, everything changed drastically.


Now, they all pray
Everyone is praying for redemption and forgiveness.


"Bloodstain, wash away"
People are asking for their sins to be cleansed.


He said
Ronnie spoke.


"Lost my way
He has lost his way.


This bloody day
This day was filled with violence.


"I heard it
Someone heard Ronnie speak.


"Lost my way
Ronnie repeats that he lost his way.


Oh, please wash away
He asks for his sins to be forgiven and forgotten.


But blood stained the sun red today
However, the violence that occurred left a huge impact.


I always said something's wrong
Someone always had an inkling that something wasn't right with Ronnie.


With little, strange Ronnie Long
Ronnie was a strange young man who seemed different from everyone else.


Never laughed, never smiled
Ronnie never showed any happiness or joy.


Talked alone for miles and miles and miles
He always talked to himself and maybe walked for hours.


"Gallows calls, son," I say
Someone is warning him that his actions may lead to death by hanging.


Keep your smile and laugh all day
They advise him to put on a happy face and embrace the good things in life.


For little boys, how they soon change
People change quickly, especially when they're young.


And they all pray
Everyone prays.


"Bloodstain, wash away"
People want their sins to be washed away.


He said
Ronnie speaks again.


But blood stained the sun red today
The violence that occurred left a huge impact.


All things wash away
Time erases everything.


But blood stained the sun today
However, the violence that occurred leaves a permanent reminder.




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: James Alan Hetfield, Lars Ulrich

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@nerogematria6392

Honestly, Metallica's diversity in music is what made them stand out and what they made them great.

@zakkwylde951

:D Yeah, you have thrash metal, then some effort to sound less heavy and then more heavy metal.

@hiroyukichiba3135

Reload was the annoying clone of load

@nerogematria6392

@@hiroyukichiba3135 actually the songs were originally written to be released at the same time. Not clones, but parallels.

@CGJUGO80

@@hiroyukichiba3135 I would say ReLoad has better tracks overall.

@AvScanNZ

@@hiroyukichiba3135 definitely not a clone, was sub par. Load was great, Reload was.....well....

12 More Replies...

@gemmaleatherbarrow8383

I never get tired of this album and this is one of the best songs on it. James has the most amazing gravelly voice for heavy country music

@MrParkerman6

This is blues, not country, fucking moron.

@donavonmacallister3101

This ain't country music at all.

@gemmaleatherbarrow8383

@@donavonmacallister3101 it has a country sort of vibe to it though.

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