The Wait
Metallica Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Motives changing
Day to day
The fire increases
Masks decay
I look at the river
White foam floats down
The body's poisoned
Got to sit tight

The wait
The wait
The wait
The wait

After awakening
The silence grows
The screams subside
Distortion shows
Mutant thoughts
Of bad mouthed news
It's just another birth
Of distorted views

The wait
The wait
The wait
The wait

The wait
The wait




The wait
The wait

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Metallica's song The Wait are filled with dark and foreboding imagery that creates a sense of tension and unease. The repeated phrase "The wait" suggests a feeling of anticipation or anxiety, like waiting for something ominous to happen.


The verses describe a world that is changing, with motives that shift from day to day and fires that continue to grow. Masks decay, suggesting that people's true intentions are being revealed. The image of a poisoned body adds to the sense of danger and instability. The line "Got to sit tight" implies that the singer is bracing themselves for something even worse to come.


In the second verse, there is a sense of aftermath or aftermath. The silence grows and the screams subside, but there is still distortion and confusion. The "mutant thoughts" suggest a kind of mutation or corruption of the mind. The line "It's just another birth of distorted views" suggests that this world of chaos and confusion is an ongoing cycle, a birth and rebirth of distorted ideas.


Overall, the lyrics of The Wait paint a bleak picture of a world in turmoil, where everything is in a state of constant change and danger lurks around every corner.


Line by Line Meaning

Motives changing
My reasons for doing things keep changing


Day to day
Every day is different


The fire increases
My passion is growing stronger


Masks decay
The fake persona that I present to others is falling apart


I look at the river
I'm watching the water flow


White foam floats down
There are lots of bubbles on the surface of the river


The body's poisoned
My physical and mental health have been damaged


Got to sit tight
I have to endure this situation


The wait
I'm waiting for something to happen


The wait
Still waiting...


The wait
This wait is taking a long time


The wait
I'm becoming more impatient as time goes on


After awakening
Once I wake up from my sleep


The silence grows
It becomes more quiet around me


The screams subside
The loud noises fade away


Distortion shows
Things start to look different


Mutant thoughts
Strange ideas enter my mind


Of bad mouthed news
Negative information is being spread around


It's just another birth
This is just another instance of something new being created


Of distorted views
These strange and negative ideas are affecting how I see things




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jaz Coleman, Matthew Ferguson, Martin Glover, Kevin Walker

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

81giorikas

@gopnikkgb This is all personal. I started off neutrally listening to metallica and started load, black album and kill em all in that order. Well I didn't think the kill em all vocals were really good and I don't think so now as well. James Hetfield himself seems to think the same.

Forget technique, forget that he was just yelling, they are aggresive but aggresive isn't always good. And those weren't tracked well to begin with. Indistinct...for a band that just started it was ok I guess. I like how he handled puppets and justice and the live justice era was on the metal pantheon of live vocals along with all the other greats.


But he started singing because he actually lost his voice and that led to the hetfield we know today. And he had a lot to offer regardless of the yelling.


For me his kill em all vocals suck, I still love the songs to death but live I prefer to hear them in the justice era tour.

Modern times they did very well on the through the never movie and unfortunately when he started drinking again on the 2019 and on tour...



Mr Friendly

Lyrics
Motives changing, day to day
The fire increases, masks decay
I look at the river, white foam floats down
The body's poisoned, gotta sit tight

The wait
The wait
The wait
The wait

After wakening, silence grows
The screams subside, distortion shows
Mutant thoughts, of bad mouthed news
It's just another birth, of distorted views

The wait
The wait
The wait
The wait

The wait
The wait
The wait
The wait



Top Dawg

Motives changing, day to day
The fire increases, masks decay
I look at the river
White foam floats down
The body's poisoned, gotta sit tight
The wait... the wait...
The wait... the wait...
After wakening, silence grows
The screams subside
Distortion shows
Mutant thoughts of bad mouthed news
Is just another birth
Of distorted views
The wait... the wait...
The wait... the wait...
The wait... the wait...
The wait... the wait... ( Song by killing joke)



All comments from YouTube:

Peter Amaral

This was my favorite era of James’s vocals. Breadfan, AJFA, Garage Days, it was his peak

gopnikkgb

His voice peek was at kill em all ride the lightning and master of puppets but if u prefer this more its ok

Vari4ls

@gopnikkgb kill em all was not a good era technically as he couldn’t keep a not for too long and didn’t use proper technique

gopnikkgb

@Vari4ls technicaly not but it sounds great so agresive..

81giorikas

@gopnikkgb This is all personal. I started off neutrally listening to metallica and started load, black album and kill em all in that order. Well I didn't think the kill em all vocals were really good and I don't think so now as well. James Hetfield himself seems to think the same.

Forget technique, forget that he was just yelling, they are aggresive but aggresive isn't always good. And those weren't tracked well to begin with. Indistinct...for a band that just started it was ok I guess. I like how he handled puppets and justice and the live justice era was on the metal pantheon of live vocals along with all the other greats.


But he started singing because he actually lost his voice and that led to the hetfield we know today. And he had a lot to offer regardless of the yelling.


For me his kill em all vocals suck, I still love the songs to death but live I prefer to hear them in the justice era tour.

Modern times they did very well on the through the never movie and unfortunately when he started drinking again on the 2019 and on tour...

Petar Ticinovic

@Vari4ls KEA was their first record. You've gotta give them a break for that.

10 More Replies...

Rick Sutherland

Still gives me chills to this day. I remember listening to this song over and over when I was 17. Also a nod to Killing Joke for the original song

oolala

Killing joke made some of the best music for this tyoe of genre too american bands such as these and nirvana copied songs and riffs rip paul raven

Average Weather Guy

This song is extremely underrated

trikstuh760

Killing joke is underrated as fuck man. They deserve more recognition then they get. Metallica did a good job on the cover to their song

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