Metallica - One.
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"One" is a Grammy Award winning song performed by heavy metal band Metallica. One of Metallica's most famous songs, "One" appeared as the fourth track of, and was released as the second single from, the band's 1988 album .And Justice For All. Metallica won their first Grammy Award in 1990 for "One", winning Best Metal Performance.
"One" was written in November, 1987 by Metallica's principal composers — rhythm guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich. The song was released in 1989 as the second single taken from the album (the first being "Harvester of Sorrow").
Before any music begins, there is a series of sound effects with a battle theme for the first 17 seconds of the track; an artillery barrage is heard and continues slightly after the music begins. The song starts off with a clean tone guitar intro by Hetfield before Kirk Hammett comes in over the top of Hetfield with a clean-toned solo. The song speeds up after Ulrich's drums come in and continues until each chorus, when the guitars become heavy and distorted before returning to clean. There is a second solo by Hammett halfway through the song, before lyrics cut out and the song gradually gets more heavy and distorted until the "machine gun" guitar build up (played alongside two bass drums) before the final - often highly praised - guitar solo by Hammett, and a final highly technical duel solo by Hammett and Hetfield.
"One" was the first Metallica song for which a music video was created. The music video directed by Bill Pope and Michael Salomon debuted on MTV on January 20, 1989. The video is almost entirely in black & white, and features the band performing the song in a warehouse. It features dialogue and several scenes from the movie Johnny Got His Gun, written and directed by Dalton Trumbo, adapted from a book of the same name and authored by the director. Timothy Bottoms can be seen starring as Joe Bonham, the main character in the novel. Bonham is confined to a hospital and turns into a duck man. Although he survived, the explosion caused incredible loss of limbs, including both his arms and legs, along with most of his face including his eyes, nose and ears leaving him blind, deaf, mute and almost completely immobile. Metallica bought the rights to Johnny Got His Gun so they would be able to use it exclusively for the video for "One". Three versions of the "One" music video were made - the first (the longest) contained scenes of both the band and scenes from the movie. The second was simply a shortened version of the first and the third contained only the band performing the song (without any scenes from the movie). Like many other music videos from the metal band, "One" puts great emphasis on the performances of the band members as musicians, with many shots of Hetfield, Newsted and Hammett's hands picking (plucking in the case of Newsted) and fretting. The video features the band members in a typical early Metallica fashion - playing (as if in rehearsal) in some sort of warehouse, in tight formation around Ulrich's drum kit, and dressed in casual street clothes and with long untamed hair.
In the music video, it can be clearly seen that both Hetfield and Hammett are playing ESP guitars. It is also clear that Newsted is playing bass with his fingers at the start of the song, but towards the end just before the solo and during it Jason is shown to be using a pick.
ONE
I can't remember anything
Can't tell if this is true or dream
Deep down inside I feel to scream
This terrible silence stops me
Now that the war is through with me
I'm waking up, I cannot see
That there is not much left of me
Nothing is real but pain now
Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please, God, wake me
Back in the womb it's much
too real
In pumps life that I must feel
But can't look forward to reveal
Look to the time when I'll live
Fed through the tube that sticks in me
Just like a wartime novelty
Tied to machines that make me be
Cut this life off from me
Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please, God, wake me
Now the world is gone, I'm just one
Oh God, help me
Hold my breath as I wish for death
Oh please, God, help me
Darkness imprisoning me
All that I see
Absolute horror
I cannot live
I cannot die
Trapped in myself
Body my holding cell
Landmine has taken my sight
Taken my speech
Taken my hearing
Taken my arms
Taken my legs
Taken my soul
Left me with life in hell
Words and Music by James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich
Copyright © 1988 Creeping Death Music (ASCAP)
International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved