☝️ Key Points
- The song tells the heartbreaking story of a severely injured soldier who experiences blindness, deafness, and paralysis in war, becoming trapped in his own body.
- The lyrics 'I can't remember anything. Cant tell if this is true or dream.' express the soldier's internal isolation and despair, unable to distinguish whether his situation is real or just a dream.
- The exclamation 'Now that the war is through with me. I'm waking up, I cannot see.' shows that his sufferings in war are not yet over, he is blind and realizes that not much of him is left.
- In the line 'Hold my breath as I wish for death. Oh please God, wake me.' the soldier expresses his desire to die and pleads to God to wake him from this nightmare.
- The lines 'Darkness imprisoning me. All that I see. Absolute horror. I cannot live. I cannot die. Trapped in myself. Body my holding cell.' form the climax of the song, where the soldier describes his captivity and has the realization that he can neither live nor die - his own body is his prison.
Interpretation
"One" by
Metallica is a haunting song about a soldier who was severely injured during the war. The soldier is now immobilized, blind, mute, and deaf, trapped in his own body and his own hell. He can no longer die, but he also can't live properly.
The lines "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." express his despair and inner isolation. He can't remember what happened and whether it's real or just a dream. He feels compelled to scream inside, but the terrible silence stops him.
The verse "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." shows that the war is done with him. He wakes up, but can't see anymore. There's not much left of him, just pain.
The repeated cry "Hold my breath as I wish for death. Oh please God, wake me." shows his desperation and desire to die.
The last verse describes his physical captivity: "Darkness imprisoning me. All that I see. Absolute horror. I cannot live. I cannot die. Trapped in myself. Body my holding cell." He is trapped in darkness, all he sees is absolute horror. He can't live, he can't die, he's trapped in himself. His body is his holding cell.
The song is a powerful portrayal of the horrors of war and the consequences it has on people. It is an indictment against war and an appeal to humanity."