The ballad The Unforgiven, the history of which the article is devoted to, differed in many ways from the previous work of Metallica. But, as time has shown, it was not in vain that the musicians ventured into a very risky experiment with the structure, sound of instruments and vocal performance.
The composition became one of the main hits of the famous heavy metalists and even formed the basis of the future trilogy.
The history of creation and the meaning of the song The Unforgiven
The track was written by Hatfield, Ulrich and Hammett. According to unconfirmed reports, the source of inspiration for them was the dystopian novel “Anthem” by American writer Ayn Rand.
The co-authors refrained from interpreting the main idea of the song (in any case, such explanations could not be found), so Metallica fans can only express their own assumptions. The Russian-language Wikipedia claims that the text is about a boy who grew old by doing what others told him to do. Generally speaking, this is a composition about trying to control the lives of weaker people.
There is also an opinion that in it James Hetfield shared what he had to endure in his youth. Perhaps his statement about the track The Unforgiven III will help to get closer to understanding the main idea of the song. In an interview with MTV, he called it “a continuation of the same storyline about sin and consequences, forgiveness and unforgiveness.”
Recording and release of The Unforgiven
When working on the song, the band members wanted to move away from the band’s inherent style. So the idea was born to make the verses heavy, and the chorus calm and melodic, which is fundamentally different from how Metallica played previous ballads.
The way James Hetfield performed the song was influenced by the famous “Wicked Game” by Chris Isaac. Producer Bob Rock shared his memories of the recording:
At this stage, James wanted to sing. Before he yelled a lot, but now he wanted to go the other way. In the past, he has always dubbed the vocals. He didn’t sing the harmonies directly, he just sang the same thing on another track. But the process of duplication does not really express character. In fact, it often kills him altogether, because you are hoping that the second batch will give the depth that the first should have. I told James that we would record his vocals, but I wished that he listened to himself not through headphones, but through speakers. The difference was amazing. He sang the song, and because he heard himself differently, there was a whole new dimension to his voice. It was big, deep, warm and just overwhelmed you.
Musicradar.com, 2011
In November 1992, The Unforgiven was released as the second single from the Metallica album. It peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart and at number 35 on the Billboard Hot 100, and was a hit on the charts in many countries across the continent.
Clip The Unforgiven – Metallica
And now let’s look at the video clip of The Unforgiven, which also leaves room for fantasies and thoughts about the meaning of the song.
Artists The Unforgiven
Cover versions were performed by Apocalyptica, Gregorian, Boys from County Nashville, Victoria Ermolyeva and others.
Interesting Facts
- According to Hatfield, they borrowed the introduction on the wind instrument that sounds in The Unforgiven from an old western film, where the track played in the credits. To hide the source, they let him go backwards. There is speculation that it was Enio Morricone’s composition The Showdown from the film For a Fistful of Dollars (For a Few Dollars More).
- The song spawned two sequels, The Unforgiven II and The Unforgiven III.
The Unforgiven Lyrics
New blood joins this earth
And quickly he’s subdued
Through constant pain disgrace
The young boy learns his rules
With time the child draws in
This whipping boy done wrong
Deprived of all his thoughts
The young man struggles on and on he’s known
A vow unto his own
That never from this day
His will they’ll take away
New blood joins this earth
And quickly he’s subdued
Through constant pain disgrace
The young boy learns his rules
With time the child draws in
This whipping boy done wrong
Deprived of all his thoughts
The young man struggles on and on he’s known
A vow unto his own
That never from this day
His will they’ll take away
What I’ve felt
What I’ve known
Never shined through what I’ve shown
Never be
Never see
Won’t see what might have been
What I’ve felt
What I’ve known
Never shined through what I’ve shown
Never free
Never me
So I dub thee unforgiven
They dedicate their lives
To run all of his
He tries to please them all
This bitter man he is
Throughout his life the same
He’s battled constantly
This fight he cannot win
A tired man they see no longer cares
The old man then prepares
To die regretfully
That old man here is me
you labeled me
I labeled you
So I dub thee unforgiven
The Unforgiven Lyrics
Fresh blood appears on this earth
And she’s quickly subdued
Through the constant humiliation of pain
A young boy learns their rules
Over time, the child becomes
Into the whipping boy who is always wrong
Deprived of my own thoughts
The young man continues to fight
And he vows to himself
That from this day never
Don’t give up on your will
What I felt
What I have known
I never showed
Never was,
Never understood
I don’t want to understand what could have been
What I felt
What I have known
I never showed
Never been free
Never been myself
And to me you are unforgiven
They are all their lives
Chase him
He tries to please them all
And constantly suffering
His whole life is one and the same:
He constantly leads
A fight he can’t win
They see a tired man who doesn’t care anymore
Then the old man who is getting ready
Die in remorse
That old man is me
You christened me
I christened you
And to me you are unforgiven
