I don't know how to live trough this hell
Woken up, I'm still locked in this shell
Frozen soul, frozen down to the core
Break the ice, I can't take anymore

Freezing
Can't move at all
Screaming
Can't hear my call
I am dying to live
Cry out
I'm trapped under ice

Crystallized, as I lay here and rest
Eyes of glass stare directly at death
From deep sleep I have broken away
No one knows, no one hears what I say

Freezing
Can't move at all
Screaming
Can't hear my call
I am dying to live
Cry out
I'm trapped under ice

Scream from my soul
Fate, mystified
Hell, forever more

Scream from my soul
Fate, mystified
Hell, forever more

No release from my cryonic state
What is this I've been stricken by fate
Wrapped up tight, cannot move, can't break free
Hand of doom has a tight grip on me

Freezing
Can't move at all
Screaming
Can't hear my call
I am dying to live
Cry out
I'm trapped under ice

Freezing
Can't move at all
Screaming
Can't hear my call
I am dying to live
Cry out
I'm trapped under ice


Lyrics submitted by elmoz, edited by RyanWolfeh

Trapped Under Ice Lyrics as written by James Alan Hetfield Kirk L. Hammett

Lyrics © Word Collections Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Trapped Under Ice song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

59 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +10
    General Comment

    its about how a goldfish feels if you leave the fishbowel outside on a cold winter night :}

    puppetmasteron March 14, 2005   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    To me it sounds like it's about being stuck in a situation you can't handle and that you want to make it better (dying to live) but you see no way out (trapped under ice). And the part about "No one knows, no one hears what I say " and "screaming, can't hear my call" appears to me as if no one cares for the person anymore, or at least it seems so to that person

    Ic3gl0vEon May 29, 2002   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    This is about drowning in a frozen lake.

    Debbie65on July 03, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    It's about how terribly painful it feels to be a solem loner. He's trapped behind his inability to be with people, yet he yearns to be "normal".

    Jigokusabreon April 12, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    i think it's all about inner pain. you can't get out of your misery (trapped under ice, can't move at all) and no one really realizes your bad state of mind (screaming - can't hear my call)

    Gutson September 25, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    It sounds like someone with a heroin addiction realising that his life is wasting away, hence being 'Trapped under ice'. Most of the lyrics seem to suggest this. The line "I am dying to live" seems to suggest that the person realises that they are doing immense harm to their body, possibly even killing it, inorder to get their fix.

    The line "Hand of doom has a tight grip on me" sounds to me like a reference to Sabbath's 'Hand of Doom', a song which itself is about heroin addiction.

    NothingManon October 07, 2004   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    It's about a dude who's cryogenically frozen and wakes up too early, thus he's trapped under ice in the freezer.

    hawkgamerx98on February 05, 2016   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I don't remember where, but I recall it being about drowning as Debbie65 said. Another song about death on that album.

    a_new_machineon July 02, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song has alot of ambiguous meaning to different people. However, I think the band wrote it from the state of mind of someone literally being trapped under ice. I only think this because much of the album explores life-and-death situations that really have no escape.

    Egghead15229on June 30, 2004   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    All of the tracks on Ride the Lightning are about death, so I agree with some of the above posters that its about freezing...fish perhaps?

    snowsantaon January 16, 2007   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example: "'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.