Metallica – Dyers Eve

Dear Mother
Dear Father
What is this hell you have put me through
Believer
Deceiver
Day in, day out, live my life through you
Pushed onto me what’s wrong or right
Hidden from this thing that they call life

Dear Mother
Dear Father
Every thought I’d think you’d disapprove
Curator
Dictator
Always censoring my every move
Children are seen but are not heard
Tear out everything inspired

Innocence
Torn from me without your shelter
Barred reality
I’m living blindly

Dear Mother
Dear Father
Time has frozen still what’s left to be
Hear nothing
Say nothing
Cannot face the fact I think for me
No guarantee, it’s life as is
But damn you for not giving me my chance

Dear Mother
Dear Father
You’ve clipped my wings before I learned to fly
Unspoiled
Unspoken
I’ve outgrown that fucking lullaby
Same thing I’ve always heard from you
Do as I say, not as I do

Innocence
Torn from me without your shelter
Barred reality
I’m living blindly

I’m in hell without you
Cannot cope without you two
Shocked at the world that I see
Innocent victim please rescue me

Dear Mother
Dear Father
Hidden in your world you’ve made for me
I’m seething
I’m bleeding
Ripping wounds in me that never heal
Undying spite I feel for you
Living out this hell you always knew


Lyrics submitted by fennsk, edited by RyanWolfeh, Ashram

Dyers Eve song meanings
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84 Comments

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  • +6
    General CommentTeenage rebellion.
    CJFon July 28, 2002   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • +5
    General Commentjames wrote this song for the kids. He needed the band to really relate to their younger crowd so he made dyers eve. This song also has the most unappreciated solo ever. Kirk plays with such grace and speed at the same time. I have heard every Metallica song there is and this is one of their greatest masterpieces.
    Motorbreathon April 16, 2003   Link
    • 2 Replies
  • +3
    My Interpretationits about someone's fucked up childhood.(mostly jaymz's but with a few added touches.) he grew up in a very strict, and religious family. His parents tried to hide him from the world and it's so-called "danger", so when he finally grew up and moved out of the house to live alone, he didnt know what the hell was going on, because of his over-protective parents.

    "Im in hell without you. Cannot cope without you two" : he has no clue what to do, and he needs his parents' aid, because thats all he's grown up to know.
    "Shocked at the world that i see.." :as i said, they've been hiding him from the real world, so when he's out on his own, its quite a surprise to him.

    anyways, that my opinion. if you disagree, dont hesitate to send me a message.
    diamondnooseon August 12, 2009   Link
  • +3
    My Opinion
    I don't buy the idea that James wrote this to 'relate to his younger fanbase' or whatever is was someone said - I think he wrote what he was feeling, plain and simple.

    Remember he wasn't that old when this was written - 25, 26 tops. I know that might seem a bit ancient to some of you but that's still young enough to remember those feelings. It's possible it took him a few years to rationalise how these things had affected him.

    Anyway I don't think there's any dispute over the *meaning* of this song - it's pretty cut'n'dried - but I was mainly interested in where the title came from. To just use 'Dyer' to mean 'someone who dies/ about to die' is a bit clumsy and James is usually a better lyricist than that (witness the rest of this song!).

    It struck me as something that might have come from the realms of poetry or literature and was then referenced in this song. Can't find any non-Metallica-related references to it though so I could be barking up the wrong tree...

    One of their best, anyway, and one I got a kick out of rediscovering!
    the1truedaveon January 03, 2013   Link
    • 2 Replies
  • +2
    General CommentIt is about person's anger for his parents and the way they behaved him when he was young...this isnt confirmed that it is james past they speak of but it can be true...i relate quite well like the rest of u..parents suck and they abuse wut power they have
    I_LIKE_BEANSon June 05, 2002   Link
  • +2
    General Commentdelta 9 -

    fuck you , you stupid faggot
    axlrosegnfnron January 18, 2005   Link
  • +2
    General Commentthank you very much for your comment robsturr. though my childhood wasn't that hard I always felt exactly the same when hearing this song. I think that any childhood has some stains and we live in a world where "children are seen but are not heard" and censorship is traded from the bigger to the smaller (as the whole album expresses).
    "Dyers Eve" is the absolutely fitting and expressive finish to this topic, touching every waking up soul out there. I cannot say anything about the exact technical qualities of lars ullrich or any other one of metallica, but i never heard a band that can push out a song with that much pressure as they do especially in dyers eve.
    But i never was sure about the consequences arising from this song, and now i know, thank you again, rob. Since the fealing is two fold: first there is depression, anger, fear, rage about what happened in the childhood, reviewing how it could have been. But this is only the first step up the stairs being able to review this bad history, finally understanding that this shit really happened and that you are not alone with it ! There is no question anymore, "living out this hell you always knew", we don't wan't to trade it to our children again and again, you know, so we really need to be reborn, we need salvation from this.
    So there is no escape from this truth, so wake up, soul, from this nightmare.
    ikrabbeon June 22, 2006   Link
    • 1 Reply
  • +1
    General CommentHe was raised Christian Scientist, not Baptist for the record.
    Ogre8954on March 03, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General Commenteclipseownzu, very well put.
    Motorbreathon May 04, 2003   Link
  • +1
    General CommentHow the hell can ppl sit around and critisize Lars Ulrich? First of all, people who don't even drum shouldn't say a word, and second, he's AMAZING! I'll leave the meaning up to other ppl, but you seem to have that all covered, but I just wanna say that this song is so amazing to play, or, in most cases, attempt to lol. I don't know anybody who can seem to get the guitar down. Still fun though on drums. I haven't gone through all the posts, so slap me if somebody allready said this, but isn't this the song that Metallica only recorded once and never played live? No wonder it's so hard. Metallica kick ass!
    drumsnboardson May 05, 2006   Link

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