The House Jack Built

It's about James and his struggle with alcohol. 'Jack' is a metaphor for Jack Daniels, as the song is evidently about some dependency that gets you high, but then slams you down.

It is about a "house" which represents the only place where a person feels safety

taking what i forgot to breathe said a step further, maybe it's how his life is so surrounded by alcohol that it 'built' a house, meaning everything he has done has been built around jack daniels...or maybe i'm just full of shit.

There's absolutly now reason to reduce metallica songs to alcohol, heroine or any other drugs, like I always find in comments about this and other metallica songs. One of my first experiences with metallica was in my youth when a friend of mine, living in a small chamber with really BIG speakers, pushed the volume up, playing ride the lightning. The song that struck me in my heart was creeping death of course. Reviewing the biblical and historical context of this and other songs, we cannot read the text of "The house that jack built" without reviewing the origin of the expression, which comes from a poem from the 16'th century, which makes even more sence, when you think of metallica as of musicians who made themselves well knowing and loving J.S.Bach (1685-1723). The original poem tells us about a a house that is quite badly build, affecting all and anything living within, with it's bad nature. Yes, it might be alcohol, it might even be Jack Daniels that makes the destroys this house which is "my body my temple". It might also be any "other demon that I meet". For me this song takes us much farther, describing the agony of the whole life that makes us "open the doors" for the demons like heroin and jack daniels. It just makes no difference what makes you "twist away, away, away". This like much other songs written by james hetfield is again a cry for salvation from this life, for some "place to hide" from it. Note also that the body the temple "this temple it tilts", will tilt anyway, no matter what kind of demon makes the temple tilt, no matter how high you are, how far you went, you will fall and you will have to crawl back. But back to where? What is the meaning, the aim of this life, in this badly build, detructed house ? I don't know if hetfield had an answer to this question, but at least he asks the question. And he asks you !

This is about addiction, could be any addiction (pick your demon). I’ll break it down from the top.

The door is the difference between sobriety and acting out in your addiction. Saying I walk in the door since it is open implies something like, who cares, what have I got to lose, I’ve already lost everything. Alternatively, when you are coming from a place of being sober and choose to open that door of your addiction and walk inside, you shut down to the world (“close my eyes”), it is your “place to hide” to avoid coping with the challenges life brings. When you are in your addiction you “shake and I take it in”, a rush of sorts, another hit of chemicals in the brain. Then you put on your alternate identity, the one that deceives everyone in believing you don’t have a problem, “Let the show begin”.

“Open my eyes just to have them close again”. This is in reference to being sober, eyes open, to going in the addiction, eyes closed (and repeat), and possibly deflecting blame somewhere else instead of yourself, “just to have them close again”. “Don’t want control” but have no choice because in reality you actually have no self-control and it takes you down in a spiral to rock bottom. “Is that the moon”, did I hit bottom yet and I’m seeing a hopeful light of recovery or am I still travelling to rock bottom “dead-end”, which could even mean death. “Is that you there” someone positive to help you find sobriety, or are you just another enabler, a demon in disguise. In other words is this reality or the alternate reality where my addict lives strong.

A pessimistic view of sobriety, “The higher you are” could imply a positive level of sobriety, and when you open that door of your addiction you have a longer way to fall, more to lose, and the “longer the walk” implies a longer path “crawl” back to sobriety. “This temple, it tilts”, your body is a temple (reference to the bible) and it tilts could mean we are flawed, not perfect.

Then later the lyrics say after he walks through that door, “swallow me so the pain subsides”, clearly this is being numb in your addiction so you can’t feel the pain anymore.

“Open my eyes, it swallows me, is that you there, I twist away.” Maybe this is a moment of clarity, opening of the eyes, realizing it is killing you, seeing those that love you, but twist away in shame or contempt of self.

Jaymz plays the solo on this song using one of cool "Talking Guitar" effects.

it's about drugs! "Swallow me so the pain subsides And I shake as I take this in Let the show begin The higher you are The farther you fall" read it, it makes sense.

ah... never thought of that. i knew he had this struggle with alcohol.. the 2 things just didn't click.

actually i was thinking about this song again, and it might not be about alcohol. i'm still pushing towards the drugs theory, unless the drugs are a metaphor for the alcohol. because lines like "and i shake as i take it in" sound much more druglike than alcohol like .. i mean it's probably about alcohol.. but i'm not gonna leap to that conclusion. also i agree wiht bean boy

This song is unquestionably about alcohol. What else do you swallow to kill pain? A pill? Not very likely coming from Jamz.

"Open my eyes Just to have them close once again" -Someone is drunk "Don't want control As It takes me down and down again" -Drunknessism "Is that the moon Or just a light that lights this deadend street?" -Can a drunk person tell the difference between a light and the moon? Another hint: deadend street

I've come to the conclusion that this song is about the Jack Daniels, the drink, or something so deep, Bill Cosby couldn't find it with a huge jello spoon.