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!
@the1truedave
I don't know if this would pertain to the song or the subject-matter of the song, but I thought of the phrase "Dyed in the wool". Maybe his parents were adamant about everything, thus making him think they are dyed in the wool so to speak. Not to mention that phrase would have been a lot more common in his time than nowadays.
@the1truedave
I don't know if this would pertain to the song or the subject-matter of the song, but I thought of the phrase "Dyed in the wool". Maybe his parents were adamant about everything, thus making him think they are dyed in the wool so to speak. Not to mention that phrase would have been a lot more common in his time than nowadays.
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!
A dyer is also someone who dyes. It might be a reference to the way the parents in this song try to change the way the kid perceives everything?
A dyer is also someone who dyes. It might be a reference to the way the parents in this song try to change the way the kid perceives everything?
@the1truedave I don't know if this would pertain to the song or the subject-matter of the song, but I thought of the phrase "Dyed in the wool". Maybe his parents were adamant about everything, thus making him think they are dyed in the wool so to speak. Not to mention that phrase would have been a lot more common in his time than nowadays.
@the1truedave I don't know if this would pertain to the song or the subject-matter of the song, but I thought of the phrase "Dyed in the wool". Maybe his parents were adamant about everything, thus making him think they are dyed in the wool so to speak. Not to mention that phrase would have been a lot more common in his time than nowadays.