Bleeding Me
Encyclopedia
"Bleeding Me" is the seventh track on Metallica
's 1996 album Load
.
The song was never commercially released as a single, though a promotional single was distributed to radio stations in mid-1997. That year, it would reach #6 on the Mainstream Rock Charts. Both the album version and a shorter (approximately 5-6 minute) radio edit (the most notable differences from the album track being the shortening of various instrumental passages and ending the song at the conclusion of the guitar solo).
The song has appeared from time to time in Metallica's live set since its release in 1996 including the live album S&M
with the San Francisco Symphony
.
believes it is about a person being put through mental torture.
Metallica frontman James Hetfield
explained what the song is about in a 2001 interview with Playboy
:
"Around the time of Load, I felt I wanted to stop drinking. "Maybe I'm missing out on something. Everyone else seems so happy all the time. I want to get happy." I'd plan my life around a hangover: "The Misfits are playing in town Friday night, so Saturday is hangover day." I lost a lot of days in my life. Going to therapy for a year,I learned a lot about myself. There's a lot of things that scar you when you're growing up, you don't know why. The song Bleeding Me is about that: I was trying to bleed out all bad, get the evil out. While I was going through therapy, I discovered some ugly stuff in there. A dark spot."
In an interview shown on Kerrang! TV
, Hetfield remarked on how he thought the other members of the band felt about him and his lyrics: "How did I know whether the rest of the guys in the band felt as much about the lyrics as I did? I could be singing 'Bleeding Me' with a tear in my eye and the rest of the guys might not have cared."
in Ulrich's home studio 'Dungeon' on April 7, 1995.
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
's 1996 album Load
Load (album)
Load is the sixth studio album by the American heavy metal band Metallica. Released on June 4, 1996 through Elektra Records, it sold 680,000 units in its first week and debuted at #1 on Billboard 200. The album has sold over 5 million copies worldwide and is certified 5x platinum by the RIAA...
.
The song was never commercially released as a single, though a promotional single was distributed to radio stations in mid-1997. That year, it would reach #6 on the Mainstream Rock Charts. Both the album version and a shorter (approximately 5-6 minute) radio edit (the most notable differences from the album track being the shortening of various instrumental passages and ending the song at the conclusion of the guitar solo).
The song has appeared from time to time in Metallica's live set since its release in 1996 including the live album S&M
S&M (album)
-Video release:Metallica also filmed and released the concert in DVD and VHS with direction by Wayne Isham. The VHS set has only the concert video, while the double DVD set has 5.1 sound , 41 minute documentary about the concert, and two "No Leaf Clover" music videos: "Slice & Dice" version and the...
with the San Francisco Symphony
San Francisco Symphony
The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization...
.
Song meaning
There is some speculation as to what the song's lyrics are actually about. While there are thoughts of it being about a battle with addiction, former bassist Jason NewstedJason Newsted
Jason Curtis Newsted is an American bassist known for his work with Metallica, Voivod and Flotsam and Jetsam. Joining Metallica in 1986 after Cliff Burton's death, Newsted remained a member until 2001, making him the band's longest-serving bassist...
believes it is about a person being put through mental torture.
Metallica frontman James Hetfield
James Hetfield
James Alan Hetfield is the rhythm guitarist, co-founder, main songwriter, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Metallica. Hetfield co-founded Metallica in October 1981 after answering a classified advertisement by drummer Lars Ulrich in the Los Angeles newspaper The Recycler,...
explained what the song is about in a 2001 interview with Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
:
"Around the time of Load, I felt I wanted to stop drinking. "Maybe I'm missing out on something. Everyone else seems so happy all the time. I want to get happy." I'd plan my life around a hangover: "The Misfits are playing in town Friday night, so Saturday is hangover day." I lost a lot of days in my life. Going to therapy for a year,I learned a lot about myself. There's a lot of things that scar you when you're growing up, you don't know why. The song Bleeding Me is about that: I was trying to bleed out all bad, get the evil out. While I was going through therapy, I discovered some ugly stuff in there. A dark spot."
In an interview shown on Kerrang! TV
Kerrang! TV
Kerrang! TV is a digital television station owned by Box Television, which is loosely connected to the magazine, Kerrang!. As of 2005, all of its programme content is music videos, the majority of which is open scheduled, for text requests from their playlist....
, Hetfield remarked on how he thought the other members of the band felt about him and his lyrics: "How did I know whether the rest of the guys in the band felt as much about the lyrics as I did? I could be singing 'Bleeding Me' with a tear in my eye and the rest of the guys might not have cared."
Demo
The song's demo was also called "Bleeding Me" and was recorded by Hetfield and Lars UlrichLars Ulrich
Lars Ulrich is a Danish drummer, and one of the founding members of the American thrash metal band Metallica. He was born in Gentofte, Denmark to an upper-middle class family. A tennis player in his youth, Ulrich moved to Los Angeles, California at age sixteen to pursue his training; though rather...
in Ulrich's home studio 'Dungeon' on April 7, 1995.