The Unforgiven Trilogy - Metallica

Metallica is one of the (if not THE most) popular metal bands of all time. Being a metal and rock music fan, I like their music, but I wouldn't say that they are my favourite band.

I would like to discuss their songs “The Unforgiven”, “The Unforgiven II” and “The Unforgiven III” here.

Most Metallica songs have very deep and interesting lyrics. These three songs are a trilogy and the same theme and story is continued in each of them. This is my interpretation of these three songs.

For the sake of understanding, I will refer to the man in this song as the “young man”, even though he might not be young.

1. The Unforgiven

In “The Unforgiven”, the singer speaks about growing up in a strict and uptight society. “New blood joins this earth/ And quickly he's subdued”.

He grows up doing as he's told and not thinking or living for himself. “Deprived of all his thoughts/ The young man struggles on and on”

The young man is not afforded the chance to make his own decisions. Other people (parents, relatives, etc?) live his life for him. “They dedicate their lives, to running all of his”. The young man tries to live up to their expectations and does his best to be the person they want him to be. “He tries to please them all, this bitter man he is”.

Though he wants to be the man others expect him to be, the young man is constantly battling (with himself), as his heart and interests lie elsewhere. “What I felt, what I've known/ Never shined through in what I've shown”. He can't win this fight, as one way or another, he loses.

The young man becomes “old”, but not literally. He is tired, and becomes like an old man and he no longer cares, he has given up on life. “A tired man they see, no longer cares”.

He realises that he has done nothing with his life and is filled with regret. “The old man then prepares, to die regretfully/ That old man here is me”.

He becomes tired and bitter and starts to blame those people who controlled and lived his life. “Never free, never me, so I dub thee unforgiven”. The young man becomes resentful of these people for not letting him live life his own way and cannot ever forgive them for this.

2. The Unforgiven II

This song picks up a few years after from where “The Unforgiven” leaves us. The young man is now an adult. He has left behind all the people who controlled him and has found someone he cares for.

He might be falling for this person, but he still has doubts “The door is locked now, but it's open if you're true”. “If you can understand the me, then I can understand the you”. The door here is a metaphor. A door to his own heart. Should he open it yet?

This person he has fallen/ about to fall for has also been through the same things as the “young man”. This can be interpreted from the line “Through black of day, dark of night, we share this paralyse”.

The young man still doesn't trust this other person completely. “Turn the pages, turn the stone/ behind the door, should I open it for you”.

“Sick and tired, I stand alone/ Could you be there? Cuz I'm the one who waits for you./ Or are you Unforgiven too?”

The “young man” is asking the person if they can be there for him. He is prepared to be there for her, but is she? Or is she just like those “unforgiven” people, who tried to control him and his life.

The “young man” then asks himself if she loves him. He is probably plucking the petals of a flower, searching for an answer. “She loves me not, she loves me still”.

He comes to a conclusion that she indeed does love him and that she will stay with him. “Yes, she'll be there when I'm gone/ Dead sure she'll be there”.

He decides to give her a chance and starts to trust her, love her. “The door is closer on your eyes, but now I see the Sun”. The sun brings in light, which is a metaphor for hope.

The “young man” believes that he has found someone like himself and hopes to spend his time with her. “I take this key, and bury it in you/ Because you're unforgiven too”. He takes the key to his heart and buries it in her. Here by unforgiven, he means that she is an outcast, an unforgiven to the other people, just like he is.

Note: Before moving on to “The Unforgiven III”, I would like to discuss the songwriting of the first and second songs of this trilogy.

Both start off with a horn intro, that was taken from the movie of the same name (The Unforgiven), but reversed.

While both songs are ballads, “The Unforgiven” has a heavy guitar intro and heavy verses. The chorus is melodic and softly sung. The guitar solo starts off slowly and softly, picking up a heavier tone and speed.

“The Unforgiven II” has the opposite structure. i.e, The guitar intro and the verses are soft and melodic. The chorus is much more heavy and loudly sung. The solo also is the opposite style of the first song.

This follows the style of previous Metallica ballads like “Fade to Black”, “Welcome Home (Sanitarium)” and “One”. (Side note: These three songs can be considered as sister songs, following the same style and format, even having the same track listing in each of their respective albums.)

3. The Unforgiven III

The third and final song of this trilogy is not quite as linked as the first two are, but is more like a spin off.

The singer here speaks of a person, who might have damaged his life. “Was he the one, causing pain, with his careless dreaming?”

He also speaks constantly about “sailing” and travelling in a ship and of seas. I think this is a metaphor for the journey of life itself.

He has got nowhere to go and is “lost in life” as one might say. But he argues, “How can I be lost, if I've got nowhere to go?”. He tells us of how he searched for the good things in life, but has ended up cold and alone. “Searched for seas of gold, how come it's got so cold?”

He finally comes to realise that he has nobody to blame – not the ones who controlled him as a”young man”, not the person he loved as an adult – but himself.

It is his fault that he hasn't done anything with his life. It is his fault that he has ended up alone. He says, “How can I blame you, when it's me I can't forgive?”

The young man seeks forgiveness. “Forgive me, forgive me not”. But it is revealed that he is indeed asking forgiveness from himself. “Why can't I forgive me!!?” In fact, he blames himself and wants to be forgiven for not living a better life.

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Here, the “young man” has gone from blaming everyone for his own regret filled and ordinary life and branding everyone “unforgiven” to actually owning up to his own mistakes and blaming himself.

If he had really wanted to do something in life, he would have fought against those who tried to control him and would have done what he wanted to, anyway. But because he was not strong enough (mentally, not physically), he gave in to their pressures and ends up regretting it, but blames those people for his failures.

Then, he meets someone like himself. Someone who had been forced to live like others wanted her to. He thinks that there might still be hope for him and that they can find solace in each other.

In the end, he is still left regretting his life. But, he comes to an understanding that he has to blame himself. He brands himself as “the unforgiven”. He asks forgiveness from himself for having failed in life.

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This, is my interpretation of songs that have come to be known as “The Unforgiven Trilogy”. I have no idea whether this is the intention or meaning that Hetfield and co had in mind. But I do believe that songs are a medium that can be interpreted in many ways depending on your perspectives and experiences.

This is the first time I have really analysed any songs in depth. It's been a good experience. I now feel confident about analysing a Pink Floyd song.