To Live Is To Die

From MetallicaWiki

To Live Is To Die is the eighth track on Metallica's 1988 album ...And Justice For All.

The song contains a few spoken lyrics near the end of the song, starting at 7:35, that were written by German poet Paul Gerhardt and popularized in the 1981 film Excalibur, although in the album's booklet, the lyrics are misattributed to Cliff Burton. The song was written as a tribute to the band's bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a bus accident in 1986. The music consists of riffs Burton had written that had not been incorporated into songs prior to his death. The song title is a phrase that Burton was fond of.

Hetfield plays the second guitar solo during the slower mid-section of the song. To Live Is To Die is the last song Metallica released in which Burton has songwriting credit, and is the band's only instrumental track with Jason Newsted playing bass.

The song was first performed live at the second 30th Anniversary show in 2011. Prior to this event, the song was only played live during the Damaged Justice Tour but not in its entirety. They have played several parts of it combined with parts of other songs, most notably during the 1993 Nowhere Else To Roam tour as part of a medley with Orion and The Call Of Ktulu.

Lyrics

When a man lies
He murders some part of the world
These are the pale deaths which men miscall their lives
All this I cannot bear to witness any longer
Cannot the kingdom of salvation take me home?

Notes

Written By: Hetfield/Ulrich/Burton
Copyright © 1988 Creeping Death Music (ASCAP)
International Copyright Secured
All Rights Reserved