One – English Lyrics

• By: Metallica
• Album: ...And Justice For All

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into Metallica's iconic "One" to explore the raw power of English in heavy metal. This song's profound lyrics, detailing a soldier's unimaginable suffering and isolation, offer a unique opportunity to grasp evocative vocabulary and emotional expression. Its dynamic structure, from melodic introspection to thrashing intensity, not only showcases musical mastery but also helps learners connect words to evolving moods, making complex narratives in English accessible and deeply impactful.

[English]

I can't remember anything

Can't tell if this is true or dream

Deep down inside I feel to scream

This terrible silence stops me

Now that the war is through with me

I'm waking up, I cannot see

That there is not much left of me

Nothing is real but pain now

Hold my breath as I wish for death

Oh please God, wake me

...

...

Back in the womb it's much too real

In pumps life that I must feel

But can't look forward to reveal

Look to the time when I'll live

Fed through the tube that sticks in me

Just like a wartime novelty

Tied to machines that make me be

Cut this life off from me

Hold my breath as I wish for death

Oh please God, wake me

...

Now the world is gone, I'm just one

Oh God help me

Hold my breath as I wish for death

Oh please God, help me

...

Darkness imprisoning me

All that I see

Absolute horror

I cannot live

I cannot die

Trapped in myself

Body my holding cell

...

Landmine has taken my sight

Taken my speech

Taken my hearing

Taken my arms

Taken my legs

Taken my soul

Left me with life in hell.

...

Key Grammar Structures

• I can't remember anything

  ➔ Modal verb + negation + verb (can't remember)

  ➔ The modal verb "can" expresses ability here in the negative form "can't", followed by the base form of the verb "remember".

• Can't tell if this is true or dream

  ➔ Modal verb + negation + verb + if-clause (can't tell if)

  ➔ Again, "can't" is used, followed by "tell" and a conditional clause introduced by "if". This structure expresses uncertainty.

• Deep down inside I feel to scream

  ➔ Adverbial phrase (deep down inside) + Simple present tense (feel)

  ➔ The adverbial phrase modifies the verb "feel", indicating where the feeling originates from. The main verb is in the simple present tense.

• Now that the war is through with me

  ➔ Time clause (Now that) + Passive voice (is through with)

  ➔ The clause "Now that" introduces a time relationship, and the verb phrase "is through with" indicates the war's completion in relation to the speaker using the passive voice.

• I'm waking up, I cannot see

  ➔ Present continuous (I'm waking up) + Modal verb + Negation + Verb (cannot see)

  ➔ "I'm waking up" is in the present continuous tense to describe an ongoing action. "Cannot see" is similar to previous examples, modal verb + negation.

• Nothing is real but pain now

  ➔ Subject + Verb (is) + Adjective + Prepositional phrase (but pain now)

  ➔ This sentence uses a simple structure with "is" as the linking verb. The phrase "but pain now" functions as an exception.

• Hold my breath as I wish for death

  ➔ Imperative sentence + Conjunction (as) + Verb + Object

  ➔ The first part is an imperative, the second part shows an action happening at the same time with the help of 'as'.

• Now the world is gone, I'm just one

  ➔ Simple present tense, subject + verb + complement, subject + verb + object

  ➔ Simple statements in the present tense. The second part uses "just" as an adverb of degree.

• Darkness imprisoning me

  ➔ Gerund as subject + Present continuous tense (passive meaning)

  ➔ Here the gerund "imprisoning" acts as a subject, while the sentence implies a passive action. It is *being* imprisoned by the darkness.

• Landmine has taken my sight

  ➔ Present perfect tense (has taken)

  ➔ The present perfect tense is used here to describe an action with a result in the present (loss of sight).