The Shortest Straw – English Lyrics

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

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Suspicion is your name

Your honesty to blame

Put dignity to shame

Dishonor

Witch-hunt, modern day

Determining decay

The blatant disarray

Disfigure

The public eyes' disgrace

Defying commonplace

Unending paper chase

Unending

Deafening

Painstaking

Reckoning

This vertigo it doth bring

...

Shortest straw

Challenge liberty

Downed by law

Live in infamy

Rub you raw

Witch-hunt riding through

Shortest straw

This shortest straw has been pulled for you

Pulled for you (Shortest straw)

Pulled for you (Shortest straw)

Pulled for you (Shortest straw)

Shortest straw has been pulled for you

...

The accusations fly

Discrimination, why?

Your inner self to die

Intruding

Doubt sunk itself in you

Its teeth and talons through

You're living Catch-22

Deluding

A mass hysteria

A megalomania

Reveal dementia

Reveal

Secretly

Silently

Certainly

In vertigo you will be

...

Shortest straw

Challenge liberty

Downed by law

Live in infamy

Rub you raw

Witch-hunt riding through

Shortest straw

This shortest straw has been pulled for you

Pulled for you (Shortest straw)

Pulled for you (Shortest straw)

Pulled for you (Shortest straw)

The shortest straw has been pulled for you

Shortest straw

Pulled for you (Shortest straw)

Pulled for you (Shortest straw)

Pulled for you (Shortest straw)

The shortest straw has been pulled for you

...

Behind you, hands are tied

Your being, ostracized

Your hell is multiplied

Upending

The fallout has begun

Oppressive damage done

Your many turned to none

To nothing

You're reaching your nadir

Your will has disappeared

The lie is crystal clear

Defending

Channels red

One word said

Blacklisted

With vertigo make you dead

...

Shortest straw

Challenge liberty

Downed by law

Live in infamy

Rub you raw

Witch-hunt riding through

Shortest straw

This shortest straw has been pulled for you

Pulled for you

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
suspicion /səˈspɪʃən/ B2	noun - a feeling or thought that something is possible, likely, or true
honesty /ˈɒnəsti/ B2	noun - the quality of being truthful and sincere
dignity /ˈdɪɡnɪti/ B2	noun - the state of being worthy of honor or respect
dishonor /dɪsˈɑːnər/ C1	noun - loss of respect or esteem verb - to bring shame on
witch-hunt /ˈwɪtʃ.hʌnt/ C1	noun - a campaign against a person or group with unpopular views
decay /dɪˈkeɪ/ B2	noun - the process of rotting or decomposition verb - to rot or decompose
disgrace /dɪsˈɡreɪs/ B2	noun - loss of respect due to wrong behavior verb - to bring shame on someone
defy /dɪˈfaɪ/ B2	verb - to openly resist or refuse to obey
vertigo /ˈvɜːrtɪɡoʊ/ C1	noun - a sensation of spinning and loss of balance
infamy /ˈɪnfəmi/ C1	noun - notoriety gained by evil actions
discrimination /dɪˌskrɪmɪˈneɪʃən/ C1	noun - unjust or prejudicial treatment
intrude /ɪnˈtruːd/ B2	verb - to enter without permission or interrupt
doubt /daʊt/ B2	noun - a feeling of uncertainty verb - to feel unsure about something
hysteria /hɪˈstɪəriə/ C1	noun - extreme or uncontrollable emotion or excitement
megalomania /mɛɡələˈmeɪniə/ C2	noun - a delusional feeling of omnipotence and grandeur
dementia /dɪˈmɛnʃə/ C1	noun - a mental disorder characterized by a decline in cognitive function
ostracize /ˈɒstrəsaɪz/ C2	verb - to exclude or banish someone from a group
oppressive /əˈprɛsɪv/ C2	adjective - cruelly controlling or burdensome
challenge /ˈtʃælɪndʒ/ B2	noun - a task that demands effort verb - to dispute or question
liberty /ˈlɪbərti/ B2	noun - the state of being free from restriction

Key Grammar Structures

• Suspicion is your name

  ➔ Linking verb with subject complement

  ➔ "is" links the subject "Suspicion" with the complement "your name", showing identity.

• Determining decay

  ➔ Present participle phrase as modifier

  ➔ "Determining" functions as a present participle describing ongoing action linked to "decay."

• Defying commonplace

  ➔ Gerund phrase showing opposition

  ➔ The gerund "Defying" acts like a noun meaning the act of resisting what is common.

• The accusations fly

  ➔ Simple present tense expressing habitual or universal action

  ➔ "Fly" in the simple present indicates accusations often happen or spread quickly.

• You're living Catch-22

  ➔ Present continuous tense to show ongoing state

  ➔ "You're living" shows that the subject is experiencing a paradoxical situation continuously.

• Your hell is multiplied

  ➔ Passive voice showing result or experience

  ➔ "is multiplied" means suffering is increased by external forces, not by the subject.

• Your will has disappeared

  ➔ Present perfect tense showing a completed loss with present relevance

  ➔ "has disappeared" suggests the will is now gone as a result of something that happened earlier.

• With vertigo make you dead

  ➔ Elliptical clause (omission of subject and auxiliary)

  ➔ The line omits elements like 'It will' before 'make you dead,' a poetic compression for rhythm.