The Thing That Should Not Be – English Lyrics

• By: Metallica
• Album: Master Of Puppets

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the eerie depths of English with Metallica's "The Thing That Should Not Be"! This song, steeped in the dark tales of H.P. Lovecraft, offers a unique opportunity to explore vocabulary related to horror, mythology, and existential dread. Its powerful storytelling and haunting lyrics make it a captivating way to immerse yourself in the language and understand how artists convey complex emotions and narratives through music.

[English]

Messenger of fear in sight

Dark deception kills the light

...

Hybrid children watch the sea

Pray for father, roaming free

...

Fearless wretch

Insanity

He watches

Lurking beneath the sea

Great old one

Forbidden site

He searches

Hunter of the shadows is rising

...

Immortal

In madness you dwell

...

Crawling chaos, underground

Cult has summoned, twisted sound

...

Out from ruins once possessed

Fallen city, living death

...

Fearless wretch

Insanity

He watches

Lurking beneath the sea

Timeless sleep

Has been upset

He awakens

Hunter of the shadows is rising

...

Immortal

...

In madness you dwell

...

In madness you dwell

...

Not dead which eternal lie

Stranger eons death may die

...

Drain you of your sanity

Face the thing that should not be

...

Fearless wretch

Insanity

He watches

Lurking beneath the sea

Great old one

Forbidden site

He searches

Hunter of the shadows is rising

...

Immortal

...

In madness you dwell

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
Messenger ˈmɛsəndʒər B1	noun - a person who carries a message or is used to send a message
Deception dɪˈsɛpʃən B2	noun - the act of deceiving; fraud, trickery
Hybrid ˈhaɪbrɪd B2	adjective - of mixed character or composition
Fearless ˈfɪrlɪs A2	adjective - without fear; bold
Insanity ɪnˈsænɪti B1	noun - the state of being seriously mentally ill
Lurking ˈlɜːrkɪŋ B1	verb - to lie hidden, in wait
Forbidden fəˈbɪdən A2	adjective - not allowed; prohibited
Immortal ɪˈmɔːrtəl B1	adjective - not subject to death; having eternal life
Crawling ˈkrɔːlɪŋ A2	verb - to move slowly on the ground or on hands and knees
Chaos ˈkeɪɒs B1	noun - complete disorder and confusion
Summoned ˈsʌmənd B1	verb - to call or order to come
Twisted ˈtwɪstɪd A2	adjective - distorted; not straight or normal
Ruins ˈruːɪnz A2	noun - the remains of a building, city, etc., that has been destroyed
Timeless ˈtaɪmlɪs B2	adjective - not affected by the passage of time
Awakens əˈweɪkənz A2	verb - to wake from sleep
Eons ˈiːɒnz B2	noun - an extremely long period of time
Sanity ˈsænɪti B1	noun - the state of being mentally healthy

Key Grammar Structures

• Messenger of fear in sight

  ➔ Prepositional phrase

  ➔ 'In sight' is a prepositional phrase acting as an adverbial modifier, describing the position of the messenger.

• Hybrid children watch the sea

  ➔ Plural noun subject

  ➔ 'Hybrid children' is a plural noun subject, agreeing with the plural verb 'watch'.

• He watches

  ➔ Simple present tense

  ➔ 'Watches' is in the simple present tense, indicating a habitual or ongoing action.

• Lurking beneath the sea

  ➔ Present participle phrase

  ➔ 'Lurking' is a present participle acting as an adjective, describing the subject.

• Great old one

  ➔ Appositive noun phrase

  ➔ 'Great old one' is an appositive noun phrase renaming the subject.

• He searches

  ➔ Simple present tense

  ➔ 'Searches' is in the simple present tense, indicating a habitual action.

• Immortal

  ➔ Predicate adjective

  ➔ 'Immortal' is a predicate adjective describing the subject.

• Not dead which eternal lie

  ➔ Relative pronoun

  ➔ 'Which' is a relative pronoun introducing a relative clause.

• Face the thing that should not be

  ➔ Subjunctive mood

  ➔ 'Should not be' is in the subjunctive mood, expressing a hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situation.