Legendary Metallica frontman James Hetfield recently shared his thoughts on writing lyrics during an episode of the podcast The Metallica Report. He discussed his particular method, his admiration for Tom Waits as a lyricist, and his approach to infusing emotional power into his lyrics.
A fascination with words and their visual impact
Hetfield describes his approach to writing as an intuitive but careful process, often influenced by his interest in the words themselves. “For my part, without having really studied literature, I find that the appearance of words counts almost as much as their meaning. For example, ‘Lux Æterna’ — it’s so cool. There’s an X and this AE combination. It’s visually fascinating.”
He likens his job to building a vehicle, gathering interesting words and arranging them until they fit together perfectly. “I flip through books to find interesting words and place them in a pile until I figure out where to put them. I see it a bit like an additional instrument in a song.”
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The influence of Tom Waits
Hetfield also expressed his admiration for American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, described as “master craftsman of words”. “Tom Waits has this ability to paint a picture in a single sentence. It requires a lot of work, although he has an innate vocabulary for this kind of exercise. He is able to speak as he writes, which I am incapable of.”
Hetfield explains that Waits, along with other lyricists like Nick Cave, influenced the way he approached writing as a craft rather than a simple compositional exercise.
-Simplify to hit better
Despite his interest in complex and poetic lyrics, Hetfield emphasizes the importance of simplicity and impact in his lyrics. “I listen to bands like Green Day, and they have simple lyrics like ‘Know Your Enemy.’ It’s not literary genius, but it’s catchy and it sticks in your head.”
Hetfield also mentions his desire to remove unnecessary words like “et”, “the” or “and” to highlight the essential terms. “I want the words to be as powerful as possible. If something gets in the way of the message or the melody, I get rid of it.”
Create with intention and conviction
When recording albums Load et Reload In the ’90s, Hetfield had to write lyrics for 45 songs, a challenge that taught him to focus on quality over quantity. “A single well-written song is better than 45 average songs. I want to write what I feel, even if it doesn’t always match other people’s expectations.”
He also emphasizes the importance of staying true to his message, even if certain words or themes may seem provocative. “Sometimes words like ‘cancer’ are necessary to convey a strong idea. I’m not going to soften them just to please everyone.”
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