Metallica - Ride the Lightning

to input from Cliff Burton so he was credited as well as Hetfield, Ulrich and Mustaine. The theme of the song is that of a man who has been sentenced to execution in the electric chair. He opens by acknowledging his guilt ("guilty as 'charged'"), but still questions who made the judge "God to say" that he should die. Later on the man starts to feel the fear while the execution is prepared and asks himself what he is doing in the electric chair. By the end of the song he just wants to get it over with. It is speculated that the song is based on a 1961 episode of The Twilight Zone written by Charles Beaumont entitled "Shadow Play". The episode begins in a courtroom, where Adam Grant (Dennis Weaver) is convicted of first degree murder and sentenced to the electric chair. Shouting, "It's happening all over again!", Grant insists that his trial, conviction, and execution are all part of a recurring nightmare, and that when he dies, the world around him and all its occupants will likewise cease to exist. In a live recording from 1983, James Hetfield states that "This one is dedicated to our friend in Georgia", leading to the possibility that it is about an actual person as opposed to fictional events. In an interview with Guitar World magazine, James Hetfield has stated that the song is not an indictment of the death penalty, in which he is a believer, but simply an exploration of the concept of being in a terrible situation with no control. RIDE THE LIGHTNING Guilty as charged But damn it, it ain't right There's someone else controlling me Death in the air Strapped in the electric chair This can't be happening to me Who made you God to say, I'll take your life from you? Flash before my eyes Now it's time to die Burning in my brain I can feel the flame Wait for the sign To flick the switch of death It's the beginning of the end Sweat, chilling cold As I watch death unfold Consciousness my only friend My fingers grip with fear What am I doing here? Flash before my eyes Now it's time to die Burning in my brain I can feel the flame Someone help me Oh please, God help me They are trying to take it all away I don't want to die Time moving slow The minutes seem like hours The final curtain call I see How true is this Just get it over with If this is true, just let it be Wakened by horrid scream Freed from this frightening dream Flash before my eyes Now it's time to die Burning in my brain I can feel the flame Words and Music by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Cliff Burton and Dave Mustaine Copyright © 1984 Creeping Death Music (ASCAP) International Copyright Secured All Rights Reservedshow less...