Metallica Lyrics Explained (Until It Sleeps)

Greetings Melon Bangers!
I raise my metal fist in solute!
May the God of Metal smile upon you!

Skip the intro if you have read it before.

INTRO
If this is your first time on this blog, the objective is to take a philosophical journey through the lyrics of Metallica as I do my best to decipher the meanings and deal with the issues which they present . Metallica addresses very real and deep issues that would be wise for us to look into ourselves such as death, life, afterlife, the evil of man, insanity, internal struggles, the idea of a deity, why we choose to take life (weather it be in capitol punishment or war), and so forth.

For years Until It Sleeps from the Load album has been one of my favorite set of lyrics by the four horsemen of Metallica. It is deep. It is poetic. It deals with an eternal issue. And, by all appearances, seems totally heartfelt.

"Where do I take this pain of mine / I run but it stays right by my side"

Who doesn't deal with this? It is universal. But rather than just griping about the evil within, he understands that something needs to be done. And that something is not repressing it. And it is not making some sort of mental decision to no longer have hate, bitterness, and pain inside.

"So tear me open / pour me out / there's things inside that scream and shout"

He knows that only being torn open and having the evil poured out is the solution. This is a prayer that he is reluctant to pray because the evil within is screaming to stay. And so he says, "So hold me until it sleeps."

"Just like the curse / just like the stray / you feed it once and now it stays"

This is biblical language. The curse refers to the curse of man that we earned in the Garden of Eden when Adam, the representative of Mankind, rebelled against God. It is the curse that is passed down through every generation. The curse of sin that we are born with. The stray is another biblical term that refers to straying from God. Adam took one bite and all was lost. We hate once and it grows. We lust once and it stays.

"and the dirt still stains me / so wash me until I'm clean"

The whole song is a prayer.

Jeremiah 2:22 says
"No amount of soap or lye can make you clean. I still see the stain of your guilt. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!"
Then in Hebrews 9:14 it says, "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ.... cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!"

The character in this song is praying to be clean but he knows that his sin grips and stains him and hates God.

But being pacified "until it sleeps" will do nothing good for you. Jesus once said to the religious leaders who tried to make themselves look clean on the outside while repressing their beasts inside, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean."

Metallica makes it clear that something needs to be done because "the pain still shapes" them but Jesus makes it clear that the only way to be made clean on the inside is by receiving what He did on the cross. Then will He tear us open, pour us out, and refill us to overflowing.
Do not pacify your demons. Do not let it sleep. Because it will awaken. Rid yourself of the evil within through the blood of Christ!