For Whom the Bell Tolls Lyrics
[Instrumental Intro]
[Verse 1]
Make his fight, on the hill, in the early day
Constant chill deep inside
Shouting gun, on they run, through the endless grey
On they fight, for the right, yes, but who's to say?
For a hill, men would kill — Why? They do not know
Stiffened wounds test their pride
Men of five, still alive, through the raging glow
Gone insane from the pain that they surely know
[Chorus]
For whom the bell tolls
Time marches on
For whom the bell tolls
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 2]
Take a look to the sky just before you die
It's the last time you will
Blackened roar, massive roar, fills the crumbling sky
Shattered goal fills his soul with a ruthless cry
Stranger now are his eyes to this mystery
Hears the silence so loud
Crack of dawn, all is gone, except the will to be
Now they see what will be, blinded eyes to see
[Verse 1]
Make his fight, on the hill, in the early day
Constant chill deep inside
Shouting gun, on they run, through the endless grey
On they fight, for the right, yes, but who's to say?
For a hill, men would kill — Why? They do not know
Stiffened wounds test their pride
Men of five, still alive, through the raging glow
Gone insane from the pain that they surely know
[Chorus]
For whom the bell tolls
Time marches on
For whom the bell tolls
[Instrumental Break]
[Verse 2]
Take a look to the sky just before you die
It's the last time you will
Blackened roar, massive roar, fills the crumbling sky
Shattered goal fills his soul with a ruthless cry
Stranger now are his eyes to this mystery
Hears the silence so loud
Crack of dawn, all is gone, except the will to be
Now they see what will be, blinded eyes to see
About
Genius Annotation
Metallica’s take on Hemingway’s novel of the same name about the reproach of modern warfare and the combatants impending demise during the Spanish Civil War.
This continues their string of literary adaptations that runs from the Bible through Dalton Trumbo.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
What did Metallica say about "For Whom the Bell Tolls"?
Genius Answer
We often use “For Whom the Bell Tolls” as a reference point for chasing simplicity. Which we never seem to be able to do anymore (laughs).
That was a key song for us. Again, that intro was a Cliff thing—he’d play it all the time, and the rest of would stiffen up and go, ‘What the heck was that?’ That was completely his own creation—it’s just this weird chromatic thing, the note choice. It’s just highly unconventional even to this day. Did anyone ask us to make the intro shorter? No, we were all 100 percent committed to every single note, every single beat.
Is there a live performance of the song?
Genius Answer
- 3.For Whom the Bell Tolls
- 6.Escape
- 12.Phantom Lord (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA - Mar. 10th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 13.(Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA - Mar. 10th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 14.For Whom The Bell Tolls (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA - Mar. 10th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 15.No Remorse (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA - Mar. 10th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 16.Fade To Black (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA - Mar. 10th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 17.Seek & Destroy (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA - Mar. 10th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 18.Creeping Death (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA - Mar. 10th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 19.Am I Evil? (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA - Mar. 10th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 20.Motorbreath (Live at the Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA - Mar. 10th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 22.Am I Evil?
- 23.Blitzkrieg
- 24.Ride The LIghtning (Studio Demo) (Missing Lyrics)
- 25.When Hell Freezes Over (The Call Of Ktulu) [Studio Demo] (Missing Lyrics)
- 26.Creeping Death (Studio Demo) (Missing Lyrics)
- 27.Fight Fire With Fire (Studio Demo) (Missing Lyrics)
- 28.Ride the LIghtning (Garage Demo) (Missing Lyrics)
- 29.When Hell Freezes Over (The Call of Ktulu) [Garage Demo] (Missing Lyrics)
- 30.Fight Fire With Fire (Garage Demo) (Missing Lyrics)
- 31.Ride the Lightning (Boom Box Demo) (Missing Lyrics)
- 32.Blitzkrieg (Rhythm Track Rough Mix) (Missing Lyrics)
- 33.Am I Evil? (Rhythm Track Rough Mix) (Missing Lyrics)
- 34.Fight Fire with Fire (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA - Mar. 15th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 35.Ride the Lightning (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA - Mar. 15th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 36.Phantom Lord (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA - Mar. 15th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 37.The Four Horsemen (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA - Mar. 15th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 38.(Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA - Mar. 15th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 39.For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA - Mar. 15th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 40.No Remorse (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA - Mar. 15th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 41.Fade to Black (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA - Mar. 15th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 42.Creeping Death (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA - Mar. 15th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 43.Guitar Solo (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA - Mar. 15th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 44.Am I Evil? (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA - Mar. 15th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 45.Motorbreath (Live at Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, CA - Mar. 15th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 46.Phantom Lord (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK - Dec. 20th, 1984) (Missing Lyrics)
- 47.The Four Horsemen (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK - Dec. 20th, 1984) (Missing Lyrics)
- 48.(Anesthesia)-Pulling Teeth (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK - Dec. 20th, 1984) (Missing Lyrics)
- 49.For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK - Dec. 20th, 1984) (Missing Lyrics)
- 50.No Remorse (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK - Dec. 20th, 1984) (Missing Lyrics)
- 51.The Call of Ktulu (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK - Dec. 20th, 1984) (Missing Lyrics)
- 52.Seek & Destroy (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK - Dec. 20th, 1984) (Missing Lyrics)
- 53.Whiplash (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK - Dec. 20th, 1984) (Missing Lyrics)
- 54.Creeping Death (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK - Dec. 20th, 1984) (Missing Lyrics)
- 55.Guitar Solo (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK - Dec. 20th, 1984) (Missing Lyrics)
- 56.Metal Militia (Live at the Lyceum Theatre, London, UK - Dec. 20th, 1984) (Missing Lyrics)
- 57.Creeping Death (Live at Castle Donington, UK - Aug. 17th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 58.Ride the Lightning (Live at Castle Donington, UK - Aug. 17th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 59.For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at Castle Donington, UK - Aug. 17th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 60.The Four Horsemen (Live at Castle Donington, UK - Aug. 17th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 61.Fade to Black (Live at Castle Donington, UK - Aug. 17th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 62.Seek & Destroy (Live at Castle Donington, UK - Aug. 17th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 63.Whiplash (Live at Castle Donington, UK - Aug. 17th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
- 64.Motorbreath (Live at Castle Donington, UK - Aug. 17th, 1985) (Missing Lyrics)
Credits
Producers
Writers
Lead Guitar
Mastering Engineer
Rhythm Guitar
Bass
Vocals
Label
Drums
Engineer
Video Production Assistant
Recorded At
Sweet Silence Studios, Copenhagen, Capital Region, Denmark
Released on
July 27, 1984
Songs That Interpolate For Whom the Bell Tolls
For Whom the Bell Tolls Covers
For Whom The Bell Tolls by Spacecorpse, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Driving Mrs. Satan, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Irityll, For Whom The Bell Tolls by Trivium, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Idiots Rule, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Shotgun Remedy, For Whom The Bell Tolls by Portugal. The Man, For Whom The Bell Tolls by Limp Bizkit, For Whom The Bell Tolls by Scream Inc., For Whom the Bell Tolls by Rob Scallon, For Whom The Bell Tolls by Dark Age (Band), For Whom the Bell Tolls by Iron Fire, For Whom The Bell Tolls by Eric Bloom, F.W.T.B.T by Sunn O))), For Whom Michelle Tolls by Beatallica, Metallica Medley: For Whom The Bell Tolls/ Enter Sandman/ Master Of Puppets by Sum 41, For Whom the Bell Tolls by Apocalyptica & For Whom the Bell Tolls by Sabaton
For Whom the Bell Tolls Is A Remix Of
For Whom the Bell Tolls Remixes
For Whom the Bell Tolls Live Performances
For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA, 01/11/92) by Metallica, For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live - Phoenix 09.09.23) by Metallica, For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at Day On the Green, Oakland, CA, 10/12/91) by Metallica, For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at Tushino Airfield, Moscow, Russia, 09/28/91) by Metallica, For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live - Seattle ’89) by Metallica, For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at the Aragon Ballroom, Chicago, IL - May 25th, 1986) by Metallica, For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live) by Metallica & San Francisco Symphony, For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live at Rasputin Music, Berkeley, CA - Apr. 16th, 2016) by Metallica, For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live) by Metallica, For Whom The Bell Tolls ["One" single] by Metallica, For Whom the Bell Tolls [Live at Grimey's] by Metallica, For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live in Mexico City) by Metallica, For Whom the Bell Tolls [Freeze ’Em All] by Metallica & For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live with the SFSO) by Metallica (Ft. San Francisco Symphony)
For Whom the Bell Tolls Translations
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