Am I Savage? Lyrics
Run away, the past will bite again
Ooooh
No matter where you dwell
You
Here again, a captive of the howl
You
Welcome back to hell
Beauty and the beast are colliding
Deepened seed soaks anger's reign
Arching back, shape-shift derange
Father, how I watched you change
Scratching at the door
Am I savage?
I don't recognize you anymore
Tooth is fang, twisting under skin
Ooooh
Foul tongue, black breath
Change
Snap inside, the beast about complete
Change
Soon infects the rest
Beauty and the beast are colliding
Deepened seed soaks anger's reign
Arching back, shape-shift derange
Father, how I watched you change
Scratching at the door
Am I savage?
I don't recognize you anymore
Inheritance, the past has bit again
Ooooh
The next heir of anarchy
Feel
Stretching skin so far beyond belief
I feel
The ever changing, you, in me
Scratching at the door
Am I savage?
Howling evermore
Am I savage?
I don't recognize you anymore
Anymore
Anymore
Am I savage?
Watching the video and listening to the lyrics I believe that the song is about what ever man goes through in their lives at one point or another when you start to question yourself and your own life and self-worth.
You have a family and try to do the right thing even though you are not happy with your life. You feel responsible to the others (or relationship you are in) and see no way to create a balance to your needs and the families. You are being eaten from the inside and eventually you break and inner beast takes over. Whether that be an affair, alcohol, drugs or divorce
I believe all men come to this cross-roads sometime in the life and have to make a decision....Be miserable and die a slow painful death or be happy and be who you were meant to be, the Alpha Male!
@theDogger Wanted to add
@theDogger Wanted to add
also as men grow older look in the mirror and see their dreams slipping away the anger and frustration grows and it bleeds out into the family before it becomes so toxic
also as men grow older look in the mirror and see their dreams slipping away the anger and frustration grows and it bleeds out into the family before it becomes so toxic
Call it your mid-life crisis
Call it your mid-life crisis
Question is do you cower in or release the beast to your own deepest desires!
Question is do you cower in or release the beast to your own deepest desires!
Metallica seems to revisit several themes they've done before on Hardwired to Self Destruct, making new interpretations or continuations of old songs. Thematically, this song reminds me of a darker version of "Of Wolf and Man" from the "Black" album. Obviously, both songs involve werewolves. However, where "Of Wolf and Man" was a little chilling lyrically, it didn't seem dark to me. Am I savage definitely has a darker vibe - something the afflicted person can't control. The werewolves of "Of Wolf and Man" seemed in control and able to regulate their change whereas the creature of Am I Savage seems out of control, ready to inflict mindless pain, even on those it loves.
I don't recognize you anymore...
I have to admit, that gives me a little bit of a shiver.
I'm surprised there's not more discussion about this song. I think it's a clear allusion to "Of Wolf and Man", and that indicates strongly what this song is about. "Of Wolf and Man" was about seeking "the wolf in thyself", of connecting with inner primality and embracing "the wild", complete with a quote from Thoreau's "walking", his treatise on reconnecting with the wild, uncontrolled world we live in. In this follow up, it seems the main character is now questioning whether he is a tame, civil being who was exploring wildness, or a wild, uncontrolled being attempting to be tame and civil. The context seems to be in regards to being a father and "passing on" the wildness to children. Hetfield alludes to a bit of a troublesome wild streak in various songs, like "The Thorn Within". There's also a a sense that a child is seeing the wildness in the father and fearing it. they don't recognize him. I think there's some allusion here to how some people transform under the influence of alcohol and become abusive, only for their children to grow up and do the same- a perpetuating cycle. It's deep stuff, and I think this one has more meaning layered into it than most Metallica songs. And it's Hetfield and Metallica, so... werewolves are metal, why not use that.
To me this song is about alcohol abuse/addiction.
And a relationship between a father and a son.
My father was an OK father, when sober. He looked normal. Like a wolf, in this song.
When he was drunk, the expression in his face turned and he raged. Into a werewolf, of sorts.
I couldn't recognize him, he was terrifying. I was only 5-6, (I think) since conciousness/awareness didn't "kick" in earlier, lol...
My parents divorced when I was 12, just about or had hit puberty etc.
Here I am, turning into the werewolf myself at the ripe age of 34.
Just my interpretation, seeing as Daddy Hetfield & Jaymz himself also struggled with alcohol.