Nothing Else Matters
While listening to a guitar and cello instrumental version of Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters,” it occurred to me, as I was “hearing” the words in my head, that “Nothing Else Matters” is a love song. When the instrumental version finished I went to my favorite cover of the song (it’s the one where the Finnish hillbillies play it on mountain instruments and then the dude with the wolf-hide hat steps out of a boat with his accordion and joins them for the solo) to listen closely to the words:
So close, no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters
To hear the words “and nothing else matters” sung in a minor key (e minor) makes it sound hopeless, but it’s really a lovesick song written by Metallica’s James Hetfield (vocals and rhythm guitar).
Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
The story goes that one day on tour while he was talking to his girlfriend on the phone and plucking his guitar and that’s what we hear as the beginning of Metallica’s version of the song. And then the chorus:
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know
Nothing else matters and I’ve never cared about this other stuff anyway. It’s a little simplistic in places (likely bullied by the rhyme as one of my poetry professors used to say about awkward wording to make a rhyme work) but I dig the idea that there’s a world between him and his girlfriend that is what matters to him.
I never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words, I don't just say
And nothing else matters
Hearing the words to this tune for the first time in an instrumental version would be something to write about sometime, but I’m really digging the model this song presents as a way to know how to focus my time and energy, to not get caught up in “never cared for what they do / never cared for what they know,” because, “I know” what matters to me and nothing else matters.
This seems heavy handed and preachy. I should probably spend more time with it before publishing.
These things too inspired me recently:
“Nine habits to increase your energy” - maybe you’re super energized, but I’m trying to apply several of these right now.
“Steve Jobs Said 1 Thing Separates Successful People From Everyone Else (and Will Make All the Difference In Your Life)” - It’s a very simple concept and I like how Jobs frames it so there’s really no excuse to not do the thing that matters to you.
“The Problem With Southern Accents” - I grew up in Arkansas and so I’m fully aware of the many beautiful people with thick accents and when our bias gets in the way of understanding what they’re saying. Oh, it’s a comedy sketch where three southerners walk into a bar…
“Renewed Intuition” - I really dig this lyric short film of a woman commuting on a bicycle in Paris while a man narrates a poem about her. It’s part of a series developed by Brooks Saddles (bicycle seats).
“How to Vote in Every State” - This is a cool YouTube channel that explains voting in every state.