Set The World Afire
Anarchy In The U.K.
Mary Jane
502
In My Darkest Hour
Liar
Hook In Mouth
More info on this time period
Into The Lungs Of Hell; possibly started out being called Quicksand
Although this song is a completely instrumental one, I, along with
several other people, believe that it tells a story all the same.
What I and those other people agree on is that the main character
is some guy who goes down to hell ( possibly by dying, possibly by
finding some sort of mythological entrance somewhere, and he fights
with the demons that he encounters and beats them using his skills.
After a while of this, he is challenged by a greater demon,
possibly Satan himself, and though he does all he can to try to
beat this demon, he loses and dies. Then again, that's just what I
and a few other people get out of it.
( No Lyrics )
Set The World Afire; origonally called Burnt Offerings
As one of the angrier songs that Megadeth has ever done, this one is
about a nuclear war. The timeframe of the song is actually after the
war itself, but probably not too long after. There are a few quotes in
the song. One is from Einstein, when he was pushing for Roosevelt to
put more funding into the Manhattan Project ( the secret group which
developed the bomb ). The other is a quote from the origonal leaflet
that gave Dave the idea for the name of the band ( 'the arsenal of
mega-death can't be rid, they say' ).
They said it'd never come; we knew it was a lie.
All forms of life die now; the humans all succumb.
Time to kiss your ass goodbye; the end has just begun.
Distorted figures walk the street, it's 1999.
Weeds once underneath your feet have grown to vines.
Bodies melted like a candle, a land without a face.
No time to change your fate, no time left; it's too late.
The arsenal of mega-death can't be rid, they say;
and if it comes, the living will envy the dead.
Racing for power, and all come in last.
No winning first stone cast.
This falsehood worldly peace;
its treaties soon will cease.
Nothing will be left to prove that humans existed.
Maybe soon the children will be born open fisted.
We all live on one planet; it will all go up in smoke.
Too bad they couldn't see this lethal energy,
and now the final scene; a global darkening.
Dig deep the piles of rubble and ruins
towering overhead both far and wide.
There's unknown tools for World War III;
Einstein said 'We'll use rocks on the other side.'
No survivors... Set the world afire.
'How can these guys say these things and get away with it?' is
reportedly what went through the minds of the members of Megadeth
when they first heard the Sex Pistols. Although when it came to
covering one of their songs, there was some indecision ( Dave wanted
to do Problems, everyone else wanted Anarchy ) they finally came to
an agreement. Additionally, they got the bonus of recording the song
with an ex-Sex Pistol, Steve Jones. Steve, as payment, wanted $100
and 'some suction,' but Dave, the story goes, gave Steve $1000 and a
telephone book and told him to go out and find some himself. For some
unresolved reason, there are several differences in Megadeth's
version of the lyrics. It is possible that Dave couldn't understand
Sid through his English accent, or it could be that Dave did it on
purpose. Whatever the case, it evidently hasn't mattered much to the
fans, and Anarchy has been one of the band's encore songs since 1989.
I am an anti-Christ, and I am an anarchist.
Don't know what I want, but I know how to get it;
I want to destroy, possibly?
Cause I wan to be anarchy... No dog's body.
Anarchy for the U.K.;
it's coming some time, it may be.
I give a wrong time, stop a traffic light.
Your future dream is a shopping spree.
Cause I want to be anarchy...
It's the only way to be!
Is this the M.P.L.A.?
Is this the U.D.A.?
Is this the I.R.A.?
I thought it was the U.K.,
or just another country with other cunt-like tendancies.
Cause I want to be anarchy, cause I want to be anarchy...
You know what I mean.
Cause I want to be an anarchist!
Again, I'm pissed... Destroy!
Though some people would like to believe it, this song is not about
marijuana. It is about a girl, named Mary Jane, who participates in
witchcraft. But she gets scared and tries to get out of it. She
goes to her father to confess and try to get his support and help,
but instead of doing any of that, her father ( a superstitious
man ) takes her out into the forest and buries her alive. Not a nice
story, but again, it is one of those from Dave's own experiences
with the occult; about how he got scared and took himself out of
the loop.
I'm a child of the air, I'm a witch of the wind.
And I'm still wide awake.
Mary Jane!
From the earth, up through the trees;
I can hear her calling me.
Her vioce rides on the breeze;
oh, it's haunting me.
No, I can't get away.
No, there's no escape.
If I know I'm going crazy,
I must not be insane.
Beware my friends, as you pass by;
as you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so you must be;
prepare my friends to follow me.
Forgive me father, for I have sinned;
I'm a child of the air,
I'm a witch of the wind.
Fingers gripping around my brain;
no control, my mind is lame.
I'm in the astral plane and I'll never be the same;
never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never!
Beware my friends, as you pass by;
as you are now, so once was I.
As I am now, so yuo must be;
prepare my friends to follow me!
It hurts so bad, I can't breath.
Prepare to follow me!
The number 502 is the police code for driving under the influence.
When Dave found that he needed to do something to get a new sort of
high, that was what he did. I don't know exactly why. But he was
most likely arrested for his activities. This is a song about his
feelings and experiences while he was doing his driving.
Full tank, pockets lined with cash.
Full throttle; gonna rip some ass.
Drive all day and through the night;
romance the rode winding left to right.
The stars will guide me, the moonlight is free.
A feeling inside me and the whole world to see.
Driving fast makes me feel good;
the speed of light trapped under my hood.
Breaking laws cause there's nothing to do;
driving the interstate, stopped for a 502.
Hundreds of miles rolled off today;
signs lose their meanings, minutes tick away.
Dirt roades to interstates; I must have drove them all;
cigarettes and burgers, caffine and alcohol.
Drive the freeway; always on the go.
Life on the freeway; night shift to dawn patrol.
Driving fast makes me feel good;
the speed of light trapped under my hood.
Breaking laws cause there's nothing to do.
Driving on the interstate, stopped for a 502.
Stopped for a 502, next time it's gonna be you!
Stars above guide me, this feeling inside me.
I drive until daybreak.
Life on the freeway is hell.
I'm coming through!
When Dave was in Metallica, he was not around Cliff Burton
for very long, since Ron McGovney was there for most of the time that
Dave was but Dave had been with Cliff for a while. Cliff died in a bus
accident while Metallica was touring in 1988. This is a song about
living through the news that Cliff was dead. As additional lyrics, when
the band played this song on the So Far, So Good, So What! and Rust In
Peace tours, Dave finished the song off with 'rest in peace, Cliff.' He
doesn't do it anymore though.
And though I reached out for you, wouldn't lend a hand.
Through the darkest hour, grace did not shine on me.
Feels so cold, very cold; no one cares for me.
Did you ever think I get lonely,
did you ever thing that I needed love,
did you ever think to stop thinking;
you're the only one that I'm thinking of.
You'll never know how hard I tried
to find my space and satisfy you too.
Things will be better when I'm dead and gone.
Don't try to understand; knowing you,
I'm probably wrong.
But oh, how I lived my life for you;
still you'd turn away.
Now, as I die for you
my flesh still crawls as I breath your name.
All these years thought I was wrong,
now I know it was you.
Raise you head, raise your face, your eyes;
tell me who you think you are.
I walk.
I walk alone.
To the promised land.
There's a better place for me,
but it's far, far away.
Everlasting life for me in a perfect world.
But I've got to die first;
please, God, set me on my way.
Time has a way of taking time,
and loneliness is not only felt by fool.
Alone, I call to ease the pain;
yearning to be held by you.
Alone,
so alone,
I'm lost.
Consumed by the pain.
The pain, the pain, the pain,
won't you hold me again?
You just laughed, haha... Bitch!
My whole life is work built on the past,
but the time has come when all things shall pass.
This good thing's passed away.
Chris Poland was kicked out of the band for stealing a few of Dave's
guitars, which he then sold to buy drugs for himself. Chris told Dave
that there had been a break-in at the studio and that someone else had
stolen the guitars. But Dave found out the truth soon enough. This is
a song about that
Lie, steal, cheat and kill, a real bad guy.
Your daddy is a wino and your mommy's quite insane.
From altar boy to sewer rat; you don't give a damn.
Your sister's a junkie, she gets 'it' any way she can.
Your brother's a gay singer in a leather stud band.
Your girlfriend's got herpes to go with your hep and AIDS.
There ain't one person you know you ain't ripped of yet.
Look deep in the mirror; look deep into its eyes.
Your face is replaced; a creature you despise.
But I know what you're made of;
it ain't much, I'm afraid.
I know you'll be lyig until your dying day.
Make up your stories; the truth's so hard to say.
Brain is numb and your tongue will surely dig your grave.
Your mind is sickly from Alzheimer's Disease,
and decadence and debauchery killed your memories.
You're a liar, liar, liar;
everyone can see.
Liar, liar, liar;
it's all you'll ever by.
Liar, liar, liar;
it's what you mean to me.
Liar, liar, lies!
Start trouble, spread pain; piss and venom in your veins.
Talk nasty, breath fire, smell rotten; you're a lair.
Sweat liquor, breath snot, eat garbage, spit blood.
Diseased; health hazard. Scum bag; filthy bastard.
Greasy face; teeth decay. Hair matted; drunk all day.
Abscessed; sunken veins. Rot gut; scrambled brains.
Steal money, crash cars, rob jewelry, hock guitars.
Rot in hell, it's time, you know;
to your master, off you go!
You're a liar.
A fucking liar.
Filthy liar.
Liar.
Argh, you fucking liar!
Liar.
This is the song that landed this album with an explicit lyrics
sticker. Not because there are any explicit lyrics in the song, but
because every word of it is against the PMRC; the organization which
is in charge of deeming whether or not an album should get a sticker.
By making a song about how bad the PMRC is, the album was fated to end
up with a sticker. But at least it got its point across, since the
PMRC felt the need to censor Megadeth's free speach against them.
a courthouse tan, and beady eyes.
A slouch with fallen arches
purging truths into great lies.
A little man with a big eraser changing history.
Procedures that he's programmed to
in all he hears and sees.
Altering the facts and figures, events and every issue;
if you make a person dissapear, no one will ever miss you.
Re-writes every story, every poem that ever was.
Eliminates incompetence and those who break the laws.
Follow the instructions of the New Ways' Evil Book Of Rules.
Replacing rights with wrongs, the files and records in the schools.
You say you've got the answers, well who asked you anyway?
Ever think that maybe it was meant to be this way.
Don't try to fool us, we know the worst is yet to come.
I believe my kingdom will come.
( chorus )
'F' is for fighting,
'R' is for red ancestor's blood in battles they've shed.
'E' we elect them,
'E' we eject them in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
'D' is for your dying,
'O,' your overture;
'M,' they will cover your grave with manure.
This spells out 'Freedom,'
it means nothing to me as long as there's a PMRC.
( repeat chorus, but replace
''M' they will cover your grave with manure' with
''M' is for money, you now what that cures' )
( repeat chorus as it was origonally )
Put your hand right up my shirt;
pull the strings that make me work.
Jaws will part and words fall out,
like a fish with hook in mouth.
Re-writes every story, every poem that ever was;
eliminates incompetance and those who break the laws.
Follow the instructions of the New Ways' Evil Book Of Rules,
replacing rights with wrongs, files and records in the schools.
I'm not a fish; I'm a man! Hook in mouth!
beadil@trend1.com jsimmons@compassnet.com
