Metallica: Enter Sandman Meaning
Song Released: 1991
Enter Sandman Lyrics
Don't forget, my son
To include everyone
I tuck you in, warm within
Keep you free from sin
Till the Sandman he comes
Sleep with one eye open
Gripping your pillow tight
Exit light
Enter night
Take my...
-
1TOP RATED
#1 top rated interpretation:I believe it is simply about a child's nightmares and fears, and about how all we have to fear is fear itself (It's just the beasts under your bed, in your closet, IN YOUR HEAD).
-
2TOP RATED
#2 top rated interpretation:This song is linked to many meanings. The way I feel is this song has to do with faith. just listen to what I have to say. The way I take it is how we are taught to be scared of going to hell and that you must pray and believe in god or else bad things will happen, like sandman killing you.
The child is praying to god, he is scared of sandman, which is a creature that takes away children in their sleep, and its about how we are scared into believing. and it is a child because children are very influencable, and it is most little children that are taught to be scared of going to hell, and it is bullshit that we are taught that if you don't believe and obey what god says, you will die. You won't be good enough. this song does not rule out Metallica's faith though.
I am not saying they don't believe, or that they do, and I'm not saying that they worship satan or anything as to their beliefs. so don't twist my words and use them to lie. I'm just telling you what I think the song is about, and I am showing my beliefs, but not saying that is the bands belief. and don't rate the song or this interpretation as bad just because you believe something different than I do. The facts are there, and others will see the song differently, and thats fine. -
3TOP RATED
#3 top rated interpretation:Pure and simple people, it's about dreaming and nightmares.... Where the hell does the Sandman fall into faith? The Sandman brings on sleeping and dreaming, not a stairway to heaven or a highway to hell...
-
It perfectly describes the horror of childhood sexual abuse, mirroring experience of close family member when he was a child in bed at night. 1 in 6 boys, 1 in 4 girls
-
The entire meaning of the song changes to anyone who understands One Eye Symbolism.
"Sleep with one eye open"
One eye is an Illuminati symbol, meaning the person with one eye covered or one eye open is only aware of the material world & totally blind to the spiritual reality around them.
Look up One Eye Symbolism to see it's a common satanic symbol.
And "sleeping" is often a term the Illuminati use to describe the sleepwalking masses who are deceived & unaware.
The sandman is satan and he comes to put him to sleep (with one eye open) which means he becomes deceived/indoctrinated by society.
From that point forward, his thoughts are negative and he's troubled.
It's telling the story we all go through in life. We begin life closer to God but enter a sleepwalking state, thanks to the indoctrination of society, and we begin to only care about materialism, money, survival of the fittest, etc... and forget what is morally right. -
About the loss of innocence.
-
Its about how you can't shelter your children from pain, they're bound to feel and experience it. Yes you can protect your kids from nightmares but what about death and disease?
This is where all the religion talk comes in place. The storyteller places god as an important part of the child's life, this is made abundantly clear. Perhaps the reason to this is because he knows that he himself cannot protect the child from everything, so he looks to a higher power to do so.
The song is pretty much straightforward when it comes to meaning. Straightforward lyrics arent commonly seen in metal music which is why I suspect this song became really well known. -
Everyone forgets the legend of peter pan in all of this. not very many know of this. peter pan was once known as an angel that took children to never never land while they were asleep. never never land was a heaven for children that is why they never grew up.
-
This song is about us all. All of the people of the world. We are addressed in the first line of the song lyrics. "Say your prayers, little one." We are little one. (Not knowing much, not strong, not capable of facing this) Say your prayers, I think it is a way of saying kiss your life as you knew it, goodbye. "Don't forget my son, to Include Everyone." This means that this source of evil is after all . No one human is excluded from this . What is it? It is the machine. The financial force of those calling the shots in the Growing World Government at their present time this song was produced. They are the Giant tractor trailer truck chasing us. Moving at its rapid pace ,crushing and destroying everything in its path. They have designed this world of fear in which terror was installed by use of CIA tactics around the world. Put us in a state of fear, or a living nightmare, if you will. We face this everyday ,and with every corner we turn we are hit with a new Ruling or Order to obey. The Sandman is here now. He has been doing a great job keeping us all segregated , and maintaining the chaos, and disorder of the Human beings of the planet. "EXIT light" . Goodbye light, goodbye goodness. "ENTER NIGHT" . Hello darkness, Disease, Death. "Take my hand, off to never never land." join me as I am the one corrupting element in the body of all humanity. this has been growing and growing ever since this song, which was released just as Iraq was being invaded and all oil was taken over by the New World Order. We have all been fooled, put to sleep , deceived, dreaming, while these crucial moves have taken place throughout the past 20 years. Played right into their hands with the taxes , laws , lies, and terrorism. Enter Sandman .
-
I think it's about a child who's having nightmares. The parent comforts him/her by lulling them to sleep ("Take my hand, off to Never Never Land.") Freaking Masterpiece. One of my favorites, besides "Raining Blood" by Slayer (mah fav band!) and "Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zeppelin. :33
-
Honestly, I'm not big on metal. But you don't need to be a fan of metal to see "Enter Sandman" as the genuine masterpiece that it really is. Great works of art should be identified by their ability to capture the imagination and invoke our own creative ability to interpret their meaning. "Enter Sandman" is absolutely one of them. The sound of the music that stands on its own merit so matches the mood of the message. In my most humble opinion, this work ranks among other musical masterpeices such as Beethoven's Fifth, and among icons that emanate from other artforms such as the Mona Lisa, King Lear, and Cassablanca. Literally, its about children's nightmares - but whether intended or not - its implications extend beyond the universe.
-
its about nightmares, but the prayer illustrates how religion does not protect many kids, and is often infact part of the nightmare (child molestation/ forced marrage / psycological abuse)
-
I have listened to this and have looekd at the video and its about a child in bed who is scared about the so called boogeyman or their nightmares coming true!
-
I can understand the interpertation regarding people needs to fear from fear itself, or just the requirement of fear in life.
I also believe it can regard to drug use in many ways. I can definetly see references to very bad trips and hillucinations. -
This song is about nightmares.
The first verse talks about the mother or father putting a child to sleep.
The chorus is about the child being terrified before driving off to sleep.
In the next verse the child wakes with a start and runs to flip on the light.
The child tries to sleep again with the light on but it still scared out of their mind during the chorus.
Then during the bridge the father comes in and says a bedtime prayer with his child and tells him everything is all okay and that it is in his head.
And then there is the chorus out where the child still can not sleep. What scared them? We can only imagine. ;) -
i think this song is about the self induced nightmares that people put themselves in.for instance some people talk themselves into believing nothing is fair or that people are against them "dreams of wars dreams of lies.." like when you are a child you believe there is a monster under your bed and you are scared but their is nothing there.when people believe something is true the feelings accompany their belief whether the belief is true or not.
-
I believe that it is about secrets within a family... Serious ones. So the child has overheard something and asks his father about said thing, the father reassures the child that everything will be ok then prays with him ( now I lay me down to sleep... ) he then leaves the room and closes the door behind him and snaps. He kills his wife and child and all is over! (or something along those lines! The reason I know this is that hetfeild once said something similar in an interview!
-
I have to agree that it has the vague resemblance of a "memory" and find it tantalizing that if played backward you can hear snake because I think this song is a perfect portrayal of our most ancient and primitive instints or fears...the fear of the dark; the unknown, and how as adults we are just as vulnerable to harm when asleep, as children.
While a "fear of the dark" is irrational, for there are no beasts in the closet nor under the bed, the "beast" is somewhat of a mythical archetype deeply rooted in our psyche and is as old as the sands of time to when we were beasts of the land.
Also, mention of a dragon, snow white, the sandman and nevernever land indicate stories that were intended to describe these primordial fears in reletive ways that have been adapted to cultural changes throughout the ages.
Dragon fire could represent the warmth, light, and protection that a fire gives in the night to, perhaps, a nomatic hunter/gatherer clan.
Snow white represents innocence within a deep slumber unaware of the dangers that lurk in the night...she is completely vulnerable to predators.
The sandman is the initiator of sleep and describes the anticipation of when gritty eyes will close, thus becoming blind in the dark.
Nevernever land indicates that in sleep we are just as innocent and vulnerable as a child which "include[s] everyone."
The most creepy part is when the child recites a prayer which is mimicked by the singer but is meant to provoke a sence of protection, I believe. A parent "sleeps with one eye open" when their children are home as to be alerted to any danger that may ensue in the night such as the prayer is also meant to pray for protection from danger while you sleep and brings a sense of comfort, that while drifting into slumber, someone is watching over you.
Dreams of war, dreams of liars, represent the nightmares of reality and how reality often transpires within the dream. Dreams are thought to be the brains attempt to process and store our perception of reality into memories. However, nightmares also are "defense mechanisms" meant to arouse us from deep sleep where we experience paralysis of the limbs and cannot hear if danger is near.
Nightmares, I believe, were necessary to our survival as a species and I wonder if our ancestors experienced nightmares more frequently than we do today. Perhaps it is an evolutionary "memory" deeply engrained in the amygdala that Metallica was able to transcribe into music, something also primitively engrained, to communicate a message that everyone can really feel with this song!
Side note: this is not a good tune to jam after your child had nightmares of tigers the previous night.
It hit me right at "nevermind that noise you heard..." Oh, crap! And quickly turned it off.
More Metallica songs »
Latest Articles
-
A new era for Millennial favorite, Linkin Park -
Anime to watch for the soundtracks… and other reasons you’re undateable -
.jpg)
Dolly, we need you -
The Stranger Things Effect: How new media is drawing Gen Z and Alpha's attention to aging media -
The most underrated soundtrack of the early 2000s -
Buy the Soundtrack, Skip the Movie: Brainscan (1994)
Trending:
Blog posts mentioning Metallica
Return of the Unique One-Hit Wonder Stories 
Lyric Interpretations' Rock Picks For A Beggar's Night Playlist 
Suicide Songs 
Even Rock Stars Go Through An Awkward Phase 
The birds and the bees...Bands with weird animal names 
Fan Polarities in Music 
Why Do We Hate Some Bands and Artists? 
Cover Me Bad - Eight hit songs that nobody knows are cover versions Just Posted
| Live Forever | anonymous |
| Space Oddity | anonymous |
| Remind You | anonymous |
| You've Got A Friend | anonymous |
| Austin | anonymous |
| Bel Air | anonymous |
| Firefly | anonymous |
| My Medicine | anonymous |
| Orphans | anonymous |
| Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) | anonymous |
| A Whole New World (End Title) | anonymous |
| Eyes Closed | anonymous |
| The Phrase That Pays | anonymous |
| Montreal | anonymous |
| Moonlight | anonymous |
