"One" With War-A Musical Comparison to a Soldiers State of Mind

This here is a song that I think goes hand in hand with Tim O'brien's The Things They Carried and the stories we have all read so far. "One" is a power ballad by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released as the  worst  third and final single from their fourth album ...And Justice for All. This song is very popular among non-Metallica fans and some die hards, reaching 37 on Billboards Hot 100, making this the most played song from the album. Like "Fade to Black", and "Welcome Home (Sanitarium)", the song starts off slow and clean, but as the song goes on, becomes heavier and faster. Though easily looked over, I think this is a crucial element to the story being told, emphasizing how the the war outside and in starts slow and gradual, then not even aware themselves, begins to consume the men involved.

Set in World War I, the song is based on the idea of a soldier losing all of his limbs in a massive explosion during battle. Along with his limbs, the soldier loses his ability to see, speak, and hear.
The song goes on to paint the picture of this injured soldier and what it’s like for him to be trapped inside of his own head, it is a concept that is very hard to imagine but very parallel to O’brien’s ideas as well. In the beginning of the song you hear a voice say, “it is impossible for a decerebrated individual to experience pain pleasure memory dreams or thoughts of any kind. this young man will be as unfeeling and as unthinking as he did as the day he joined.” O’brien emphasizes a lot through out the novel, that there are many things that the men have in common but don’t necessarily share with one another verbally. This “trapped” concept provides a sense of and being closed off by the world and being surrounded by just what the men know, war. Therefore, it is not only a physical battle these men are fighting but also an ongoing war in these men’s minds. Whether or not James Hetfield realizes this greater truth to the theme of the song is unknown, yet brilliant all the same.

When you truly question this world you will see things are not what they seem and we are all in a complete state of confusion. The soldiers seem to have lost touch with who they really are and James Hetfield describes this in this quote:
''I can't remember anything Can't tell if this is true or dream. Deep down inside I feel the scream. This terrible silence stops it there.''

This line here describes the slave to war that the soldiers become during battle:
''Fed through the tube that sticks in me, Just like a wartime novelty. Tied to machines that make me be, Cut this life off from me.''

Finally the whole mind prison described in what it does to people, be honest with your self. The soldiers may not even see how lost they are:
'' Darkness imprisoning me, All that I see Absolute horror...I cannot live, I cannot die. Trapped in myself Body my holding cell.''

The soldiers are always in battle, and will continue to be even after the war is over. The only way out is by either being brainwashed and controlled or realizing truth. It's an endless struggle for the soldiers, both on the fighting grounds and in their mind.