Talk:One (Metallica song)

Original research
The policy on original research is outlined in WP:NOR. ⟳ ausa کui × 23:21, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

more honors
I think Rolling Stone put it on some top 100 lists.... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 96.237.136.170 (talk) 01:27, 27 February 2011 (UTC)

ultima 5
the song that plays on u5 amiga version is almost 1:1 to the intro of "one" except it's slightly more refined and suits the theme of the game better. the game appeared 1988 but the amiga port was published later so it's likely inspired by "one". (Anyone have any dates to shed light to this?) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.237.74.199 (talk) 22:20, 16 May 2012 (UTC)

Description of the video = POV?
"Like many metal videos, 'One' puts a great deal of emphasis on the performance of the band members as musicians. However, unlike glam metal videos (such as Poison's 'Nothing But A Good Time') Metallica's performance does not present their performance as a fantastic spectacle filled with bright colors, stage antics, and live excitement. Instead, the video features the band members in a presumably abandoned warehouse, in tight formation around Lars Ulrich's drum kit, as if in rehearsal. Moreover, the many shots of the guitarists' left hands playing chords or riffs and Ulrich's hands or feet playing various drum techniques all work to present Metallica (and by extension Metallica's version of metal) as real musicians." This paragraph was removed by Arm as POV. I don't see the point for that. It's simply a description of the video. Yeah, the phrase "real musicians" is quite peacock and needs rewording, but deleting the whole paragraph seems a little bit excessive to me. (I'm simplily re-adding the first three sentences, until somebody finds a better way to express the last one.) --Army1987 17:31, 29 September 2005 (UTC)
 * "It shows many shots of the guitarists' left hands playing chords or riffs and Ulrich's hands or feet playing various drum techniques." It sounds like a good compromise. --Army1987 17:36, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

My use of the phrase "real musicians" was not intended to be peacock. I'm the last person with any interest in blindly celebrating Metallica. Still, the notion that Metallica's music was made by "real musicians" was (and is) a very important part of the band's own marketing, and it plays a major role in their success with metal fans. The video for "One" highlights the importance of "musicianship" as a cultural concept, and in the context of '80s MTV metal videos it's quite different than "Nothin' But A Good Time". It's that difference that I was trying to explain in the original bit. --Pillsbur 16:51, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Two of the three versions of the One music video appear on 2 of One
(That's got to be one of the funniest things I've heard in awhile) I just cleaned up the article, added a lot of information and a infobox. Justice album cover and a shot from the music video are on there two.

Description of One played live
There is no need of saying that song is played one semitone down becaose since load all of the songs played live are tuned one semitone down MetalCro 23:54, 10 March 2007 (UTC)

"One" a ballad?
Some idiot on "The Unforgiven" page called "One" a ballad. What think?
 * It's not quite a ballad, but it's much softer rock than Metallica's regular stuff. I'd call it progressive metal, since it starts out quiet and soft, and builds up overtime and is heavy and loud by the end.
 * --Rock Soldier 02:47, 24 May 2007 (UTC)


 * I think it's a power ballad, but emphasis on the POWER. Silver The Slammer (talk) 14:29, 1 April 2008 (UTC)

"One" is, without a doubt, a ballad. It's reasonably slow (as per one definition), is 100% romantic (of, characterized by, or suggestive of an idealized view of reality; i.e., "One" is literally an anti-war song, you can't get much more romantic than that), its sentimentality can't be denied, and it tells a story (as per the other definition of 'ballad'). Kaolincash (talk) 12:22, 26 April 2020 (UTC)

A-G
The article says something about A-G chord thing. But I think some signature riff of the song is in B-G progression? Geminivenom 12:23, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

Second that. First bar is B minor, second bar is G with a major 7th. Also, the article states that the song is in 6/8 time, which it isn't. The opening riff is in 4/4 (with a bar of 2 at 0:34 and 0:52); It goes into 3/4 when the acoustic guitars come in at 1:13; then goes back into 4 at 3:34. Not that changing time sigs is particularly unusual in this kind of music.Phosph (talk) 23:10, 27 December 2008 (UTC)phosph.

I have changed it to B-G Hookemnate (talk) 02:07, 4 June 2010 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Metallica ONE.jpg
Image:Metallica ONE.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

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BetacommandBot 07:59, 7 November 2007 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Metallica ONE.jpg
Image:Metallica ONE.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 19:35, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

'Concept' Section
"One is based on war. The overall concept of the song is the pain people who are wounded in war go through, and how they wish it was a dream of which they could wake from and they'd be relieved. The song was also inspired by the movie 'Johnny Got his Gun.'"

Isn't the song DIRECTLY based off Johnny Got His Gun, and the BOOK, not the movie? It just seems like with their background of music based off literature, that's more likely. --George The Man (talk) 18:18, 30 January 2008 (UTC)


 * Plus, some of the lyrics almost mirror phrases from the book. Read it and see. -- Too Lazy to Login —Preceding unsigned comment added by 12.161.83.17 (talk) 03:10, 25 October 2008 (UTC)

From What I Know
The concept is a soldier who lost most of his body. He couldn't see, speak, or hear. All he knew was pain. Hence the lines:

Landmine has taken my sight Taken my speech Taken my hearing Taken my arms Taken my legs Taken my soul Left me with life in hell

I changed it accordingly. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.76.168.122 (talk) 23:15, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Metallica One sample.ogg
Image:Metallica One sample.ogg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to ensure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images lacking such an explanation can be deleted one week after being tagged, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot (talk) 14:33, 8 March 2008 (UTC)

Power Ballad?
This song sounds quite a bit like a power ballad, would it be appropriate to refer to it as one? Zazaban (talk) 22:31, 29 September 2008 (UTC)

No....don't be a moron. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 72.13.129.156 (talk) 10:35, 19 January 2009 (UTC)


 * A power ballad kind of gives an emotional theme, while containing stuff like hard rock. Although "One" doesn't quite give that emotional theme, not at all.Jonah Ray Cobbs 01:56, 19 May 2009 (UTC)JRC3
 * A power ballad example is "Fade to Black".Jonah Ray Cobbs 01:56, 19 May 2009 (UTC)JRC3 —Preceding unsigned comment added by JRC3 (talk • contribs)

Helicopters?
I am a bit confused about this. The song is about a soldier heavily wounded in WWI, yet you clearly can hear helicopters. How can that be if the helicopters were never used in WWI as the whole helicopter thing was just in an infant stage? Norum (talk) 10:37, 9 April 2009 (UTC)
 * No one's supposed to think about it that hard. 3pointswish (talk) 01:36, 25 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I guess Americans will buy any non sense... Norum (talk) 00:30, 30 October 2009 (UTC)

And? Its about war in general, the heli thing could be a reference to vietnam, which i suppose would be easier for listeners to relate to.86.16.163.55 (talk) 01:25, 4 January 2010 (UTC)

Black & White?
The article states that most of the video is in Black & white, but it's actually just heavily desaturated, not quite black & white.Winterdenni (talk) 10:15, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

Why it was their first music video
I'd love it if an editor could find a good source quoting the band, in the Master of Puppets (or before) time frame, about never wanting to make a music video. This site typically states that the band had never wanted to make a music video, but it's far from a reliable source, and doesn't discuss why (some combination of (a) MTV not wanting them, and (b) the band's rejection of "MTV mainstream crap"). As several of the band members have individually claimed, the mainstream moved toward them. If this can be sourced well, it deserves at least a brief mention in the Metallica article itself, and certainly also in ...And Justice for All (album). I'm having trouble finding a good source and I suspect the best source is going to be a physical copy of a metal magazine containing an interview from the Ride the Lightning or Puppets days. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:37, 29 June 2010 (UTC)

Art- how it borrows and says something abou the time
Written to stir the US in WWI, OVER THERE, by George M. Cohen was a classic nationalistic anthem. Then in 1939 just before the outbreak of WWII, the novel, Johney Got His Gun, was written to illistarte the hororrs of war. The original song was brought toa horrid conclusion. Then as the Vietnam War raged A film was made based on the book. Finally to bring the circle around Matalica created a rock classic based on the film, based on the book, which was written to answer a song. This is a great way to track US sentiment and art based on war i the modern era. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.24.48.83 (talk) 06:59, 17 March 2011 (UTC)

To make the connection more clear, the song OVER THERE starts with the line  "Johnny get your gun, get your gun, get your gun" PatConolly (talk) 07:05, 27 November 2017 (UTC)

Song and Johnny Got His Gun
I've not been able to find any definitive cites, but I do remember distinctly seeing and hearing Ulrich speaking about the coincidence between One and Johnny Got His Gun (the book and movie). He, and I suppose Hetfield as he implied, wrote the song without ever knowing about the book or movie, until 'someone' mentioned it. I don't know if any part of the song was changed after they read the book or saw the movie.

Also, I remember well, someone in Metallica, or perhaps a narrator of some sort, mentioned that in order to get the film clips into the music video (or perhaps to get a "good deal"), the band purchased the film outright. I haven't found anything for a cite yet on that. Jimcripps (talk) 04:13, 4 September 2011 (UTC)

The story behind this is a bit contradictory; a lot of sources say that they purchased the entire movie for $1,000,000 US. "According to Metallica", the band purchased specific sections that they were to use in their music video. Unfortunately, the best source I have is "Metallifacts" from the video game Guitar Hero: Metallica. Styk0n (talk) 04:50, 3 June 2012 (UTC)Styk0n

The part in the "song" section which states time signature
I changed the statement saying the song changes in time signature, "from 4/4 to 3/4 to 2/2 (double time)" (not exact quote). Who the Hell wrote this? The song is standard 4/4 for the entire song, there is no section where it changes to 3/4, and 2/2 is half time, not "double time", as the person who wrote that, put it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Styk0n (talk • contribs) 09:24, 17 May 2012 (UTC)

Umm ya dude you're completely wrong in every way. First, Wikipedia should change what the time signature is to something a little more complex. It starts out in 4/4 for 7 bars with a tagged 2/4 then another 7 bars then 2/4. Drums enter and its the same thing except the eighth bar has the same idea as those 2/4 bars but its doubled making it 4/4 and wait for it........... it goes into 3/4!!!! my god crazy huh? I'm not going into more details because there is some other stuff. O ya and 2/2 is known as cut time or double time. Half time is technically 8/8 but no one uses that. You might want to Wikipedia this since your here. Here is a tip, next time you listen to "one" you should try something new....count :) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Drumkid2370 (talk • contribs) 06:18, 4 September 2012 (UTC)

I agree this song is definitely not in 4/4 throughout the entire song. I went ahead and edited the section. I didn't go into much detail as this song changes time quite often. 24.5.215.41 (talk) 03:37, 10 September 2012 (UTC)

Actually, 8/8 is, technically, "standard" time, because you're doubling both the number of notes per bar as well as the value of the note. It really is "double standard, twice" because of the reason I JUST stated. 2/2 is half time, because you are halving the number of notes per bar and halving their value. Think of it like this, 4/4 is "four notes per bar, and each note is to the value of a crotchet" so at 120 beats per minute, you should get 30 bars. Right? Now if you halve the number of notes per bar, you get 2/4, which means "two notes per bar, and each note is to the value of a crotchet", so then at 120 BPM you should get 60 bars. Now, if you halve the denominator you get 2/2, which means "two notes per bar, and each note is to the value of a half-note", as in, twice the length of a crotchet note. This means, however, that the beats per minute are now measured in the 2 denominator, which means that there are still 60 bars per minute. I do apologize for my misinterpretation of the original text, after hearing the song (in like six months) I've noticed that the general verse structure and chorus is a mix of 3/4 and 4/4. This isn't, however, as described in the original statement, as what I read was after the second chorus "the song changes from 4/4 to 3/4" which is, actually, the other way around. Styk0n (talk) 07:12, 21 October 2012 (UTC)

Ok I am going to paint a picture for you on time signatures. Get some manuscript paper if you don't have any its the pages with the 5 lines on it in sections. take your pencil and write 4/4 on it; no key signature needed this is a drum chart (marked with two bar lines to the left of the time signature) write 4 quarter notes above the top line. Next draw a quarter note on the 2nd and 4th quarter note in the middle of the stave (usually note C in treble clef) Then write a quarter note on the first and 3rd quarter note on the bottom below the lowest line (D) the top notes represent the high hat the middle the snare and the bottom is the bass drum. Don't change the note value that's really what time signatures are for Now lets count! in 4/4 time there are 4 beats per measure and the QUARTER note obtains the beat (I will highlight the snare hits) ready?!?! ok...... 1 2 3 4 that is a simple rock rhythm ok lets do 8/8 or "double standard" I have no idea where you got that. There are 8 beats per measure yes its doubled but here's the kicker the 8th note gets the beat meaning it takes twice as long to fulfill the quarter notes since the 8th gets the beat. 2 8ths = 1 quarter lets count again since this is the true "half time" I will count again (I referred earlier this signature is rarely if not ever used since it is just exemplifying a feel on the drum kit. This is a half time feel in 4/4 signature (snare hit highlighted) 1 2 3 4 (repeat) in 8/8 I will count differently (remember don't change note values just the signature)                       1 2 3 4  5  6 7 8              beats 2, 4, 6 and 8 are not played at all because you are fulfilling 2 beats with the quarter notes remember two 8ths = 1 quarter. Now on to 2/2 (CUT TIME) once again do not change the note values just the signature. 2/2 means that there are two notes per measure and the HALF NOTE fulfills the beat that means the quarter notes you have only fulfills half of the beat (the half note) at this point you need to subdivide because you do not have a note that fulfills 1 beat in time that's where "and" comes from (i.e 1 + 2 +) let's count again in 2/2 ...... 1 and 2 and  using your 120 bpm theory use a metronome and thank me later or if you need more proof wiki half time and cut time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Drumkid2370 (talk • contribs) 06:44, 30 October 2012 (UTC)

Progressive Metal?
Can this be considered such? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.114.164.111 (talk) 03:22, 5 November 2012 (UTC)