"For Whom the Bell Tolls" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was first released on the group's second album, '' Ride the Lightning'' (1984). Elektra Records also released it as a promotional single, with both edited and full-length versions. The song is generally regarded as one of Metallica's most popular; by March 2018, it ranked number five on the band's live performance count. Several live albums and video albums include the song.

Composition

The song was inspired by

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

's 1940 novel of the same name about the process of death in modern warfare and the bloody

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...

. Specific allusions are made to the scene described in Chapter 27 of the book, in which five soldiers are obliterated during an airstrike after taking a defensive position on a hill.

Cliff Burton Clifford Lee Burton (February 10, 1962 – September 27, 1986) was an American musician who was the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica from 1982 until his death in 1986. He performed on ''Kill 'Em All'' (1983), '' Ride the Lightning'' (1984 ...

plays the bass guitar introduction with heavy distortion and a

wah pedal A wah-wah pedal, or simply wah pedal, is a type of electric guitar effects pedal that alters the tone and frequencies of the guitar signal to create a distinctive sound, mimicking the human voice saying the onomatopoeic name "wah-wah". The ped ...

. Burton wrote the intro long before joining Metallica and first played it during a 12-minute jam at a battle of the bands with his second band Agents of Misfortune in 1979. The bell sound heard at the beginning of the track was actually produced by drummer

Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...

striking an anvil with a metal hammer in combination with a bell from a sound effects reel.

Track listing

"For Whom the Bell Tolls" was released as a promo single with two versions of the song. An edited version appears on the A-side, with the full-length album version on the B-side.

Other versions

Metallica In 1999 and 2019, Metallica recorded "For Whom the Bell Tolls" with the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

for the live albums '' S&M'' and ''

S&M2 ''S&M2'' (stylized as ''S&M2'') is a live album by American heavy metal band Metallica and the San Francisco Symphony. It is a follow-up to '' S&M'', a live collaborative album released in 1999. The album was recorded during a live performance in ...

'', respectively. Other live versions appear on ''

Cliff 'Em All ''Cliff 'Em All'' is a compilation of video footage, and the first video album by the American thrash metal band Metallica. It was released on November 17, 1987, as a tribute to Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton, who died in a tour bus accident on ...

'' (VHS, 1987), '' Live Shit: Binge & Purge'' (1993), '' Cunning Stunts'' (DVD, 1997), ''

Français Pour une Nuit ''Français pour une nuit'' (English: ''French for One Night'') is a live DVD by the American heavy metal music, heavy metal band Metallica, recorded in Nîmes, France, in the Arena of Nîmes on July 7, 2009, during the World Magnetic Tour. It was ...

'' (DVD, 2009), '' Orgullo, Pasión, y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México'' (2009), '' The Big Four: Live from Sofia, Bulgaria'' (DVD, 2010), ''

Quebec Magnetic ''Quebec Magnetic'' is a live concert video album by Metallica, documenting two shows the band played at the Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City, Canada, on October 31 and November 1, 2009, on their World Magnetic Tour, released on December 11, 2012. T ...

'' (DVD, 2012), and '' Metallica: Through the Never'' (soundtrack, 2013). Mixes * A remix by

DJ Spooky Paul Dennis Miller (born September 6, 1970), known professionally as DJ Spooky, That Subliminal Kid, is an American electronic and experimental hip hop musician whose work is often called by critics "illbient" or "trip hop". He is a turntabli ...

appeared on the ''

Spawn Spawn or spawning may refer to: * Spawn (biology), the eggs and sperm of aquatic animals Arts, entertainment, and media * Spawn (character), a fictional character in the comic series of the same name and in the associated franchise ** '' Spawn: ...

'' soundtrack, titled "For Whom the Bell Tolls (The Irony of it All)". Metallica later released it on "

The Memory Remains "The Memory Remains" is a song by American heavy metal music, heavy metal band Metallica, with British singer Marianne Faithfull on backing vocals. The lead single from Metallica's seventh studio album, ''Reload (Metallica album), Reload'', rel ...

" single, re-titled "For Whom the Bell Tolls (Haven't Heard It Yet Mix)". "The Irony of it All" has vocals from both the chorus and verses of the song, while "Haven't Heard It Yet Mix" only has vocals from the chorus.

Personnel

James Hetfield James Alan Hetfield (born August 3, 1963) is an American musician. He is the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, co-founder and a main songwriter of heavy metal band Metallica. He is mainly known for his intricate rhythm playing, but occasionall ...

lead vocals, rhythm guitar *

Kirk Hammett Kirk Lee Hammett (born November 18, 1962) is an American musician who has been the lead guitarist and a contributing songwriter for heavy metal band Metallica since 1983. Before joining Metallica, he formed and named the band Exodus. In 2003, ...

lead guitar *

bass guitar *

drums, percussion

Charts

In popular culture

* ''

Beavis and Butt-Head ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated series created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow humor, ...

'' (S4E15, 1994) * ''Spawn'' (1997) * The song was used in the intro to ''

Zombieland ''Zombieland'' is a 2009 American post-apocalyptic zombie comedy film directed by Ruben Fleischer in his theatrical debut and written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick. The film follows a geeky college student ( Jesse Eisenberg) making his wa ...

'' (2009) * '' Guitar Hero: Metallica'' (Video game, 2009) * ''WrestelMania XXVII'' (2011) * '' Metallica: Through the Never'' (2013) * In the end credits of ''

The Devil's Candy ''The Devil's Candy'' is a 2015 American horror film written and directed by Sean Byrne. The film stars Ethan Embry, Shiri Appleby, Kiara Glasco, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Craig Nigh and Marco Perella. The film was released by IFC Midnight on March 17 ...

'' (2015) * ''Daddy's home'' (2015) * ''Triple Frontier'' (2019) * ''Metsäjätti'' (2020) * ''

Metal Lords ''Metal Lords'' is a 2022 American teen comedy-drama film written by D. B. Weiss and directed by Peter Sollett. Its story follows two high school best friends and metal music lovers, Hunter and Kevin, who set out to start a metal band, agains ...

'' (2022)

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1984 songs Metallica songs Songs written by Cliff Burton Songs written by James Hetfield Songs written by Lars Ulrich Elektra Records singles Music based on novels Anti-war songs Ernest Hemingway