"Wherever I May Roam" is a song by American heavy metal band

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. It was released in October 1992 as the fourth single from their

eponym An eponym is a person, a place, or a thing after whom or which someone or something is, or is believed to be, named. The adjectives which are derived from the word eponym include ''eponymous'' and ''eponymic''. Usage of the word The term ''epon ...

ous fifth album, ''

''. It reached number 82 on the US ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

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peaked at number twenty-five on the ''Billboard''

Album Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart, and peaked at number two in Denmark, Finland and Norway.

Music

All stringed instruments featured in this song, both guitars and basses, use

standard tuning In music, standard tuning refers to the typical tuning of a string instrument. This notion is contrary to that of scordatura, i.e. an alternate tuning designated to modify either the timbre or technical capabilities of the desired instrument. Viol ...

. The original recording of the song is notable for its unusual instrumentation for the band: Asian instruments such as a

gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

and

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form ...

-like-guitar feature, along with an overdubbed

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

twelve-string bass The 12-string bass is an electric bass with four courses of three strings each, though they occasionally have six courses of two strings. Normal tuning is eeE-aaA-ddD-ggG, with one string of each course tuned similarly to the corresponding string ...

. This 12-string bass was only used for effect during the intro to emphasize several accented notes and then a standard tuned 4-string bass was used as the main bass instrument throughout the remainder of the recording. The song is performed frequently during the band's live concerts, and was performed with the

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra 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 F ...

(conducted by

Michael Kamen Michael Arnold Kamen (April 15, 1948 – November 18, 2003) was an American composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger, orchestral conductor, songwriter, and session musician. Biography Early life Michael Arnold Kamen was bor ...

) on the live '' S&M'' and its companion DVD, as well as the 2019 ''

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 ...

''. When performed live, the band has always relied on their original sitar recording for the intro (the band enters on the first accented note to dramatic effect); however, for the S&M concerts guitarist

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, ...

utilized a

Danelectro Danelectro is a brand of musical instruments and accessories, founded in Red Bank, New Jersey in 1947. The company is known primarily for its string instruments that employed unique designs and manufacturing processes. The Danelectro company was ...

electric sitar for the intro before switching to his

ESP ESP most commonly refers to: * Extrasensory perception, a paranormal ability ESP may also refer to: Arts, entertainment Music * ESP Guitars, a manufacturer of electric guitars * E.S. Posthumus, an independent music group formed in 2000, ...

electric guitar. The music video featured clips from Metallica behind the scenes and in concert, during their Wherever We May Roam Tour. The video version of the song is edited omitting the first bridge and third chorus and the last line in the second chorus "Where I lay my head is home" edited to end off as the third chorus does on the studio version with the words "That's where" leading into Hammett's guitar solo of the second bridge.

Demo

The song's demo was recorded in Lars Ulrich's home musical studio "Dungeon" on August 13, 1990.

Track listings

US single #"Wherever I May Roam" – 6:42 #"Fade to Black" (live) – 7:43 International single #"Wherever I May Roam" – 6:43 #"Fade to Black" (live) – 7:43 #"Wherever I May Roam" (demo) – 5:35 International digipak single #"Wherever I May Roam" – 6:45 #"Last Caress" (live)/"Am I Evil?" (live)/"Battery" (live) – 11:59 Japanese EP #"Wherever I May Roam" – 6:44 #"Fade to Black" (live) – 7:44 #"Last Caress" (live)/"Am I Evil?" (live)/"Battery" (live) – 11:59

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1991 songs 1992 singles Metallica songs Songs written by James Hetfield Songs written by Lars Ulrich Music videos directed by Wayne Isham Elektra Records singles Song recordings produced by Bob Rock