Nothing Else Matters

"Nothing Else Matters"
Single by Metallica
from the album Metallica
B-side	"Enter Sandman" (live) "Enter Sandman" (live)/"Harvester of Sorrow" (live)/"Nothing Else Matters" (Demo)
Released	April 20, 1992
Format	CD single, Cassette, Vinyl, Download
Recorded	June 16, 1991 at One on One Studios, Los Angeles, California
Genre	Rock
Length	6:28
Label	Elektra
Writer(s)	James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich
Producer(s)	Bob Rock James Hetfield Lars Ulrich
Metallica singles chronology
"The Unforgiven" (1991) "Nothing Else Matters" (1992) "Wherever I May Roam" (1992)
Music video "Nothing Else Matters" on YouTube

"Nothing Else Matters" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released in 1992 as the third single from their self-titled fifth studio album, Metallica. The song peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart as well as top-ten positions on many European charts. "Nothing Else Matters" was featured as a playable track in the music video game Guitar Hero: Metallica. Recognized as one of Metallica's best known and most popular songs, it has become a staple in live performances. The song has been covered over forty times.

History

Lead singer and rhythm guitarist James Hetfield wrote the song (credited to Hetfield/Ulrich) in 1990 while he was on the phone with his then girlfriend. Since he held the phone with one hand, he plucked the four open strings of a standard E-minor chord with the other, which eventually made up the first two bars of the song. The lyrics, which talk about being "so close, no matter how far", were also dedicated to his girlfriend, indicating the bond they shared even when Hetfield was on tour. Initially, the song was not meant to be released, as Hetfield had written it for himself, but after drummer Lars Ulrich heard it, it was considered for the album.^[1]

Demo

The song's demo was also called "Nothing Else Matters" and was recorded in Lars Ulrich's home musical studio "Dungeon" on August 13, 1990.

Composition

Its intro is an E minor arpeggio beginning with the open low E followed by the open G, B and high E strings.

It is one of the few Metallica songs in which Hetfield, not Kirk Hammett, plays the guitar solo. Given that Hetfield recorded all rhythm and most harmony tracks on the band's first five albums and that Hammett has stated he didn't learn how to play the song until they were well into the tour for the album, Hammett does not play on the studio recording, making it one of the few in the whole Metallica repertoire, along with Cliff Burton's "(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth" and the band's cover of "The Ecstasy of Gold" in which he does not appear.

Music video

The music video premiered on MTV on February 26, 1992. It was directed by Adam Dubin, and edited by Sean Fullan. The clip consists of parts of the A year and a half... video tape which was shot during the recordings of Metallica. One of them shows Hetfield playing the 12 string during one of the choruses. MTV will not air the video during daytime hours anymore because it features nudity in the form of pin-up posters and Playboy centerfolds that are taped up in the studio. It also has a picture of Kip Winger which Lars Ulrich is seen throwing darts at. On the band's 2006 music video compilation DVD, the posters are censored, as was done with the nudity featured in the music videos for "Turn the Page" and "Whiskey in the Jar".

Live

The song has now become a staple in Metallica's live performances, and has been dedicated to their fans. When played live nowadays, Hammett does the first part of the intro, and Hetfield joins in for the second, to then sing and play it alone until after the first chorus, when the whole band kicks in. Also, the last verse is left out, ending the song with the heavily distorted guitar solo by Hetfield, and usually fading into "Enter Sandman". A live version on which this can be heard can be found on the CD/DVD Orgullo, Pasión y Gloria: Tres Noches en la Ciudad de México. Other live recordings can be found on Live Shit: Binge & Purge, on S&M, Cunning Stunts DVD as well as the DVD/Blu-ray The Big 4 Live from Sofia, Bulgaria as well as on the soundtrack for the band's feature film "Through the Never"

Track listing

U.S. cassette
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Nothing Else Matters"	6:30
2.	"Enter Sandman" (Live)	5:26

International single
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Nothing Else Matters"	6:30
2.	"Enter Sandman" (Live)	5:26
3.	"Harvester of Sorrow" (Live)	6:02
4.	"Nothing Else Matters" (Demo)	5:52

Live at Wembley Stadium, London, April 20th, 1992
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Enter Sandman"	5:39
2.	"Sad but True"	5:30
3.	"Nothing Else Matters"	6:17

• This version was released in Europe April 27, 1992^[2] and it contained the three songs Metallica played at the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert on April 20, 1992 at Wembley Stadium.

1999 CD single
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Nothing Else Matters" (Live)	6:47
2.	"For Whom the Bell Tolls" (Live)	4:52
3.	"- Human" (Live)	4:19
4.	"Nothing Else Matters" (Video)

Charts and certifications

Peak positions

Chart (1992)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[3]	8
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[4]	6
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5]	5
Canada Top Singles (RPM)	41
Denmark (Tracklisten)[6]	23
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[7]	14
France (SNEP)[8]	10
Germany (Official German Charts)[9]	9
Ireland (IRMA)	3
Italy (FIMI)[10]	7
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[11]	5
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[12]	11
Norway (VG-lista)[13]	3
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[14]	12
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[15]	5
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company	6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	34
U.S. Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks	11

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Austria (IFPI Austria)[16]	Platinum	50,000
Belgium (BEA)[17]	Platinum	50,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[18]	Platinum	45,000
Italy (FIMI)[19]	Platinum	50,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Personnel

• James Hetfield – vocals, guitars
• Lars Ulrich – drums
• Jason Newsted – bass

Alternative versions

Nothing Else Matters '99

"Nothing Else Matters '99 (Live)"
Single by Metallica
from the album S&M
B-side	"For Whom the Bell Tolls" (S&M version)/"−Human"
Released	November 22, 1999
Format	CD single
Recorded	April 21–22, 1999 at Berkeley Community Theatre, Berkeley, California
Genre	Symphonic rock
Length	6:47
Label	Elektra
Producer(s)	Bob Rock James Hetfield Lars Ulrich Michael Kamen
Metallica singles chronology
"Die, Die My Darling" (1999) "Nothing Else Matters '99" (1999) "No Leaf Clover" (2000)
San Francisco Symphony chronology "Nothing Else Matters '99" (1999) "No Leaf Clover" (2000)

For its appearance on S&M, its orchestration was arranged by Michael Kamen conducting the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. This live version is featured on the album S&M. It was also released as the single "Nothing Else Matters '99", which included the b-sides "-Human", and the S&M version of "For Whom the Bell Tolls", on November 22, 1999.^[20] This version was also played with guitars tuned to E♭.

Peak positions

Chart (1999)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)[21]	28
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[5]	1
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[22]	33
Germany (Official German Charts)[9]	2
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[23]	5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24]	4

"Elevator Version"

There is also an acoustic remix of "Nothing Else Matters" that is called the "elevator version" with no electric guitars (replaced by acoustic guitars, even for the solo), Kamen's orchestrations, and Hetfield's voice only; it appears as the b-side to "Sad but True".

Covers

Because of the song's popularity it has been covered many times, by artists both within and outside the rock genre. Bands who have covered the song include:

• 3 Doors Down during some of their Songs from the Basement acoustic tour dates.
• Acid Drinkers for Fishdick Zwei - The Dick Is Rising Again tribute albums.
• Aliqua, a contemporary all-female choral act from Vancouver, Canada, on their self-titled album; they also released a music video on YouTube of them performing the song.
• Angels of Venice as an instrumental harp solo (with backing instruments inc. cello) on their album Music for Harp.
• Apocalyptica, a band that plays metal music using primarily 4 cellos (Inquisition Symphony).
• Apoptygma Berzerk for the "Paranoia" single.
• String Quartet, in their Tribute to Metallica, a version quite similar to that of Apocalyptica but with more classical elements in it.
• Die Krupps for A Tribute To Metallica album (1992).
• David Garrett.
• Declan Galbraith on his album You and Me.
• Doro Pesch covered the song for the Metallica - A Tribute to the Black Album, which was released in Germany in the Special Edition of the Metal Hammer August * 2011.^[25]
• Vienna Boys' Choir.
• Scott D. Davis.
• Iron Horse.
• Iris Kroes on harp and vocals, and she even performed this song as a concerto for the concert of 40th Anniversary of Rotterdams Jeugd Symfonie Orkest (RJSO) at October 21, 2012.^[26]
• Joe Lynn Turner for the Metallic Attack: Metallica - The Ultimate Tribute tribute album.
• Gregorian (a troupe of Gregorian chanters).
• Lissie (a folk-rock singer-songwriter).
• Lucie Silvas (a British pop singer-songwriter).
• LMP on their album A Century of Song.
• Bif Naked on the Superbeautifulmonster
• Staind on MTV Icon.
• Erik Hassle on his Pieces (Deluxe Edition) album.
• Jon Oliva, Bob Balch (of Fu Manchu), Lemmy, and Gregg Bissonette for Metallica Assault: A Tribute to Metallica.
• Solarisis - Overload 2: Tribute to Metallica.
• Marco Masini (Italian singer-songwriter) as "E Chi Se Ne Frega" (moderately vulgar Italian for "Who cares"), for the album Uscita Di Sicurezza. (Marco Masini's version only covers the music. The lyrics for "E chi se ne frega" are not the Italian translation of Metallica's song.)
• Bugotak band from Novosibirsk released a Buryat language version with some Buryat instruments.
• In 2007, the Dutch DJ DJ Zany & MC DV8 created a hardstyle version of the song.
• Tose Proeski during his concerts and on his album So Ljubav Ot Tose.
• Rev Theory on their acoustic EP Acoustic Live from the Gibson Lounge.
• Jaanus performed that in Estonian Idol ("Eesti Otsib Superstaari").
• In 2004, the season 2 Australian Idol winner Casey Donovan performed this song live on the Final 5 Up Close And Personal show and the live track was included as the b-side to her first single "Listen With Your Heart".
• In 2006, by Peter Cmorik, the winner of Season 2 Slovensko hľadá SuperStar show based on Pop Idol.
• In 2007 Paula Fernandes covered the song on the album Dust In the Wind.
• In 2009, the song was also performed on Australian Idol by eventual winner Stan Walker on the Final 11 rock theme night.
• In 2009 by the a cappella group Club for Five featuring Johanna Kurkela on the album You're the Voice.
• Punk band The Vibrators.
• Shakira covered the song for her 2010 and 2011 tour, "The Sun Comes Out", and performed it for the first time on September 15 in Montreal, where the tour kicked off.
• Lissie covered the song during her Live Lounge session on the Radio 2 show 'Saturday Session' hosted by Dermot O'Leary in the UK. The song is on Disc 2 of the double CD release "Dermot O'Leary Saturday Sessions: 2CD".
• The song was covered as an instrumental for the album Buddha Lounge: Renditions of Metallica - * The Black Lounge along with ten other Metallica covers.
• Ed Alleyne-Johnson performed an electric violin cover on the album "Arpeggio".
• Scala & Kolacny Brothers covered this on their "Circle" album in 2010. The song was later used for the television trailer for the film Zero Dark Thirty, the 2014 pilot episode of Crisis, and a trailer for the upcoming miniseries Heroes Reborn.
• Poland pop diva Edyta Górniak covered the song on the stage of Miss Poland 2012.
• Godsmack covered the song on their 2012 album Live and Inspired.
• Macy Gray covered the song on her 2012 album Covered.
• The song was covered by Brent Smith and Zach Myers of American hard rock band Shinedown, as part of their (Acoustic Sessions) extended play released on January 28, 2014.
• The X Factor Australia winner 2014 Marlisa Punzalan sang the song during week 6 of the competition for rock week

Lucie Silvas version

"Nothing Else Matters"
Single by Lucie Silvas
from the album Breathe In
B-side	"Better Love Next Time" (Demo)
Released	October 31, 2005
Format	CD single, Digital download
Genre	Pop
Length	4:36
Label	Mercury
Producer(s)	Mike Peden
Lucie Silvas singles chronology
"Forget Me Not" (2005) "Nothing Else Matters" (2005) "Everytime I Think of You" (2006)

"Nothing Else Matters" is a special Europe-only single by British singer-songwriter Lucie Silvas. It was released in exactly the same way as "Don't Look Back", with the same b-sides and artwork.

Track listing

CD1
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Nothing Else Matters" (Edit)	James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich	3:07
2.	"Breathe In" (Live in Denmark)	Lucie Silvas, Judie Tzuke, Graham Kearns, Mike Peden	3:32

CD2
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Nothing Else Matters" (Edit)	Hetfield, Ulrich	3:07
2.	"Twisting The Chain" (Acoustic)	Silvas, Charlie Russell, Kearns, Peden	3:55
3.	"Better Love Next Time" (Demo)	Tzuke, Kearns	3:40
4.	"Nothing Else Matters" (Video)	Hetfield, Ulrich

Charts

Chart (2005)	Peak position
Dutch Top 40	13
Germany	38
Eurochart Hot 100	160

References

1. "James Hetfield And Kirk Hammett Look Back On Metallica's Black Album". 2012-06-22. Retrieved 2014-08-26.
2. Live at Wembley Stadium release date
3. "Australian-charts.com – Metallica – Nothing Else Matters". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
4. "Austriancharts.at – Metallica – Nothing Else Matters" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
5. "Ultratop.be – Metallica – Nothing Else Matters" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
6. "Danishcharts.com – Metallica – Nothing Else Matters". Tracklisten.
7. "Metallica: Nothing Else Matters" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
8. "Lescharts.com – Metallica – Nothing Else Matters" (in French). Les classement single.
9. "Musicline.de – Metallica Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
10. Italian peaks
11. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Metallica search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
12. "Charts.org.nz – Metallica – Nothing Else Matters". Top 40 Singles.
13. "Norwegiancharts.com – Metallica – Nothing Else Matters". VG-lista.
14. "Swedishcharts.com – Metallica – Nothing Else Matters". Singles Top 100.
15. "Swisscharts.com – Metallica – Nothing Else Matters". Swiss Singles Chart.
16. "Austrian single certifications – Metallica – Nothing Else Matters" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved 2 January 2012. Enter Metallica in the field Interpret. Enter Nothing Else Matters in the field Titel. Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen
17. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2014". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
18. http://www.ifpi.dk/?q=certificeringer&page=50
19. "Certificazioni - Archivio" (in Italian). Federation of the Italian Music Industry. Retrieved 24 June 2014. Select Online, Week 24, Year 2013, then press Vai!.
20. Nothing Else Matters '99 release date
21. "Australian-charts.com – Metallica with Michael Kamen conducting The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra – Nothing Else Matters". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
22. "Ultratop.be – Metallica – Nothing Else Matters" (in French). Ultratop 50.
23. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Metallica with Michael Kamen conducting The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40.
24. "Swisscharts.com – Metallica with Michael Kamen conducting The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra – Nothing Else Matters". Swiss Singles Chart.
25. Metallica Sonderheft vom METAL HAMMER Metal Hammer
26. Jubileumconcert RJSO! Iris Kroes - Nothing Else Matters (October 21, 2012)

External links

• 40 Nothing Else Matters covers
• Chart Stats
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
• Chords & Lyrics to "Nothing Else Matters" on YouTab