Blackened
By: Metallica

Blackened is the End
Winter it will send
Throwing all you see
Into obscurity

Death of Mother Earth
Never a rebirth
Evolution's end
Never will it mend

Never...!

FIRE
To begin whipping Dance of the Dead,
Blackened--is the--End!
To begin whipping Dance of the Dead,
Color our world Blackened!

Blistering of Earth
Terminate its worth
Deadly Nicotine
Kills what might have been

Callous frigid chill
Nothing left to kill
Never seen before
Breathing nevermore

Never...!

FIRE
To begin whipping Dance of the Dead,
Blackened--is the--End!
To begin whipping Dance of the Dead,
Color our world Blackened!

BLACKENED.

Opposition (opposition)
Contradiction (contradiction)
Premonition (premonition)
Compromise
Agitation (agitation)
Violation (violation)
Mutilation (mutilation)
Planet Dies
Darkest Color
Blistered Earth
True Death of Life
(termination) Termination
(expiration) Expiration
(cancellation) Cancellation human race
(expectation) Expectation
(liberation) Liberation
(population) Population laid to waste
See our Mother
Put to death
See our Mother die

Smouldering decay
Take your breath away
Millions of our years
In minutes disappears

Darkening in vain
Decadence remains
All is said and done
Never is the sun

Never...!

FIRE
To begin whipping Dance of the Dead,
Blackened
is
the
end!
To begin whipping Dance of the Dead,
FIRE
Is the outcome of hypocrisy,
Darkest
poten--
cy!
In the exit of hu-ma-ni-ty,
Color our world Blackened!

BLACKENED.




This song is protesting mistreatment of the Earth. It mentions the use of nicotine, and makes some possible references to forest fires or some type of deforestation. This song is a way of informing people that humans are ruining the Earth and that it needs to stop. It has a very pessimistic and almost demonic view of the world due to the way humans treat it. According to the artist, if we continue our ways of life and mistreatment of Mother Earth, the world will be "blackened" and stipped of life. At one point in the song, it says that the planet will die and it will be the "true death of life". This song is very powerful and is an effective way of conveying this message. It uses anger and types of scare tactics to sort of force people into understanding the severity of the Earth's condition, and to make people imagine what the world will be like if we don’t stop harming it.

I think that, today in America, in 2010, men and women are mostly equal. Since before the women's movement, and even during, many changes have been made in the way women are treated in the work force, the field of education, and just in general. Not to mention the fact that a countless number of women have risen to power since then. It is not uncommon to see powerful women in politics, the air force, the army, the navy, and so on. Looking at an even smaller scale, women are also found as judges and lawyers in courtrooms, as principals, college professors, doctors, etc. In today's society, if a man and a woman with the same education apply for a certain job, they both have an equal opportunity to get that job, regardless of their sexes. It has been said that women are still viewed as unequal because there is still that image of a house wife who cooks, cleans, and takes care of the children. Well, in my opinion, if a woman cooks nightly meals, cleans the house, runs the errands, takes care of the children, and holds a steady, full-time job, then she may even be more powerful than her husband is. Sure, there is always going to be an element of sexism, much like, in my belief, there will always be an element of racism, or any other type of discrimination. I don't think it's possible to entirely eliminate any of that, unless someone somehow rids the world of ignorance... but that's a whole other argument. I'm not going to say that women are 100% equal to men everywhere at all times, because then I know that's not the case; however, I do not believe that women are drastically less superior than men, nor do I believe that they are viewed that way (although some people may disagree with me). I think that there is always room for improvement on any issue. I think it's safe to say, though, that women in America who deserve respect, receive it. There are always exceptions or certain circumstances where that is not true, but I think that happens with just about every argument.

Butter Battle Book

So the Yooks and the Zooks stared across the wall

Both threatening the other, trying their best to stand tall

And both the Yooks and the Zooks threatened to drop the ball

To see who would prevail once and for all

As the citizens stood by and watched the horrific scene

They wondered who would back down, and who would be mean

"Who will drop the bomb and settle the feud

Between the Yooks and the Zooks about buttered food?"

I watched and anticipated a loud booming sound

I covered my ears and looked all around

Waiting for a bomb to destroy the whole town

Of the evil Zooks who eat bread with the butter side down

Just as Grandpa went to set off the bomb,

He paused for a second and began to look calm.

"Why," he asked, "must we continue this fight?

We should all be friends and sing through the night

About how we nicely solved this great problem

About butter on top vs. butter on the bottom."

So the people on both sides of the wall cheered

As they embraced kindness instead of fear

The people of the town broke down the wall

To settle this quarrel once and for all

So from that day on the Yooks and the Zooks

Were friends and never had to settle another dispute

Because all that was present was kindness and glee

No matter on what side the butter may be.