Wherever I May Roam

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"Wherever I may roam"

Single by Metallica
from the album Metallica
Released	1992
Format	CD single
Recorded	1991
Genre	Heavy Metal
Length	6:47
Label	Elektra Records
Writer(s)	James Hetfield Lars Ulrich
Producer(s)	Bob Rock
Chart positions
#82 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #25 U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks #25 UK Singles Chart
Metallica singles chronology
Nothing Else Matters (1992)	Wherever I May Roam (1992)	Sad But True (1992)

Wherever I May Roam is the fifth track on the Metallica album (a.k.a. the Black Album) by the heavy metal band Metallica.

The song starts with an electric sitar playing the main riff of the song, before the drums and electric guitars come in. The song's lyrics revolve around the theme of a drifter. The lines "Rover, Wanderer, Nomad, Vagabond, Call me what you will" refer to the life on the road, and a nomad's life as an outsider. It also refers to the nomad's life with the lyrics "...And the road becomes my bride" and "Off the beaten path I reign.". At the end of the song, Metallica vaguely seems to imply that the nomad of the song is in fact a ghost with the lines "Carved upon my stone/ My body lies/ but still I roam."

This song often gets overshadowed by its more famous album brothers "Enter Sandman" and "Nothing Else Matters", but it regularly finds a spot on Metallica's live shows, and was played with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (conducted by Michael Kamen) on the album S&M. (Normally during live performances of the song, the sitar intro is played as a recording, though at the S&M show, guitarist Kirk Hammett actually played the sitar live.)

A music video directed by Wayne Isham showcased Metallica on tour, and bore distinct similarity to Isham-helmed Bon Jovi videos.