The Shortest Straw

Album: ...And Justice For All (1988)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Drawing straws is a game of chance where everyone pulls a straw, and whoever draws the shortest straw is the loser. In the '50s and '60s, it was a popular way of choosing someone for an unpleasant task, like cleaning the bathroom or sitting in the middle seat.

    The person in this song has had a straw pulled for him, and it's the shortest one - in other words, he's been screwed.
  • The lyric is largely political, referencing the Red Scare that took place in the US government starting in the late 1940s, lasting well into the '50s. A coalition led by Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee went looking for Americans with communist ties in the interest of national security. In many cases, this resulted in suppression of free speech and dire consequences for those targeted, not unlike the happenings in the authoritarian communist countries they opposed.

    The Red Scare has gone down in history as a witch hunt engineered for political propaganda. "The Shortest Straw" is a warning that it could happen again.
  • Metallica mainstays James Hetfield and Lars Ulrich wrote this song, which appears on their fourth album, ...And Justice For All. This was one of the most challenging times for the band, which was reeling from the 1986 tour bus accident that killed their bass player, Cliff Burton. Their new bass player, Jason Newsted, was a worthy replacement but not yet in a position to assert himself, so there was nothing he could do when they mixed his bass so low that's it's nearly inaudible.

    Newsted did have some creative input on the album, co-writing the song "Blackened." He had much more of a voice on Metallica's next album, The Black Album.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

James Bond Theme Songs

James Bond Theme SongsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the 007 theme songs?

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)

Dexys (Kevin Rowland and Jim Paterson)Songwriter Interviews

"Come On Eileen" was a colossal '80s hit, but the band - far more appreciated in their native UK than stateside - released just three albums before their split. Now, Dexys is back.

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")

Director Wes Edwards ("Drunk on a Plane")Song Writing

Wes Edwards takes us behind the scenes of videos he shot for Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley and Chase Bryant. The train was real - the airplane was not.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."