Loading AI tools
1993 single by Metallica From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Sad but True" is a song by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released in February 1993 as the fifth and final single from their 1991 self-titled album. The music video for the single was released in October 1992.
"Sad but True" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Metallica | ||||
from the album Metallica | ||||
B-side |
| |||
Released | February 8, 1993[1] | |||
Recorded | 1990–91 | |||
Studio | One on One (Los Angeles, California) | |||
Genre | Heavy metal | |||
Length | 5:24 | |||
Label | Elektra, Vertigo (UK) | |||
Composer(s) | ||||
Lyricist(s) | James Hetfield | |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Metallica singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Music video | ||||
"Sad but True" on YouTube | ||||
Audio sample | ||||
"Sad But True" |
"Sad but True" is in D Standard tuning, however the song was originally written and demoed in E Standard. Bob Rock, who produced The Black Album, recalled to Musicradar.com: "We were in pre-production, which was uncomfortable because nobody had ever made them go through their songs in such a deliberate way before, and six songs in 'Sad But True' came along. Suddenly, I realized that every song, including this one, was in the key of E. I brought this to the band's attention, and they said, 'Well, isn't E the lowest note?' So I told them that on Mötley Crüe's Dr. Feelgood, which I produced and Metallica loved, the band had tuned down to D. Metallica then tuned down to D, and that's when the riff really became huge. It was this force that you just couldn't stop, no matter what."[2]
Rock, Hetfield, and Ulrich are all credited as producers, and Randy Staub and his assistant, Mike Tacci.[3]
US single
International single part 1
International single part 2
UK picture single
UK and German 7-inch single
French single
International 7-inch single
Personnel adapted from Metallica liner notes[4]
In 2020, the Mongolian hunnu band The HU released a cover of the song translated entirely into Mongolian.[5]
The Metallica Blacklist, a compilation album released in 2021, features seven covers of the song, including a live version by Sam Fender and studio versions by Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Mexican Institute of Sound, Royal Blood, St. Vincent, White Reaper and YB.
Kid Rock sampled the track for his song "American Bad Ass" from his 2000 album The History of Rock.
Chart (1992–1993) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[6] | 48 |
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] | 50 |
Denmark (IFPI)[8] | 3 |
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[9] | 22 |
Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[10] | 1 |
Germany (Official German Charts)[11] | 42 |
Ireland (IRMA)[12] | 13 |
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[13] | 17 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[14] | 10 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] | 42 |
Norway (VG-lista)[16] | 5 |
Portugal (AFP)[17] | 2 |
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[18] | 31 |
UK Singles (OCC)[19] | 20 |
US Billboard Hot 100[20] | 98 |
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[21] | 15 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[22] | 2× Platinum | 140,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.