“Enter Sandman” was the song to receive its lyrics last during the writing of Metallica, commonly called The Black Album.
The track was the first song written for the album, beginning with a guitar idea that developed into its famous central riff. Despite that early musical start, the words came later than those for the other songs. James Hetfield wrote the lyrics after the band had already established much of the song’s musical identity.
The finished lyrics focus on bedtime fears, nightmares, and childhood imagery, giving the song a contrast between an instantly memorable hard-rock arrangement and unsettling subject matter. This combination helped make it an unusually effective opening statement for the album and a widely recognized Metallica song.
The chronology can be confused with the song’s release date. “Enter Sandman” was also the album’s lead single, issued on July 29, 1991, but its status as the first song written and last to receive lyrics refers to the internal writing process. It does not mean the song was recorded or released last.