No Leaf Clover (Live) by Metallica & San Francisco Symphony Song Info
"No Leaf Clover" is the eighth song on Metallica's S&M album. The song (along with "−Human") was one of two new pieces completed for the band's collaboration with the San Francisco Symphony in 1999. It begins with an intro section played by the orchestra, before entering into a clean guitar part by James Hetfield. The rest of the piece alternates between clean verses and choruses backed by heavily distorted guitars. It was the band's fourth #1 hit on the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, one of many the band has achieved on this chart. The song stayed at #1 on this chart for seven consecutive weeks. "No Leaf Clover" consists of many riffs which Hetfield had created over the years but never used. It wasn't until Michael Kamen approached the band about the album that James completed it. The term "no leaf clover" is a play on the four leaf clover, which is said to bring good luck. Conversely, Hetfield's lyrics speak of nearly reaching a goal, only to be confronted with another problem: "Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel was just a freight train coming your way" Despite being completed especially for the S&M concert, the band adapted the song to be played without an orchestra using a taped intro section. It was performed without an orchestra for the first time on December 28, 1999 during the kick off of the "M2K Minitour" at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. "No Leaf Clover" is a playable track on the game Guitar Hero: Metallica. In the background, the orchestra can be seen playing. The chorus of "No Leaf Clover" is sampled in the Joe Budden song "Freight Train" on his 2009 album Escape Route.
