Whiskey in the Jar Lyrics Meaning

Epictetus has almost everything just right- "Whiskey in the Jar" Was a very old Irish folk song about a highwayman (bandit), who robs an English captain. He takes his money home, where his treacherous girlfriend betrays him. While he's sleeping, the girl steals his rapier, disables his gun by pouring water into the bullet chambers, then notifies the captain where the robber is.

The next morning, the captain and some soldiers arrest the unarmed highwayman. In some versions, the songs ends with the highwayman in prison, while in other versions, he escapes, and is desperately seeking his brother, who's a soldier (but he doesn't know exactly where his brother is stationed).

Metallica's version is a bit different because it follows the example of the Irish heavy metal band Thin Lizzy. Remember, this song appeared on an album of cover versions of Metallica's favorite songs (Phil Lynnott and Thin Lizzy were a big influence on Metallica). Thin Lizzy had done a hard rock version of "Whiskey in the Jar," and changed the lyrics a bit to make the highwayman a little cooler and more heroic. Metallica used Thin Lizzy's revised lyrics.

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