The fourth track on Metallica’s …And Justice for All, is based on the novel Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo. There, Joe Bonham, a soldier in World War I, is hit by a landmine explosion that takes away his limbs and face, and becomes a prisoner in his own body – Joe lost his senses and can’t communicate, but is still kept alive by the medical crew. Thus the lyrics follow his plea to be put out of his misery.

A specific passage that inspired the song is:

How could a man lose as much of himself as I have and still live? When a man buys a lottery ticket you never expect him to win because it’s a million to one shot. But if he does win, you’ll believe it because one in a million still leaves one. If I’d read about a guy like me in the paper I wouldn’t believe it, cos it’s a million to one. But a million to ONE always leaves one. I’d never expect it to happen to me because the odds of it happening are a million to one. But a million to one always leaves one. One.

“One” marked the first time Metallica did a music video for one of their songs. The video featured footage from the film adaptation of Johnny Got His Gun directed by Trumbo himself, which the band bought the rights for to make incorporating it easier.