Released: September 24, 1990

Songwriter: David Ellefson Dave Mustaine

Producer: Dave Mustaine Mike Clink

[Verse 1]
Sitting up late at night
I tiptoe through the darkness
Cold as Hell, black as spades
Aware of my immediate surroundings
In my place, I escape
Up into my hideout
Hiding from everyone
My friends all say "Dave, you're mental anyway." (Hey!)
Drift into a deeper state
I stalk the cobwebbed stairways
Dirt grits beneath my feet
The stair creaks, I precariously sneak, hey

[Verse 2]
Hypnosis guides my hand
I slip-slide through the walkways
Sit in Granny's rocking chair
Memories are whirling by (Yeah!)
Reminiscing in the attic
Lucretia waits impatiently
Cobwebs make me squint
The cobra so eloquently glints
Moonbeams surge through the sky
The crystal ball is energised
Surely that, like the cat
Waiting, Lucretia rocks away (Hey!)

[Instrumental Outro]

Megadeth

After being kicked out of Metallica, Dave Mustaine decided to form a Thrash Metal band that not only rivaled his former band, but played faster, more technical Metal. Along with bassist David ‘Junior’ Ellefson and a revolving door of guitarists and drummers, Mustaine set the world afire as Megadeth became known as the world’s state-of-the-art Speed Metal band throughout the 80s and the early 90s. One of the Big Four of Thrash Metal, Megadeth remains one of Metal’s most popular acts today.

However, Dave Mustaine’s fledgling band got off to a shaky start. Initially unable to find like-minded individuals, it was not until an altercation with his (underage) downstairs neighbours Dave Ellefson and Greg Handevidt, that led to him buying them beer and forming the first incarnation of the band with drummer Dijon Carruthers in 1983.

The band was named after a political pamphlet that referred to a “megadeath” (one million deaths by nuclear explosion):