4st 7lb

{{Infobox song

| name = 4st 7lb

| cover =

| alt =

| artist = Manic Street Preachers

| album = The Holy Bible

| released = {{Start date|df=yes|1994|8|29}}

| recorded =

| studio = Sound Space Studios, Cardiff, Wales

| venue =

| genre = {{flatlist|

Art rock
gothic rock{{cite web

|last = Harris

|first = Cameron Sinclair

|date = 29 January 2021

|title = 11 Underrated Songs: Manic Street Preachers

|url = https://www.gigwise.com/features/3395555/11-underrated-songs-manic-street-preachers

|access-date = 19 May 2021

|website = Gigwise

|archive-date = 5 March 2021

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210305134514/https://www.gigwise.com/features/3395555/11-underrated-songs-manic-street-preachers

|url-status = live

}}

|}}

| length = {{Duration|m=5|s=5}}

| label = Epic

| composer = James Dean Bradfield, Sean Moore

| lyricist = Richey Edwards

| producer = Manic Street Preachers

}}

"4st 7lb" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band, Manic Street Preachers, from the band's third album, The Holy Bible.{{cite book

| last = Dave Franklin

| title = Manic Streets of Perth: An Australian Comedy

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=aYhYAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT44

| date = 4 April 2005

| publisher = Baby Ice Dog Press

| pages = 44–

| id = GGKEY:3YSBTPEZ47H

}}

Music and lyrics

Musically, the song features art rock riffs and the extensive addition of guitar reverb.{{cite web

|url = http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5074-the-holy-bible/

|title = Manic Street Preachers – The Holy Bible

|publisher = Pitchfork

|date = 17 January 2005

|access-date = 2 September 2013

|last = Tangari, Joe

|archive-date = 10 September 2013

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130910002324/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/5074-the-holy-bible/

|url-status = live

}}{{cite web |title=Manic Street Preachers - the Holy Bible - Golden Vault 38 |url=https://www.goldenplec.com/featured/manic-street-preachers-holy-bible-golden-vault-38/ |website=GoldenPlec Magazine |access-date=30 August 2021}} The verse riff in the first half of the song revolves around an arpeggiated diminished seventh chord, and has been compared to that of "Eton Rifles" by The Jam.{{cite news

| last1 = Gajarsky

| first1 = Bob

| title = Manic Street Preachers – Interview

| work = Consumable

| date = 27 March 1995

}} Then, the song slows down and becomes a more atmospheric, minimalist base.{{cite web

| url = https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/1675/Manic-Street-Preachers-The-Holy-Bible/

| title = Manic Street Preachers – The Holy Bible (staff review)

| work = Sputnikmusic

| date = 21 January 2005

| access-date = 2 September 2013

| last = Butler, Nick

}}{{cite book

| last = Rob Jovanovic

| title = A Version of Reason: The Search for Richey Edwards

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=08Ql0sjmjKsC&pg=PT147

| date = 3 December 2010

| publisher = Orion

| isbn = 978-1-4091-1129-0

| pages = 147–

}}{{cite web

| url = http://www.newstatesman.com/sarah-ditum/2015/01/razors-pain-you-what-dorothy-parker-teaches-us-about-our-addiction-female

| title = Razors pain you: what Dorothy Parker teaches us about our addiction to female suffering

| date = 13 January 2015

| access-date = 6 February 2015

| archive-date = 6 February 2015

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150206143911/http://www.newstatesman.com/sarah-ditum/2015/01/razors-pain-you-what-dorothy-parker-teaches-us-about-our-addiction-female

| url-status = live

}}{{cite book

| last = Eric Segalstad

| title = The 27s: The Greatest Myth of Rock & Roll

| url = https://archive.org/details/27sgreatestmytho0000sega

| url-access = registration

| year = 2008

| publisher = Samadhi Creations, LLC

| isbn = 978-0-615-18964-2

| pages = [https://archive.org/details/27sgreatestmytho0000sega/page/20 20]–

}}

Lyrically, the song describes advanced-stage anorexia;{{cite web

|url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-holy-bible-mw0000123614

|title = Manic Street Preachers – The Holy Bible

|publisher = AllMusic

|access-date = 2 September 2013

|last = Erlewine, Stephen Thomas

|author-link = Stephen Thomas Erlewine

|archive-date = 7 September 2015

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150907015426/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-holy-bible-mw0000123614

|url-status = live

}}{{cite web

| url = http://www.nme.com/reviews/name/7538

| title = Manic Street Preachers : The Holy Bible (Tenth Anniversary Edition)

| work = NME

| date = 13 December 2004

| access-date = 2 September 2013

| last = Martin, Dan

| archive-date = 2 March 2014

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140302181256/http://www.nme.com/reviews/name/7538

| url-status = live

}}{{cite web

| url = https://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/feb/04/popandrock.shopping10

| title = Manic Street Preachers, The Holy Bible 10th Anniversary Edition

| work = The Guardian

| date = 4 February 2005

| access-date = 2 September 2013

| last = Sweeting, Adam

| archive-date = 3 March 2014

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140303100158/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2005/feb/04/popandrock.shopping10

| url-status = live

}}{{cite web

|url = https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/21/manic-street-preachers-roundhouse-observer-review

|title = Manic Street Preachers review – fire and brimstone revisited

|last = Dorian Lynskey

|website = The Guardian

|date = 21 December 2014

|access-date = 6 February 2015

|archive-date = 6 February 2015

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150206154833/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/dec/21/manic-street-preachers-roundhouse-observer-review

|url-status = live

}} it is about a teenage girl who wants "to be so skinny, that she rots from view".{{cite web

|url = http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/manic-street-preachers/the-holy-bible.htm

|title = Manic Street Preachers – The Holy Bible

|website = Stylus Magazine

|date = 14 December 2004

|access-date = 2 September 2013

|last = Edwards, Mark

|archive-date = 28 December 2013

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131228211829/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/manic-street-preachers/the-holy-bible.htm

|url-status = live

}}{{cite book

| last = Peter Buckley

| title = The Rough Guide to Rock

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7ctjc6UWCm4C&pg=PT643

| year = 2003

| publisher = Rough Guides

| isbn = 978-1-84353-105-0

| pages = 643–

}}{{cite book

| last = Aurelio Pasini

| title = Brit Rock

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Xiq_Ihts8JIC&pg=PA75

| date = 29 June 2011

| publisher = Giunti Editore

| language = it

| isbn = 978-88-09-76922-9

| pages = 75–

}} It has been widely interpreted as a reflection of the band's guitarist and lyricist Richey Edwards's own personal struggle with the disease,{{cite magazine

| last = Fricke

| first = David

| date = 21 April 2005

| title = Manic Street Preachers: The Holy Bible: 10th Anniversary Edition

| magazine = Rolling Stone

| publisher = Wenner Media

| url = https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/manicstreetpreachers/albums/album/7237722/review/7239745/the_holy_bible_10th_anniversary_edition

| archive-date = 12 March 2008

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080312163227/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/manicstreetpreachers/albums/album/7237722/review/7239745/the_holy_bible_10th_anniversary_edition

| access-date = 2 September 2013

}}{{cite web

|url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/manic-street-preachers/pages/holy_bible.shtml

|title = Manic Street Preachers – Holy Bible

|publisher = BBC

|date = 20 November 2008

|access-date = 2 September 2013

|last = Pattison, Louis

|archive-date = 5 April 2014

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140405013951/http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/manic-street-preachers/pages/holy_bible.shtml

|url-status = live

}}{{cite book

| last = Various Mojo Magazine

| title = The Mojo Collection: 4th Edition

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AVQbF9lTBwgC&pg=PA609

| date = 1 November 2007

| publisher = Canongate Books

| isbn = 978-1-84767-643-6

| pages = 609–

}}{{cite book

| last = Sheila Whiteley

| title = Too Much Too Young: Popular Music Age and Gender

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=eRGOAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA150

| date = 18 October 2013

| publisher = Routledge

| isbn = 978-1-136-50229-3

| pages = 150–

}}{{cite book

| last = Colin Larkin

| title = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Kollington – Morphine

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=cgwKAQAAMAAJ

| year = 2006

| publisher = MUZE

| isbn = 978-0-19-531373-4

| pages = 475–

| access-date = 27 September 2016

| archive-date = 15 December 2019

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191215184650/https://books.google.com/books?id=cgwKAQAAMAAJ

| url-status = live

}} which was confirmed by the band's bass guitarist and co-lyricist Nicky Wire.{{cite journal

| title = Manics New Testament

| journal = Melody Maker

| date = 27 August 1994

| page = 4

}} The spoken intro was sampled from the documentary Caraline's Story, which chronicles the final months of Caraline Neville-Lister, who died of anorexia in 1994 at age 29.

The song was named after 4 stones 7 pounds, or {{convert|63|lbs|kg}}, the weight below which death is said to be medically unavoidable for an anorexia sufferer.{{sfn|Clarke|1997|p=116}}

Reception

The song received acclaim from music critics. Nick Butler of Sputnikmusic praised the song, referring it as "quite simply, genius". He also commented that the song "contains one of the best lyrics even written by anyone, replete with the awesome chorus", while describing the song's musical structure in detail. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote: "the diary of anorexia '4st 7lb' is one of the most chilling songs in rock & roll". Tim O'Neil of PopMatters described the song as "the most specifically evocative track on the album".{{cite web

|url = https://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/manicstreetpreachers-holybible2005/

|title = Manic Street Preachers: The Holy Bible -- 10th Anniversary Edition

|website = PopMatters

|date = 20 May 2005

|access-date = 2 September 2013

|last = O'Neil, Tim

|archive-date = 1 February 2013

|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130201025206/http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/manicstreetpreachers-holybible2005/

|url-status = live

}} Mark Edwards of Stylus Magazine stated that the song, along with two other tracks, "Mausoleum" and "Faster", "takes your breath away", while commenting that the song is deeply disturbing. He also inferred that "it comes as close to glamourising anorexia as you can get".