Revolution in their minds - the children start to march Against the world in which they have to live and all the hate that's in their hearts They're tired of being pushed around and told just what to do They'll fight the world until they've won and love comes flowing through
Children of tomorrow live in the tears that fall today Will the sun rise up tomorrow bringing peace in any way? Must the world live in the shadow of atomic fear? Can they win the fight for peace or will they disappear?
So you children of the world, listen to what I say If you want a better place to live in spread the words today Show the world that love is still alive you must be brave Or you children of today are Children of the Grave, Yeah!
What you get and what you see Things that don't come easily Feeling happy in my vein Icicles within my brain (cocaine)
Something blowing in my head Winter's ice, it soon will spread Death would freeze my very soul Makes me happy, makes me cold
My eyes are blind but I can see The snowflakes glisten on the tree The sun no longer sets me free I feel there's no place freezing me
Let the winter sun shine on Let me feel the frost of dawn Fill my dreams with flakes of snow Soon I'll feel the chilling glow
Don't you think I know what I'm doing Don't tell me that it's doing me wrong You're the one who's really a loser This is where I feel I belong
Crystal world with winter flowers Turns my day to frozen hours Lying snowblind in the sun Will my ice age ever come?
Song Notes :"This song is about addiction to cocaine. The "Snowflakes" are baked goods, "Snowblind" is the addiction, and when "My eyes are blind but I can see" it can either mean the trip, going cold turkey, or an overdose"
"The band did a lot of drugs, including a lot of cocaine while they were making this album. Ozzy was in and out of rehab clinics, including Betty Ford, for a long time before going sober in 1991"
"This was going to be used as the title to the album. The record company would not let them because of the drug reference"
"In the liner notes of the album, the band thanks "The COKE-cola Company," a reference to the drug"
What you gonna do? Time's caught up with you Now you wait your turn, you know there's no return Take your written rules, you join the other fools Turn to something new, now it's killing you
First it was the bomb, Vietnam napalm Disillusioning, you push the needle in From life you escape, reality's that way Colours in your mind satisfy your time
Oh you, you know you must be blind To do something like this To take the sleep that you don't know You're giving Death a kiss, Oh, little fool now
Your mind is full of pleasure Your body's looking ill To you it's shallow leisure So drop the acid pill, don't stop to think now
You're having a good time baby But that won't last Your mind's all full of things You're living too fast Go out enjoy yourself Don't bottle it in You need someone to help you To stick the needle in, yeah
Now you know the scene, your skin starts turning green Your eyes no longer seeing life's reality Push the needle in, face death's sickly grin Holes are in your skin, caused by deadly pin
Head starts spinning 'round, you fall down to the ground Feel your body heave, Death's hand starts to weave It's too late to turn, you don't want to learn Price of life you cry, now you're gonna die
Song Notes :
"Sabbath bass player Geezer Butler wrote this song about heroin addiction. It was inspired by seeing all the syringes left on the ground by audience members at their shows"
Some people say my love cannot be true please believe me, my love, and I'll show you I will give you those things you thought unreal The sun, the moon, the stars all bear my seal
Oh yeah!
Follow me now and you will not regret leaving the life you led before we met You are the first to have this love of mine forever with me 'till the end of time
Your love for me has just got to be real before you know the way I'm going to feel I'm going to feel I'm going to feel
Oh yeah!
Now I have you with me, under my power Our love grows stronger now with every hour Look into my eyes, you will see who I am my name is Lucifer, please take my hand
Oh yeah!
Follow me now and you will not regret leaving the life you led before we met You are the first to have this love of mine forever with me 'till the end of time
Your love for me has just got to be real before you know the way I'm going to feel I'm going to feel I'm going to feel
Oh yeah!
Now I have you with me, under my power Our love grows stronger now with every hour Look into my eyes, you will see who I am my name is Lucifer, please take my hand
Song Notes :"In this song, Satan falls in love with a human woman and tries to seduce her. He turns out to be very charming and the early lyrics are quite poetic"
"The title refers to drummer Bill Ward's beard. The band called him "Nibby" because they thought it looked like the nib on the end of a pen (Ozzy came up with the nickname when he was stoned). Says Geezer Butler: Originally it was Nib, which was Bill's beard. When I wrote N.I.B., I couldn't think of a title for the song, so I just called it Nib, after Bill's beard. To make it more intriguing I put punctuation marks in there to make it N.I.B. By the time it got to America, they translated it to Nativity In Black"
Many fans thought the title stood for "Nativity In Black" or "Name In Blood."
""Nativity In Black" is the name of 2 Black Sabbath tribute albums released in 1994 and 2000. Groups contributing to the albums include Megadeth, Godsmack, Biohazzard, and Faith No More"
What is this that stands before me? Figure in black which points at me Turn around quick, and start to run Find out I'm the chosen one Oh nooo!
Big black shape with eyes of fire Telling people their desire Satan's sitting there, he's smiling Watches those flames get higher and higher Oh no, no, please God help me!
Is it the end, my friend? Satan's coming 'round the bend people running 'cause they're scared The people better go and beware! No, no, please, no!
Song Notes :
"This is the song that became the name of the band. They were using the name "Earth" when they realized another band had the same name. They liked the name of this song so they used it for their band"
"From Black Sabbath: The Ozzy Osbourne Years: "While rehearsing new material, the band formerly known as Earth experienced a supernatural experience. Geezer and Tony were playing new riffs for Ozzy and Bill when, much to everyone's surprise, they both strummed the same notes at the same tempo – although neither had ever before heard the other one play the piece! Convinced that this was an omen, Geezer christened the song and the group Black Sabbath "
"The title came from a 1964 Borris Karloff movie"
"This was the first song on the first Black Sabbath album. The album cost $1200 to make and took about 8 hours to record"
"As a result of the title, many fans associated the band with Satanism, an image they played up throughout their career. The song is actually about anti-satanism, or at least expresses a healthy fear of the devil"
During a July, 2001 interview with Geezer Butler, Guitar World magazine explained that "having borrowed a 16th century tome of black magic from Osbourne one afternoon, Butler awoke that night to find a black shape staring balefully at him from the foot of his bed. After a few frightening moments, the figure slowly vanished into thin air." Geezer continued to describe how he "told Ozzy about it. It stuck in his mind, and when we started playing 'Black Sabbath', he just came out with those lyrics. . . It had to come out, and it eventually did in that song – and then there was only one possible name for the band, really!"
Generals gathered in their masses, Just like witches at black masses Evil minds that plot destruction, Sorcerer of death's construction In the fields the bodies burning, As the war machine keeps turning Death and hatred to mankind, Poisoning their brainwashed minds Oh Lord Yeah!
Politicians hide themselves away They only started the war Why should they go out to fight? They leave their role to the poor, yeah
Time will tell on their power minds, Making war just for fun Treating people just like pawns in chess, Wait 'till their judgement day comes, yeah
Now in darkness world stops turning, Ashes where the bodies burning No more War Pigs have the power, Hand of God has struck the hour Day of judgement, God is calling On their knees the war pigs crawling, Begging mercy for their sins Satan, laughing, spreads his wings Oh Lord Yeah!
Song Notes :"This is about man's desire to kill and destroy. Sabbath got the idea from war stories they heard when they did a show at an American Air Force base"
"The original name for the song was "Walpurgis," which is a festival with origins in Paganism and Witchcraft. Ozzy released the original version on his 1997 album The Ozzman Cometh"
"The band wanted to use this as the title of the album, but the record company thought it was too controversial and made them use "Paranoid," another song on the album, instead"
"This is one of many Black Sabbath songs that is often misinterpreted as evil. The song speaks out against the horrors of war"
"On the US albums, this is listed as "War Pigs/Luke's Wall." "Luke's Wall" is another name for the end of the song"
"Ozzy's former guitarist Zakk Wylde did a cover of this after he went solo. Other artists who did covers: Slaves on Dope, Pig, Ether, Faith No More, Weezer, Boss Tweed, Red House Painters, Members Only, Badlands, Soulfly, Vital Remains, Ween, Sheavy, Gov't Mule, Phish, Sacred Reich, Alice Donut, Flores Secas, Banda Arie, and Flores Secas"
Has he lost his mind Can he see or is he blind Can he walk at all, Or if he moves will he fall Is he alive or dead? Has he thoughts within his head We'll just pass him there Why should we even care
He was turned to steel In the great magnetic field When he travelled time For the future of mankind
Nobody wants him He just stares at the world Planning his vengeance That he will soon unfurl
Now the time is here For Iron Man to spread fear Vengeance from the grave Kills the people he once saved
Nobody wants him They just turn their heads Nobody helps him Now he has his revenge
Heavy boots of lead Fills his victims full of dread Running as fast as they can Iron Man lives again
Song Notes :"This is about a man who travels through time and sees the end of the world. On his way back to Earth to warn the human race, he goes through a magnetic storm and is turned to iron. Nobody believes him about the end of the world and he gets mad, taking his rage out on the human race, thus bringing about the end of the world that he saw"
"This was the second Black Sabbath single in the US, but it was not released as a single in England. When their first single, "Paranoid," was released a year earlier, a lot of kids would show up at Sabbath shows just to hear the one song. The band did not want to become a "Singles Band" and alienate their core fans"
"A new version was included on the 2000 Black Sabbath Reunion album. It won the Grammy that year for Best Metal Performance"
"This was the biggest US hit for Black Sabbath. It got very little radio play, but developed a cult following, which led to enough sales to give it a chart position"
"The distorted vocals at the beginning that say "I am Iron Man" were made with a talkbox, which is an electronic device hooked up to a guitar amp. The guitarist then forms sounds into a tube that run through the box and create the effect"
Finished with my woman 'cause she couldn't help me with my mind people think I'm insane because I am frowning all the time All day long I think of things but nothing seems to satisfy Think I'll lose my mind if I don't find something to pacify
Can you help me occupy my brain? Oh yeah
I need someone to show me the things in life that I can't find I can't see the things that make true happiness, I must be blind
Make a joke and I will sigh and you will laugh and I will cry Happiness I cannot feel and love to me is so unreal
And so as you hear these words telling you now of my state I tell you to enjoy life I wish I could but it's too late
Song Notes :"This was the first Black Sabbath single. It came out 6 months after their first album"
Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler (from Guitar World magazine, March 2004): "A lot of the Paranoid album was written around the time of our first album, Black Sabbath. We recorded the whole thing in about 2 or 3 days, live in the studio. The Song 'Paranoid' was written as an afterthought. We basically needed a 3 minute filler for the album, and Tony came up with the riff. I quickly did the lyrics, and Ozzy was reading them as he was singing."
"This was used as the title to the second Sabbath album. The band wanted to call it "War Pigs," after another song on the album, but the record company made them use this instead because it was less offensive. The album cover was a literal interpretation of a "War Pig" - it showed a pig with a sword and shield"
"Black Sabbath waited 2 years before releasing another single, "Iron Man." They did not want to become a "Singles Band," with kids coming to their shows just to hear their hits. This also ensured that fans would buy the albums"
