B L A C K   S A B B A T H :   L I G H T   I N   T H E   D A R K N E S S 

Copyright 1987 Bob Szekely.

    John Michael Osbourne, (known as "Ozzy" to his fans), has in his long 
career as vocalist for Black Sabbath had his work with the group misconstrued 
as advocating Satanism.  In a 1983 radio special featuring Ozzy, the 
interviewer expressed precisely this point; "...Ozzy has always been shrouded 
in the darkest of Satanic imagery.  Yet if you really listen to his music, 
you'll find that what he is saying differs greatly from his image...."(1)  Even 
the group's image has often been described as "occult and diabolic".(2)

    The important point to remember here is to differentiate between appearance 
and reality.  Although the name "Black Sabbath" conjures up images of witches 
and sorcerers paying homage to Satan for the powers bestowed upon them, this 
does not make it safe to assume that the group that went by this name 
necessarily drew the inspiration from the occult.(3)  The closest they ever 
came to it was a gothic horror film featuring Boris Karloff as narrator; they 
adopted their name directly from the name of this film.(4)  Black Sabbath was 
involved in the black arts as much as Karloff practiced casting spells off-
screen.  Tony Iommi, the group's guitarist, summed it up best when he described 
the group as having basically "...the same appeal as a horror movie.  It's all 
an act."(5)










    Just as their film counterpart did, Ozzy and Sabbath found the occult 
mythos to be an effective vehicle for powerful social commentary; particularly 
when put in the context of heavy-metal rock and roll.  Ozzy himself noted that 
there are "...people who pick up my [album] cover[s] and go...'This guy's got 
to be singing about Devil, doom, death and destruction.'  Which is not the 
case...."(6)

    The late Lester Bangs likened the group to Bob Dylan and William Burroughs, 
describing them all as "...moralists...trying to deal with a serious present 
situation in an honest way...."(7)  Ozzy and Black Sabbath merely bring to 
light the many evils of our world in their work, to try and make us realize 
that we are all victim to their influence.  They hope to make us recognize 
these evils so that we may take up arms against them; a point Ozzy emphatically 
stresses:  "...one thing everybody has got to understand about Black Sabbath's 
lyrics.  They're not downer lyrics, they're just telling everybody where it's 
at..."(8)  He also cites the group's most controversial tune, "Black Sabbath", 
as a response to the ignorant hippie culture still force when the tune was 
written in 1970:  "The hippies said: 'The world is beautiful man.' (sic)  You 
only had to look around you to see how crappy it was.  It was ridiculous 
listening to that stuff, let alone playing it, so we just wrote about the world 
the way it really was and how it affected us - and we felt better in ourselves 
because we were really being honest...."(9)


                           A F T E R   F O R E V E R 


    I   1   HAVE YOU EVER THOUGH ABOUT YOUR SOUL-
        2   CAN IT BE SAVED?
        3   OR PERHAPS YOU THINK THAT WHEN YOU ARE DEAD
        4   YOU JUST STAY IN YOUR GRAVE.
        5   IS GOD JUST A THOUGHT WITHIN YOUR HEAD OR IS
        6   HE A PART OF YOU?
        7   IS CHRIST JUST A NAME THAT YOU READ IN A BOOK
        8   WHEN YOU WERE AT SCHOOL?

    II  9   WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT DEATH DO YOU LOSE
        10  YOUR BREATH OR DO YOU KEEP YOUR COOL?
        11  WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE THE POPE ON THE END
        12  OF A ROPE - DO YOU THINK HE'S A FOOL?
        13  WELL I'VE SEEN THE TRUTH - YES I'VE SEEN 
        14  THE LIGHT AND I'VE CHANGED MY WAYS.
        15  AND I'LL BE PREPARED WHEN YOU'RE LONELY 
        16  AND SCARED AT THE END OF OUR DAYS.

    III 17  COULD IT BE YOU'RE AFRAID OF WHAT YOU'R
        18  FRIENDS MIGHT SAY 
        19  IF THEY NEW YOU BELIEVED IN GOD ABOVE
        20  THEY SHOULD REALISE BEFORE THE CRITICISE
        21  THAT GOD IS THE ONLY WAY TO LOVE.

    IV  23  IS YOUR MIND SO SMALL THAT YOU HAVE TO FALL
        24 IN WITH THE PACK WHEREVER THEY RUN
        25  WILL YOU STILL SNEER WHEN DEATH IS NEAR
        26  AND SAY THEY MAY AS WELL WORSHIP THE SUN.

    V   27  I THINK IT WAS TRUE IT WAS PEOPLE LIKE YOU
        28  THAT CRUCIFIED CHRIST
        29  I THINK IT IS SAD THE OPINION YOU HADE WAS THE
        30  ONLY ONE VOICED.
        31  WILL YOU BE SO SURE WHEN YOUR DAY IS NEAR
        32  SAY YOU DON'T BELIEVE?
        33  YOU HAD THE CHANCE BUT YOU TURNED IT DOWN
        34  NOW YOU CAN'T RETRIEVE.










    VI  35  PERHAPS YOU'LL THINK BEFORE YOU SAY THAT
        36  GOD IS DEAD AND GONE
        37  OPEN YOUR EYES, JUST REALIZE THAT HE IS THE
        38  ONE.
        39  THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN SAVE YOU KNOW FROM
        40  ALL THIS SIN AND HATE.
        41  OR WILL YOU STILL JEER AT ALL YOU HEAR?
        42  YES!-I THINK IT'S TOO LATE.

    In this piece, the group asserts a belief in an afterlife and spiritual 
redemption.  As grisly as the image of a hanged pontiff is, its shock value is 
a necessary part of the message:  They reject religious dogma, stating that a 
belief in God, in one's own heart, is the only guiding light to help one inn 
his life (lines 11/12, 39/40).  Furthermore, the reject religious hypocrisy 
(lines 5/6, 7/8) and peer pressure (verses III, IV) as excuses for not 
accepting God.  To clarify further:  following the crowd does not justify 
shrugging responsibility for one's own actions.

    After re-reading, it becomes obvious that this song is an ascerbic critique 
of atheism; (line 35/36) I refer here again to verses three and four.  In these 
two verses, the picture painted in one of Godless conformity and how it's 
viewed as being as foolish as Paganism.  These lyrics set an example for the 
listener by relating personal experience (lines 13-16).  However, for those who 
cannot accept this the group has no recourse but to condemn them, although 
rather ironically; they hope that their rhetorical loss of faith in the 
listener will open his eyes (line 42).










                           B L A C K   S A B B A T H 



            WHAT IS THIS, THAT STANDS BEFORE ME?
            FIGURE IN BLACK, WHICH POINTS AT ME
            TURN ROUND QUICK AND START TO RUN
            FIND OUT I'M THE CHOSEN ONE.  OH, NO!
            
            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 THIS 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!!
                
                
    The all time controversy winner!  Is this not irrefutably  THE song about 
Black Magic in rock?  It's all so obvious, suffuse with evil imagery; Satan, 
walls of flame, figure in black, and damnation at the end.  Yes, I see the 
images too; it definitely concerns Black Magic.  Then again, Shakespeare's 
Macbeth employed scenes of witches involved in conjurations; does that mean 
that Shakespeare was a warlock?  Poe used to write sardonic tragedies about 
twisted murderers and the bizarre nature of acts, did that make him an evil, 
leering, demented killer?  Did either of them advocated what they wrote about?  
One has to remember that writing about something is not necessarily the same as 
emulating it.  Tony Iommi spoke out quite strongly about this:  "People are 
bringing us down saying that we are a Black Magic group.  I think they must be










getting mixed up with Black Widow.  We don't do any sacrifices on stage, and 
we're not on a black magic kick.  We wanted to do heavy numbers and the guitar 
riffs we worked out were more suited to evil things than love.  We play songs 
about black magic, but they are more likely to be against than for it."(12)  

    By now, you're probably asking yourself who Black Widow is, right?  Then 
it's time for a little history:

        Sabbath, before they were known as Sabbath, had the same line-up but 
two earlier names.  The first one was Polka Tulk, which seemed sure to doom 
them to obscurity.(13)  The soon realized this and changed the group's name to 
Earth.  Now, Earth was a blues band at the end of the English blues boom.  As 
if that wasn't bad enough, they soon discovered that not only was there another 
group named Earth, but they had also released a single.  To avoid confusion, 
they changed their name again.(14)  But what made them decide on that name?  
Just ask Ozzy:  "I just liked the name Black Sabbath because of the succession 
of vowel sounds.(15)  If that sounds ludicrous just consider this:  Sabbath was 
"...the first of the really committed, loud and heavy bands..."(16)  They 
needed a name to match the gut-wrenching power they were developing.  Tony knew 
that he wanted Sabbath to be noticed above all the rest of the British blues 
bands:  "We wanted something of our own that we'd like and people would like.  
And we wanted something loud!"










    Tony didn't hate the blues.  He'd cut his teeth as a guitarist on the likes 
of The Shadows, Buddy Holly and Django Rheinhardt, developing his own style 
from there.  But he realized the group had no future in the blues:

        'We couldn't keep playing 12-bars forever.  We just got fed up with 
Earth music.  It was jazz, blues stuff.  It was good for practice but nothing 
else.'

    In the late 'Sixties, blues groups were a dime a dozen in Birmingham and 
interest was waning in the blues boom due to the glut of groups.  One man, by 
the name of Jim Simpson, had heard Earth around the Birmingham club circuit and 
understood what they were trying to do.  He decided to take them under his 
wing.  With the aid of his massive record collection, Jim expanded the group's 
horizons in the areas of jazz and blues.  He introduced them to artists like 
Wes Montgomery, Count Basie and Jimmy Rushing.  It was from Rushing in 
particular that they derived the repetitive riff style so readily noticeable in 
their later incarnation as Black Sabbath.

    The Count Basie influence is evidenced in the song "Wicked World" from the 
first album; Sabbath drummer Bill Ward uses a "'sighing hi-hat'...in the manner 
of Basie's drummer Jo Jones."










    The influence is subtle, almost subliminal.  Yet it is one which was not 
thought capable of hard, 'heavy' rock bands in the late 'Sixties.  Although Led 
Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix also had their work steeped in blues and jazz 
derivations (Hendrix' "Third Stone From the Sun" and Zeppelin's version of 
Willie Dixon's "I Can't Quit You Baby" from their first album), neither was 
able to match the intense energy of Black Sabbath.  Iommi has always had a 
preference for music with an original, distinct style of its' own; as an 
example, he mentions guitarists Joe Pass and Alvin Lee as two of his strongest 
songwriting influences.

    It would also be necessary that Sabbath develop a unique, distinctive style 
and image of their own.  Though they had changed their name from Earth to Black 
Sabbath to avoid confusion with the other Earth; at the same time another group 
emerged by the name of Black Widow "...who WERE profoundly influenced by the 
occult, had a male witch as a patron, and wrote pieces like "Come to The 
Sabbat."  Unfortunately, Sabbath was constantly reaping the benefits of Widow's 
publicity.

    Sabbath was a group that never minced words.  If they saw something as 
destructive, they would be sure to rub the listener's face it it.  They did not 
want their point to be missed.

    With their straightforward, sometimes brutal way of looking at things, they 
try to shock the listener's conscience back into awareness.  The imagery of 
"Hand of Doom", from the Paranoid album, is candid and condemning; it is a 
strong statement against drug addiction and rightly so...


                            H A N D   O F   D O O M 


            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
            COLORS IN YOUR MIND
            SATISFY IN 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
            POOR 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
            YOU'RE MINDS ALL FULL OF THINGS
            YOU'RE LIVING TOO FAST
            GO OUT AND ENJOY YOURSELF
            DON'T BOTTLE IT IN
            YOU NEED SOMEONE TO HELP YOU
            STICK THE NEEDLE IN, YEAH!
            
            NOW YOU KNOW THE SCENE
            YOUR SKIN STARTS TURNING GREEN
            YOUR EYES NO LONGER SEE
            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
            FALL DOWN TO THE GROUND
            FEEL YOUR BODY HEAVE
            DEATH'S HANDS START TO WEAVE
            
            IT'S TO LATE TOO TURN
            YOU DON'T WANNA LEARN
            PRICE OF LIFE YOU CRY
            NOW YOU'RE GONNA DIE
            
            
    Many people felt the group's overall direction was pessimistic and had a 
negative effect on its listener's due to that.  "Ozzy insisted that if people 
thought he was having a bad effect on the minds of young kids, they should go 
and watch the TV news where real murder and mayhem were a way of life, and 
shown night after night." (18)

    Sabbath was never negative in their message; they were simply truthful 
about waht they saw as wrong in the world.  If you "Strip away the horror 
stories, the imagery and the hysteria, (and) turn down the amps a notch...you 
have a well-rehearsed, solid blues and rock band, powered by a dedication to 
well defined objectives."  On the top of the list of those objectives was 
truth; Sabbath never feared facing that truth squarely, regardless of what many 
people thought of them.










                                      NOTES

    (1)Jim Ladd, "Innerview:  Ozzy Osbourne,"
(New York:  WAPP 103.5 FM, April 4, 1983) 12-1 a.m.

    (2)Richard Hogan, :Black Sabbath:  Masters of Reality," Circus Rock 
Immortals #1 (1980) p. 31.

    (3)Harry E. Wedeck, "Black Mass/Sabbat," A Treasury of Witchcraft (New 
York:  Citadel Press, 1968) pp. 119-120.

    (4)Hogan, p. 31

    (5)Chris Welch, Black Sabbath (New York:  Proteus Publishing Company, Inc., 
1982) p. 67.

    (6)Ladd.

    (7)Welch, p. 53.

    (8)Ibid, p. 80.

    (9)Ibid, p. 20.

    (10)Master of Reality (New York:  Warner Brothers Records Inc., 1971).

    (11)Black Sabbath, "Black Sabbath," Shattering Sounds From 4 Albums, et al 
(New York:  Tro Essex Music International) pp. 4-8.

    (12)Welch, p. 28.

    (13)Ibid, p. 12.

    (14)Welch, p. 20.

    (15)Ibid, p. 28.

    (16)Welch, pp. 67, 72, 50, 14, 17, 55.

    (17)Black Sabbath, "Hand of Doom," Shattering Sounds, pp. 137-147

    (18)Welch, pp. 91-70












                                  BIBLIOGRAPHY

Black Sabbath.  Master of Reality.
    Warner Brothers Records Inc., 1971.

Black Sabbath.  Shattering Sounds from 4 Albums, et al.
    New York:  Tro Essex Music International.  pp. 4-8, 138-147

Hogan, Richard.  "Black Sabbath:  Masters of Reality."
    Circus Rock Immortals # 1, 1980.  pp. 31-32.

Ladd, Jim.  "Innerview:  Ozzy Osbourne."  New York:
    WAPP 103.5 FM.  April 4, 1983, 12-1 a.m.

Rogan, Michael.  "Heavy Metal Havoc:  Black Sabbath - Live Evil/ Ozzy Osbourne -
    Speak of the Devil"  Good Times, 326, March 1-7 1983. p. 15.

Rothberg, Gerald.  "Face to Face with Ozzy Osbourne."
    Circus, June 30, 1981.  pp. 28-29.

Wedeck, Harry E.  "Black Mass/Sabbat." 
    A Treasury of Witchcraft.  New York:  Citadel Press, 1968.  pp. 119-120.

Welch, Chris.  Black Sabbath.  New York:  Proteus Publishing Company, Inc.,
    1982.  passim.




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