Black Sabbath

Released: November 4, 1981

Songwriter: Dio Geezer Butler Tony Iommi

Producer: Martin Birch

If there isn't light when no-one sees
Then how can I know
What you might believe?
A story told that can't be real
Somehow must reflect the truth we feel

Fade away, fade away
Vanish into small
Fade away, fade away
Break the crystal ball

It's the sign
Feels like the time

On a small world, west of wonder
Somewhere, nowhere all
There's a rainbow that will shimmer
When the summer falls
If an echo doesn't answer
When it hears a certain song
Then the Beast is free to wander
But never is seen around

And it's the sign of the southern cross
It's the sign of the southern cross
Alright, sail away to the sign

From the book, the word is spoken
Whispers from forgotten psalms
Gather all around the young ones
They will make us strong

Reach above your dreams of pleasure
Given life to those who died
Look beyond your own horizons
Sail the ship of signs

And it's the sign of the southern cross
It's the sign of the southern cross
Alright, sail away to the sign
Fade away, fade away
Break the crystal ball
Fade away, fade away
I can't accept it anymore

On a real world, west of wonder
Somewhere, nowhere all
There's a rainbow that will shimmer
When the summer falls
From the book, the word is spoken
Whispers from forgotten psalms
Gather all around the young ones
They will make us strong

It's the sign of the southern cross
It's the sign of the southern cross

Don't live for pleasure
Make life your treasure
Fade away
Eight miles high, about to fall
And no-one there to catch you
Look for the sign, the time
The sign of the southern cross

From their start as a heavy blues-rock band called Earth in 1968, Black Sabbath survived over four decades with a total of 19 studio albums and numerous hits, but only “Paranoid” reached the top 10 UK Singles Chart, putting together one of the greatest rock bands of all time and setting the standards for music in their genre.

Virtually every single heavy metal band has cited the early Black Sabbath albums as a major musical influence and Black Sabbath have at least played some part in laying the foundations for most of heavy metal’s sub-genres, including thrash metal (“Symptom of the Universe” and “Into the Void”), doom metal (“Black Sabbath”) and stoner metal (“Sweet Leaf”). The band also explored many rock sub-genres, including hard rock (“Paranoid”), blues rock (“N.I.B.”), psychedelic rock (“Planet Caravan”) and, of course, the traditional heavy metal, being one of the precursors of this genre.

They were ranked by MTV as the “Greatest Metal Band” of all time and placed second in VH1’s “100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock” list. Rolling Stone magazine ranked them number 85 in their “100 Greatest Artists of All Time.” They have sold over 70 million records worldwide. Black Sabbath were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. They have also won two Grammy Awards for Best Metal Performance.

more tracks from the album

Mob Rules

From the albums

Mob Rules (1981)
The Rules of Hell (2008)

Black Sabbath popular songs

The Sign of the Southern CrossBlack Sabbath

Black Sabbath

Mob Rules