Black Sabbath

Released: August 20, 2002

Songwriter: Bill Ward Geezer Butler Tony Iommi Ozzy Osbourne

[Verse 1]
(I hide–I hide–I hide–)
I hide myself inside the shadows of shame
The silent symphonies were playing their game
My body echoed to the dreams of my soul
It started something that I could not control
Where can I run to now, the joke is on me
No sympathizing God, it's insanity, yeah

[Refrain]
Why don’t you just get out of my life, yeah?
Why don't you just get out of my life, now?
Why doesn't everybody leave me alone, now?
Why doesn’t everybody leave me alone, yeah?

[Verse 2]
(Obsessed–obsessed–obsessed–)
Obsessed with fantasy, possessed with my schemes
I mixed reality with pseudo-God dreams
The ghost of violence was something I'd seen
I sold my soul to be the human obscene
How could this poison be the dream of my soul?
How did my fantasies take complete control, yeah?

[Refrain]
Why don't you just get out of my life, yeah?
Why don't you just get out of my life, now?
Why doesn't everybody leave me alone, now?
Why doesn't everybody leave me alone, yeah?

[Instrumental Bridge]

[Verse 3]
Well, I feel something's taking me I don't know where
It’s like a trip inside a separate mind
The ghost of tomorrow from my favorite dream
Is telling me to leave it all behind
Feel it slipping away, slipping in tomorrow
Gotta get to happiness, want no more of sorrow

[Chorus]
Realised when to hide
How I tried to get away from you, now
Now am I right if I fight
That I might just get away from you, now
Sting me!

[Verse 4]
Well, I feel something’s giving me the chance to return
It's giving me the chance of saving my soul
Pictures of demigod are fading away
I’m going backward, but I'm in control
Feel it slipping away, slipping in tomorrow
Getting back to sanity, providence of sorrow

[Chorus]
Was it wise to disguise
How I tried to get away from you, now?
Is there a way that I can pay
Or is it true I have to stay with you, now?

[Guitar Solo]

[Chorus]
How I lied, went to hide
How I tried to get away from you now
Am I right in my fight
That I might just get away from you now
Suck me!

[Verse 5]
I'm really digging schizophrenia, the best of the earth
I'll chase my soul in the fires of hell
Peace of mind eluded me, but now it’s all mine
I simply try, but he wants me to fail
Feel it slipping away, slipping in tomorrow
Now I've found my happiness, providence of sorrow

[Chorus]
No more lies, I got wise
I despise the way I worshiped you
Now I'm free, let me see
That now instead, I won't be led by you, now
Free!

[Instrumental Outro]

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

Past Lives

From the album

Past Lives (2002)

Black Sabbath popular songs

Megalomania [Past Lives]Black Sabbath

Black Sabbath

Past Lives