Released: July 21, 1971

Songwriter: Geezer Butler Tony Iommi

Producer: Rodger Bain

[Verse 1]
Have you ever thought about your soul
Can it be saved?
Or perhaps you think
That when you are dead
You just stay in your grave
Is God just a thought within your head
Or is he a part of you?
Is Christ just a name
That you read in the book
When you were in school?

[Verse 2]
When you think about death
Do you lose your breath
Or do you keep your cool?
Would you like to see the Pope
On the end of a rope?
Do you think he's a fool?
Well I have seen the truth
Yes, I've seen the light
And I've changed my ways
And I'll be prepared
When you're lonely and scared
At the end of our days

[Bridge]
Could it be you're afraid
Of what your friends might say
If they knew you believe in God above?
They should realise before they criticise
That God is the only way to love
Is your mind so small
That you have to fall
In with the pack wherever they run
Will you still sneer when death is near
And say that you may as well
Worship the sun?

[Verse 3]
I think it was true it was people like you
That crucified Christ
I think it is sad the opinion you had
Was the only one voiced
Will you be so sure
When your day is near
Say you don't believe?
You had the chance
But you turned it down
Now you can't retrieve

[Outro]
Perhaps you'll think before you say
That God is dead and gone
Open your eyes, just realise
That He is the one
The only one who can save you now
From all this sin and hate
Or will you jeer at all you hear?
Yes, I think it's too late

Black Sabbath

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.