In their 1971 album, mainly of religious content, “Master of reality”, Black Sabbath call young people to leave the pathetic condition of making consent and of offering their fates and lives to politicians and generals (as described in their songs War Pigs and Electric Funeral) and to make a stand against war and nuclear fear, in their revolutionary song “Children of the grave”.
Children Of The Grave
Revolution in their minds - the children start to march
Against the world they have to live in
Oh! 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 sunrise of tomorrow bring in 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 say
If you want a better place to live in spread
the word today
Show the world that love is still alive you must be brave
Or you children of today are children of the grave
In another song of this album “Into the void”, there is also a description of a nuclear warfare and it’s impacts, but the solution is still naive, the escaping to other planets to rebuild a new peaceful society. But in a free interpretation, the other planets could be the vision of a new peaceful and ecological society, or the construction of egalitarian ecological communities.
Into The Void
Rocket engines burning fuel so fast
Up into the night sky they blast
Through the universe the engines whine
Could it be the end of man and time
Back on earth the flame of life burns low
Everywhere is misery and woe
Pollution kills the air, the land, the sea
Man prepares to meet his destiny
Rocket engines burning fuel so fast
Up into the black sky so vast
Burning metal through the atmosphere
Earth remains in worry, hate and fear
With the hateful battles raging on
Rockets flying to the glowing sun void
Through the empires of eternal
Freedom the final suicide
Freedom fighters sent out to the sun
Escape from brainwashed winds and pollution
Leave the earth to all it's sin and hate
Find another world where freedom waits
Past the stars in fields of ancient void
Through the shields of darkness where they find
Love upon a land a world unknown
Where the sons of freedom make their home
Leave the earth - to satan and his slaves
Leave them to their future in their graves
Make a home where love is there to slay
Peace and happiness in every day.
Comparing this album with the previous (Paranoid) that we presented one month ago, we can conclude that now there is a strong call to action for social change in contrast with the pathetic people’s waiting for the Judgement day for deliverance.
You can hear these songs in you tube:
Children of the grave
Into the void
07 September, 2007
Black Sabbath: Children of the grave, Into the Void, album Master of Reality, 1971
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4 comments:
The Children of the Grave have puzzled me for a long time, until I studied more carefully the lyrics and the story behind the song "Revolution" of The Beatles (see also our post of July 19th 2007). I believe now that Revolution was the primary source of inspiration for the Children of the Grave. However, the lyrics of the latter seem to lack the sensitivity, the humour and the political originality of the former. Lennon writes from within of the peace movement, and had the passion to hold on his non-violent ideas even if there were many to call him "traitor". On the contrary, Osbourne doesn't seem very much into the peace movement, despite the lyrical offensive against the "War Pigs" (which could well be a personal stance). The atmosphere which builds around the lyrics of the Children of the Grave is rather of a religious conservative background rather than of certain radical non-violent politics. So we have included this song here more for its resemblance to Lennon's "Revolution" rather for its own sake.
Perhaps this is a very rigid position, but taking into consideration later conservative political positions of Osbourne himself, it is not unjustified.
Ozzy Osbourne was one of the most controversial rock stars. During his early carrier has strong anti-war and revolutionary ideas despite they were from relligious point of view.
Later on, he left such ideas towards a more metaphysical and more esoteric songwriting.
After leaving Black Sabbath he wrotes some anti-war/anti-nuclear songs but they are quite cool and not sincere, having in mind that he turned to conservatism stating that he votes Margaret Thacher.
The last years he became the most ridiculous rock star ever, going to play in an american military camp in S. Korea, accepting the invitaion by George Bush to visit the White House and offering his personal life and his familly to a reality show.
Our interest to this person lasts with his first personal album in late 80s where there is a beautiful anti-nuclear song the "Revelation/Mother Earth" which we intend to include in our collection
Many of the conclusions drawn above are completely off the mark, because Ozzy has written very few lyrics during his career. The majority of the lyrics in the Black Sabbath days were written by the bassist Geezer Butler. The lyrics on Ozzy's first 5 solo albums were written by Bob Daisley, who was the bassist on the first 2 Ozzy albums.
thank you for your comments,
of course you are right, but we think that Ozzy was never a neutral or session performer of any song commissioned to sing.
On the contrary, he has performed songs in his albums (either personal or Sabbath's) that he liked and approved their lyrical contents having to do with his beliefs, attitudes, or interests.
Bob Daisley was a session mucisian and probably he wrote the lyrics after Ozzy's commission for their content.
Black Sabbath was a band and must be seen as a unity who have shared and expressed common views at least for a period of their career.
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