The band is not to be confused with Zakk Wylde's solo project (sometimes known as Book of Shadows after its only album) or with Pride & Glory, Wylde's southern rock band.
History
In 1992, Ozzy retired after the No More Tears tour, which led Zakk to form his own solo band Pride & Glory, blending potent bluesy southern rock with heavy metal. In 1994 Ozzy decided to come out of retirement, and the numerous recording sessions for Ozzmosis took place. Around this time, Zakk was also offered the open guitar slot in Guns N' Roses and had a hard time deciding whether to tour with Ozzy or join Guns N' Roses. Neither project panned out. This gave Wylde the opportunity to record his own acoustic solo album, "Book of Shadows." After limited commercial success with Book Of Shadows, in 1998, Zakk and drummer Phil Ondich formed Black Label Society and recorded their debut album "Sonic Brew." Nick Catanese had been Zakk's touring rhythm guitarist since the Book Of Shadows tour (Zakk records all guitars on his albums). Craig Nunenmacher has been drumming for the band since 1919 Eternal (2001) following Phil's departure. Previous bass players include current Metallica bassist Rob Trujillo, former Megadeth 4-stringer James Lomenzo, and current Alice in Chains bassist Mike Inez, who also played with Zakk on the No More Tears, Ozzy tour.
The band had their song "Fire It Up" featured as a bonus song in the PlayStation 2 game Guitar Hero. Zakk Wylde has an avatar in the video game "Guitar Hero: World Tour", and the song "Stillborn" also appears.
hey you
Black Label Society Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're out of time
Left alone
Yourself to find
Bound and chained by your silence
Things to be known
If it awakens,
Just where,
Hey, hey you
What ya gonna do?
When you open your eyes
And you realize
Hey, hey you
What ya gonna do?
When you open your eyes
And you realize
That batch of lies was really the truth
The paranoia
The fear they're your friends
Wish to hear nothing
While seeing all the same
Bound and chained by your silence
Things to be known
If it awakens,
Just where,
Where will it go now?
The lyrics to Black Label Society's song Hey You discuss the idea of being disconnected from reality and the fear of awakening to the truth. The opening lines, "Out of touch, you're out of time, left alone yourself to find," suggests that the person being addressed has been isolated from the world and left to their own devices to find their way. The next line, "Bound and chained by your silence, things to be known," implies that the person has made a conscious decision to remain silent about something that needs to be expressed.
The chorus, "Hey, hey you, what ya gonna do? When you open your eyes and you realize that batch of lies was really the truth," seems to be questioning how the person will react when they finally realize that the lies they have been telling themselves or others are actually the truth. The next verse discusses paranoia and the idea that fear can become a person's ally rather than their enemy. The line "Wish to hear nothing while seeing all the same" suggests that the person is aware of the truth on some level, but does not want to acknowledge it. The bridge repeats the idea of being bound and chained by one's own silence and once again questions where the person will go once they finally awaken to the truth.
In summary, the lyrics to Black Label Society's song Hey You delve into the idea of being disconnected from reality and the fear of acknowledging the truth. The chorus in particular seems to be asking the person being addressed how they will react when they finally realize that the lies they have been telling themselves are actually the truth.
Line by Line Meaning
Out of touch
Disconnected from reality and unaware of what's going on
You're out of time
You've run out of time to make things right
Left alone
Abandoned with nobody to turn to
Yourself to find
You need to discover who you really are
Bound and chained by your silence
You're holding yourself back by not speaking up
Things to be known
There are important things you need to learn
If it awakens,
If you become aware of the truth
Just where,
Where will you go from here
Where will it go now?
What will you do with this new knowledge
Hey, hey you
Hey, you there
What ya gonna do?
What are you going to do about it
When you open your eyes
When you become aware of what's really going on
And you realize
And you finally understand
That batch of lies was really the truth
The things you always thought were lies were actually true
The paranoia
The overwhelming fear and suspicion
The fear they're your friends
The fear has become a familiar companion
Wish to hear nothing
You don't want to know the truth
While seeing all the same
Even though you see the truth, you ignore it
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ZAKK WYLDE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind