After previous iterations of the group – the Polka Tulk Blues Band and Earth – the band settled on the name Black Sabbath in 1969. They distinguished themselves through occult themes with horror-inspired lyrics and down-tuned guitars. Signing to Philips Records in November 1969, they released their first single, "Evil Woman", in January 1970, and their debut album, Black Sabbath, was released the following month. Though it received a negative critical response, the album was a commercial success, leading to a follow-up record, Paranoid, later that year. The band's popularity grew, and by 1973's Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, critics were starting to respond favourably.
Osbourne's excessive substance abuse led to his firing in 1979. He was replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio. Following two albums with Dio, Black Sabbath endured many personnel changes in the 1980s and 1990s that included vocalists Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Ray Gillen and Tony Martin, as well as several drummers and bassists. Martin, who replaced Gillan in 1987, was the second-longest serving vocalist and recorded three albums with Black Sabbath before his dismissal in 1991. That same year, Iommi and Butler were rejoined by Dio and drummer Vinny Appice to record Dehumanizer (1992). After two more studio albums with Martin, who replaced Dio in 1993, the band's original line-up reunited in 1997 and released a live album, Reunion, the following year; they continued to tour occasionally until 2005. Other than various back catalogue reissues and compilation albums, as well as the Mob Rules-era line-up reunited as Heaven & Hell, there was no further activity under the Black Sabbath until 2011 with the release of their final studio album and 19th overall, 13, in 2013, which features all of the original members except Ward. During their farewell tour, the band played their final concert in their home city of Birmingham on 4 February 2017. Occasional partial reunions have happened since, most recently when Osbourne and Iommi performed together at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Black Sabbath have sold over 70 million records worldwide as of 2013, making them one of the most commercially successful heavy metal bands. Black Sabbath, together with Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin, have been referred to as the "unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid-seventies". They were ranked by MTV as the "Greatest Metal Band of All Time" and placed second on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" list. Rolling Stone magazine ranked them number 85 on their "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". 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, and in 2019 the band were presented a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sabbath
Studio albums
Black Sabbath (1970)
Paranoid (1970)
Master of Reality (1971)
Vol. 4 (1972)
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)
Sabotage (1975)
Technical Ecstasy (1976)
Never Say Die! (1978)
Heaven and Hell (1980)
Mob Rules (1981)
Born Again (1983)
Seventh Star (1986)
The Eternal Idol (1987)
Headless Cross (1989)
Tyr (1990)
Dehumanizer (1992)
Cross Purposes (1994)
Forbidden (1995)
13 (2013)
Buried Alive
Black Sabbath Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Once upon a time
You're running from temptation
You got lost
And found that you don't
Belong to anybody
You're all the same
Just another number
Cross it out
Whenever you don't behave
Someone got the doctor
He knows what to do
Throw some bones and mumble
The devil's inside of you
It might be contagious
It might change the plan
Get back in your tiny boxes
Even if you can't
We say you can
Join the congregation
Everybody's got to get in line and
We never justify
The choir sings a never-ending lie
Pre-chorus:
When you thought you were free
You didn't need a reason
No reason to survive
Chorus:
As the big door closes
And you waiting for the nail
Somebody tell the world
You're buried alive
Once upon a nightmare
Once upon a time
You're running from tomorrow
You got lost
And found that another
Day has turned to ashes
Taken by the wind
Frozen seeds of sorrow
Never to begin
Join the celebration
And everybody's got to get in line and
We never justify
The choir sings a never-ending lie
Pre-chorus:
When you thought you were free
You did not need a reason
No reason to survive
Chorus:
As the big door closes
And you waiting for the mail
Somebody tell the world
You're buried alive
One more nightmare
Just one more time
Join the congregation
Everybody get in line
Celebration
The choir sings a lie
As you call
The hammer falls
And no one hears you cry
I'm buried alive
The song "Buried Alive" by Black Sabbath from their 1982 album "Born Again" is a powerful portrayal of the loss of identity and the feeling of being trapped in a society that demands conformity above all else. The opening lyrics paint a vivid picture of the singer running from temptation and getting lost, finding themselves unable to belong to anyone. The repeated phrase "just another number" is a clear reference to the dehumanizing effect of societal pressure to conform, which reduces individuals to mere statistics.
The second verse introduces the idea that the "devil" is inside of the singer and that it might be contagious. This can be interpreted as society labeling those who do not conform as "evil" and encouraging others to shun them. The chorus reinforces the feeling of being trapped, with the big door closing and waiting for the "nail" (presumably a coffin nail) to seal the singer in their fate.
The song concludes with a final plea to "join the congregation" and be part of the never-ending choir singing a lie, implying that there is no escape from the pressure to conform. The crushing final line "the hammer falls and no one hears you cry" is a poignant representation of the individual being trapped by societal pressure and left to suffer in silence.
Line by Line Meaning
Once upon a nightmare
In the depths of a terrifying dream
Once upon a time
In a distant memory, long ago
You're running from temptation
Avoiding things that lead you down a dangerous path
You got lost
Going astray from the expected route
And found that you don't
Realizing that you do not
Belong to anybody
Feelings of being lost and alone
You're all the same
All people are interchangeable
Just another number
Counting people like objects
Cross it out
Erasing a person
Whenever you don't behave
Punished for not conforming to expectations
Someone got the doctor
A trained professional has been called to assist
He knows what to do
Confidence in the ability of the expert
Throw some bones and mumble
Performing mystical rituals
The devil's inside of you
The belief that evil is within oneself
It might be contagious
The idea that sin can spread
It might change the plan
A deviation from the intended course of action
Get back in your tiny boxes
Return to prescribed behaviors
Even if you can't
Follow even if it is impossible
We say you can
Artificial encouragement
Join the congregation
Join the conformist masses
Everybody's got to get in line and
Everyone must conform to societal norms
We never justify
Rationalizations for conformity are not given
The choir sings a never-ending lie
People are persuaded to believe a collective falsehood
When you thought you were free
The illusion of personal freedom
You didn't need a reason
Freedom is without explanation
No reason to survive
Living without a purpose
As the big door closes
An irrevocable decision is made
And you waiting for the nail
Awaiting permanent enclosure
Somebody tell the world
A plea for outside intervention
You're buried alive
Trapped without hope of escape
You're running from tomorrow
Fearing the future
You got lost
Lost again
And found that another
Discovered anew
Day has turned to ashes
Life is charred and bleak
Taken by the wind
Fleeting and insubstantial
Frozen seeds of sorrow
Seeds of sadness that are impossible to thaw
Never to begin
A defeated acceptance of loss
Join the celebration
Forced merriment
The choir sings a never-ending lie
The lie continues to be spread
As the big door closes
Finality is imminent
And you waiting for the mail
Giving up hope and waiting for death
One more nightmare
Another horror
Just one more time
One last instance
As you call
A desperate cry for help
The hammer falls
The end is swift and brutal
And no one hears you cry
Suffering alone and unheard
I'm buried alive
Subjective experience of entrapment
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GEEZER BUTLER, RONNIE JAMES DIO, TONY IOMMI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Valazhark
Once upon a nightmare
Once upon a time
You're running from temptation
You got lost
And found that you don't
Belong to anybody
You're all the same
Just another number
Cross it out
Whenever you don't behave
Someone got the doctor
He knows what to do
Throw some bones and mumble
The devil's inside of you
It might be contagious
It might change the plan
Get back in your tiny boxes
Even if you can't
We say you can
Join the congregation
Everybody's got to get in line and
We never justify
The choir sings a never-ending lie
Pre-chorus:
When you thought you were free
You didn't need a reason
No reason to survive
Chorus:
As the big door closes
And you waiting for the nail
Somebody tell the world
You're buried alive
Once upon a nightmare
Once upon a time
You're running from tomorrow
You got lost
And found that another
Day has turned to ashes
Taken by the wind
Frozen seeds of sorrow
Never to begin
Join the celebration
And everybody's got to get in line and
We never justify
The choir sings a never-ending lie
Pre-chorus:
When you thought you were free
You did not need a reason
No reason to survive
Chorus:
As the big door closes
And you waiting for the mail
Somebody tell the world
You're buried alive
One more nightmare
Just one more time
Join the congregation
Everybody get in line
Celebration
The choir sings a lie
As you call
The hammer falls
And no one hears you cry
I'm buried alive
Peter Pretorius
The riff sounds like a mixture of the main riff of "Zero the hero" and the hard riff at the end of "sabbath bloody sabbath". I´m a big fan of Sabbath and Toni Iommi, especially the old stuff, but Dehumanizer is great.
Всадник Апокалипсиса
Peter Pretorius Nope. First part of Zero The Hero riff was reanimated in Iommi's 'Bible Black', second part was plagiated by Guns & Roses in 'Paradise City'
Nicholas Gentry
Only Dio could put an amazing melody over a riff that chromatic.
Sonic Blitz
@Thomas Tyler Awesome! i saw Dio only once with Sabbath and consider myself extremely blessed !
Thomas Tyler
Agreed i saw DIO live 6x once with Rainbow 2x with Sabbath 3x solo awesome vocals Everytime
Nicola Cedro
True
Ryan Williams
This has to be one of the most overlooked Dio era songs from Sabbath. Simple but crushing
raul carrasco
todo este disco es brutal, uno de mis favoritos \\m//
Dream Lover
It is the ultimate album, very unique and energy is overwhelming. So many ting can be said...
martanmart
this is one of the albums you can leave in your car stereo for days, weeks,months and never get bored, not one weak song on it, I really liked this BS line up, brilliant!!