Black Sabbath was an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham, Warwick… Read Full Bio ↴Black Sabbath was an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham, Warwickshire in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped define the genre with releases such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970) and Master of Reality (1971). The band had multiple line-up changes following Osbourne's departure in 1979 and Iommi is the only constant member throughout their history.

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)

Selling My Soul
Black Sabbath Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Man of madness who lives in my head
Keeping me awake at night he sits on my bed
He drives me crazy, he won't go away
Playing his game every night and everyday, yeah-ah

My mind feels heavy, my body feels weak
Suicidal thoughts crying out for some sleep
Impending doom is what I'm about

Think I'm going mad without a shadow of doubt

I sense a serenity yeah
Is it really out there?
I don't read the holy books 'cause they take me nowhere
I can't hold on yes I'm losing control
I'm paying the price now for... Selling My Soul
Selling My Soul

I sense a serenity yeah
Is it really out there?
I don't read the holy books 'cause they take me nowhere
I can't hold on yes I'm losing control
I'm paying the price now for... Selling My Soul
Selling My Soul

Yeah-ah
For Selling My Soul
Yeah-ah
Selling My Soul

Yeah-ah
For Selling My Soul

Overall Meaning

Black Sabbath's song "Selling My Soul" talks about a man who is haunted by a voice inside his head that makes him go mad. The voice seems to always be there, and it drives him crazy. He can't sleep because it's always on his bed, and his body feels weak because of the constant torment of the voice. He feels like he's on the verge of going insane.

The lyricist talks about the feeling of serenity and asks whether it's really out there. He doesn't find solace in holy books because they don't take him anywhere, and he feels like he's losing control. In the end, the lyricist reveals that he's paying the price for selling his soul. It's unclear what exactly he sold his soul for, but it's suggested that he's lost control of his mind and is now grappling with the consequences.

Black Sabbath's "Selling My Soul" offers a haunting and introspective take on the cost of giving in to your inner demons. The song's lyrics suggest that there is a high price to be paid for giving in to the darker parts of yourself, and that the consequences may be more severe than you realize.

Line by Line Meaning

Man of madness who lives in my head
I have a constant voice in my head that causes me to feel insane

Keeping me awake at night he sits on my bed
The voice in my head torments me to the point where I can't sleep

He drives me crazy, he won't go away
The voice in my head consumes me and I feel like I'm losing my mind

Playing his game every night and everyday, yeah-ah
The voice in my head is relentless and never stops messing with me

My mind feels heavy, my body feels weak
I feel physically and mentally drained because of the voice in my head

Suicidal thoughts crying out for some sleep
The voice in my head causes me to have thoughts of ending my life just to make it stop

Impending doom is what I'm about
I'm constantly feeling like something bad is going to happen, and it's because of the voice in my head

Think I'm going mad without a shadow of doubt
I am certain that the voice in my head is driving me insane

I sense a serenity yeah
I feel like there's a calmness or peace out there that I could find

Is it really out there?
I'm not sure if the peace I feel like I could find actually exists

I don't read the holy books 'cause they take me nowhere
I don't find solace in religious texts because they don't provide me with any comfort or answers

I can't hold on yes I'm losing control
I feel like I'm slipping away and losing my grip on reality

I'm paying the price now for... Selling My Soul
I feel like I've made a deal with the devil or some other sinister force that's caused me to be tormented by the voice in my head

Selling My Soul
The title of the song and a recurring phrase that emphasizes the idea of making a deal with the devil

Yeah-ah
A vocalization that adds emphasis to the previous line

For Selling My Soul
Reiterates the central theme of the song and serves as a conclusion

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BOB MARLETTE, TONY IOMMI, OZZY OSBOURNE

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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