paranoid

"Paranoid"
The 1980 re-release cover b/w Snowblind
Single by Black Sabbath
from the album Paranoid
B-side	"Rat Salad"
Released	1970
Format	45 RPM
Recorded	1970
Genre	Heavy metal
Length	2:52
Label	Vertigo
Writer(s)	Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward
Black Sabbath singles chronology
"The Wizard" (1970) "Paranoid" (1970) "Iron Man" (1970)

"Paranoid" is a song by Black Sabbath that appears on the band's second album Paranoid. Supposedly, the members of Black Sabbath put together this song in 15 minutes based on a solo by Tony Iommi. This song was only meant to be a "filler", but became one of Black Sabbath's most well known songs: the band members were sent back to the studio to record one more song because the record company deemed the album was too short, and planned to quickly record a filler song, but eventually wrote and recorded "Paranoid". The record company changed the album's name from War Pigs, as it was originally intended, to Paranoid out of fear of a backlash from supporters of the Vietnam War.

"Paranoid" was released as a single and received regular airplay on mainstream radio. The single, with "The Wizard" on the B-side, was released in the UK in July 1970 and it reached the number 4. It made number 2 on the Dutch Top 40.

Lead singer Ozzy Osbourne continued to play this song in concert during his career as a solo artist.

"Paranoid" was ranked #34 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs.^[1] In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 11 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. Rolling Stone ranked it #250 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2009, it was named the 4^th greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.^[2]

Lyrical themes

The song's lyrics are from the viewpoint of a man suffering from paranoia. Lyrics such as People think I'm insane because / I am frowning all the time and Happiness I cannot feel / And love to me is so unreal state his emotions and the symptoms of mental illness at the same time. The last two lines of the song, And so as you hear these words / Telling you now of my state / I tell you to enjoy life I / Wish I could but it's too late are the chilling message from a man who loses hope and believes he will suffer for the rest of his life. The oddity of the speaker also shows in his unnatural stress pattern, creating a somewhat forced form of trochaic tetrameters.

Legacy

Paranoid often enters into lists regarding the 'best' metal or hard rock track. It is typically associated with both Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath due to its popularity. After Osbourne was fired by the band in 1979, he continued to perform this track normally at the end of the set. Various different live versions have been recorded with Osbourne. This is due to the changes in band lineup since the original Blizzard of Ozz in 1980. Popular live versions featuring various guitarists including Randy Rhoads, Brad Gillis, Jake E. Lee and Zakk Wylde were all recorded and later released.

The original Black Sabbath recording has been used numerous times in various films and television shows including Sid & Nancy,^[3] Tour Of Duty^{[citation needed]}, Dazed & Confused,^[4] The Stoned Age,^[5] Any Given Sunday,^[6] Almost Famous,^[7] and We Are Marshall.^[8]

In Finland it is an old joke that somebody shouts during every gig "play Paranoid!" just like "Free Bird" is often requested in the United States.^[9][10]

Covers

Cover versions of "Paranoid" were performed by:

• Thrash metal band Megadeth for the Black Sabbath tribute album, Nativity in Black.
• The Dickies on their album The Incredible Shrinking Dickies.
• The Dillinger Escape Plan for the reissue of their Under the Running Board EP.
• Synthpop band New Clear Sky on their album Newer, clearer...^[11]
• Avenged Sevenfold on a tribute album called Covered, A Revolution in Sound.^[12]
• Hellsongs on their debut EP Lounge^[13] and again on Hymns in the Key of 666.^[14]
• Type O Negative on their Origin Of The Feces EP.
• The Clay People for the Black Sabbath tribute album, Tribute To Black Sabbath: Eternal Masters.^[15]
• 3rd Strike on their album Lost Angel.
• Soviet (later Russian) heavy/thrash-metal band Master(rus. Мастер) their on album Talk of the Devil.
• Clive Box of the bands Black Widow and Agony Bag coevered it sometime in the late 90's, early 21st century

In other media

"Paranoid" has also been featured on the soundtracks of several video games including Rock 'N' Roll Racing, Rock Band, and Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock.

Notes