Who Are You? Lyrics
That's within your mind
You think all the people
Who worship you are blind
You're just like Big Brother
Giving us your trust
And when you have played enough
You'll just cast our souls
Into the dust
Into the dust
from the very start
Now I've found you out
I don't think you're so smart
I only have one more question
Before my time is through
Please I beg you tell me
In the name of hell
Who are you?
Who are you?
Nice keyboard effect to it.
In 1974 Ozzy stated that this song is the story of a person who is "confused about everything and didn't know who to trust. You can say that person was sort of like me. I wrote that number at home between bouts of insomnia. I couldn't sleep. I bought this synthesizer and all day and night I would fiddle around with it to keep me busy."
source = Black Sabbath - Doom Let Loose an illustrated history by Martin Popoff
There is a very interesting paradox in this song. I interpret this as an accusation of god not existing, but addressed to god.
Whoever this god entity is, were he to be real, he forces us to trust in him completely (faith) but judges humanity harshly anyway, oppresses us (Big Brother), and finally metes out death to every living being (cast our souls into the dust). Not everyone would fall for such a belief (you think that all the people who worship you are blind).
But the singer is on to him and demands he show himself if he really exists. Ironic is that he makes his demand "in the name of hell". He questions god's existence while implicity assuming the existence of hell.
I think this demonstrates the heavy cynicism in Black Sabbath lyrics. But there is also some hope for eternal life that lies somewhere within the supernatural realm, which in my opinion is the beauty of Black Sabbath's music. However, there is no hope in religion or blind faith.
@mnonm oh yeah that's so good
@mnonm oh yeah that's so good
its Lucifer speaking specificly to me, but he's twisting everything around, like i'm the one doing it , i'm the one with power, that's how true infinite power acts, like it's not , it makes you believe YOU are powerful because that perfect destruction of the mind to such a degree, you've been totally dominated in everyway imaginable and then to make them believe they are powerful but anyways.
its Lucifer speaking specificly to me, but he's twisting everything around, like i'm the one doing it , i'm the one with power, that's how true infinite power acts, like it's not , it makes you believe YOU are powerful because that perfect destruction of the mind to such a degree, you've been totally dominated in everyway imaginable and then to make them believe they are powerful but anyways.
yes, it's Lucifer who Big Brother trusts now and is casting us into the dust now but.
yes, it's Lucifer who Big Brother trusts now and is casting us into the dust now but.
it is possible I am the one who has been...
it is possible I am the one who has been playing with all of them and they are upset that I'm just casting their souls into the dust, I don't know, if it is me i'm really sorry, God isn't a perfect being, you'd be shocked at how imperfect he actually is, the universe was just a technical creation to evolve things that God could not foresee.
I mean, if I invented a pack of cards and shuffled it, just because I made the pack of cards doesnt' mean I know what hand you will be dealt, i made it a random thing you know because it's stupid if it's not, so with randomness comes every possible outcome and i'm sorry if any of you suffered or felt afraid of abandoned or sad , I do not wish to cast your souls into the dust, that's what I've been trying NOT TO DO , it hurts me infinitely more than it hurts you, i'm still alive all alone, foreve, please live with me forever
Yeah I agree with everyone here, confusin as hell though. "I don't think you're so smart" ??
hi again,
if you read the lyrics of 'who are you' at a slave prespective, its easy to unlock it. look at 'national acrobat' posts to connect.
www.ydrohoos.gr
Nicely put. If thinking for yourself makes you an opposer then the believers must be the posers, "in the name of He'll"
This song could just as easily be seen as being about Satan, the Lord of this World (another Black Sabbath song). If any of you saying this is against God had any idea about the message of Christ and how much Black Sabbath's messages align thematically with what he preached (see After Forever), you'd be done with your edge fest against him and realize just how wrong you are.
Cheers.
@chirrho Agreed, to a point. Yes, Black Sabbath did warn against the occult, rather than being proponents of it. However, they must have been exploring, because the ideas presented in the song come from there. And I don't see how the song could be interpreted as being about Satan, why would Satan answer anything "in the name of Hell"? He rules Hell and the Earth according to Christian belief...I doubt "in the name of Hell" is going to compel him to do anything. Or as Jesus said, "a house divided cannot stand".
@chirrho Agreed, to a point. Yes, Black Sabbath did warn against the occult, rather than being proponents of it. However, they must have been exploring, because the ideas presented in the song come from there. And I don't see how the song could be interpreted as being about Satan, why would Satan answer anything "in the name of Hell"? He rules Hell and the Earth according to Christian belief...I doubt "in the name of Hell" is going to compel him to do anything. Or as Jesus said, "a house divided cannot stand".
It's funny how people try to see their own beliefs into a song. That being said, this song isn't atheistic. Ozzy here is questioning a powerful spirit or figure, not a omnipresent godhead, but more like a lower, earthly type of spirit, a dimuirge around the material plane who influences thoughts. He's referring to the figure literally. He's not saying it's imaginary. He says the followers are being mislead and selling their souls. The figure is playing with the followers, pretending to be an ally, but they don't know who the entity really is in actuality, as if the entity is wearing a disguise. The entity is a powerful trickster.
@squigglysnazz Agreed. The Demiurge (found in Gnostic beliefs) is a creator god created by the feminine divine as a failed counterpart to the true God. Not a true god, but the metaphysical equivalent of a spoiled brat. The demiurge is like a little child, it creates things for its own amusement and treats them how it will with no real regard to their well-being. Hence the line "and when you have played enough you just cast our souls into the dust". This song is Ozzy acknowledging this concept, and trying to understand it.
@squigglysnazz Agreed. The Demiurge (found in Gnostic beliefs) is a creator god created by the feminine divine as a failed counterpart to the true God. Not a true god, but the metaphysical equivalent of a spoiled brat. The demiurge is like a little child, it creates things for its own amusement and treats them how it will with no real regard to their well-being. Hence the line "and when you have played enough you just cast our souls into the dust". This song is Ozzy acknowledging this concept, and trying to understand it.
It seems more like a jab at the record labels than towards god/religion