I don't trust the speaker of this song. Why is he telling us to die young (and what exactly does he mean by that)? Is he telling us to die young for our own good, or for his? Does he actually believe it himself, or is he just using us? After the sweet talking in the beginning of the bridge, we get this very violent jerking around in the music with the strong combined stings (classic Sabbath), combined with Iommi's guitar bursting out between stings. This could represent the pangs of the listener's death (having taken the speaker's advice), or his reason trying to combat the speaker's advances, only to succumb at the end, to which the speaker can only respond with a simple cackle ("Ahhahahahahaa"). The rest of the song is a refrain of the speaker's message.
To me, this song represents and attacks people like Jim Jones (Jonestown 1978) who seduce people into death. It could also be a bit broader and encompass anyone or any authority that tries to convince you that you can't fight them and should except what they say. The sadness of Iommi's intro solo (especially the live one) really makes me think that this is not really an inspirational song at all. It's an examination of something evil.
Of course, that's just how I always thought of it.
I don't trust the speaker of this song. Why is he telling us to die young (and what exactly does he mean by that)? Is he telling us to die young for our own good, or for his? Does he actually believe it himself, or is he just using us? After the sweet talking in the beginning of the bridge, we get this very violent jerking around in the music with the strong combined stings (classic Sabbath), combined with Iommi's guitar bursting out between stings. This could represent the pangs of the listener's death (having taken the speaker's advice), or his reason trying to combat the speaker's advances, only to succumb at the end, to which the speaker can only respond with a simple cackle ("Ahhahahahahaa"). The rest of the song is a refrain of the speaker's message.
To me, this song represents and attacks people like Jim Jones (Jonestown 1978) who seduce people into death. It could also be a bit broader and encompass anyone or any authority that tries to convince you that you can't fight them and should except what they say. The sadness of Iommi's intro solo (especially the live one) really makes me think that this is not really an inspirational song at all. It's an examination of something evil.
Of course, that's just how I always thought of it.