| Song |
"N.I.B." is a song by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It was first released in 1970 as the fourth track on the band's self-titled debut album. It's one of the band's best known songs, and is their sixth most streamed on Spotify.[1]
An unofficial single of the song was released in Thailand , having two B-sides, "Behind the Wall of Sleep" and "The Wizard".
About[]
The lyrics are from the point of view of Satan, who falls in love for a woman, but ultimately tricks her to be in his arms.
It begins with a bass solo by Geezer Butler, titled "Bassically" on some US releases as an intro. It involves the use of the wah-wah pedal on his bass and was recorded in one take, as the amp's volume control is audibly turned up before the distorted bass intro of "N.I.B." begins.
The song's main riff (as well Osbourne's vocal delivery) have been noted for their Cream-influenced sound — the song has even been referred to as "the raucous defiling of Cream". It is merged with "Behind the Wall of Sleep" on the North American version of the album.
Title[]
When the song was first released, its title was widely rumored to have stood for "Nativity in Black", or to a lesser extent "Name In Blood". In a 1992 interview, Geezer Butler states that the title simply refers to Bill Ward's goatee at the time, which the rest of the band thought was shaped like a pen nib; also referred to as nibby. Apparently, Geezer Butler said: "Originally it was Nib, which was Bill's beard. When I wrote N.I.B., I couldn't think of a title for the song, so I just called it Nib, after Bill's beard. To make it more intriguing I put punctuation marks in there to make it N.I.B. By the time it got to America, they translated it to Nativity In Black." Ronnie James Dio can be heard mentioning (but not confirming) this assumption on several live bootleg recordings with the band from the early 1980s.
"Nativity in Black" was later used for the title of a series of Black Sabbath tribute albums.
Live[]
The song was played live 632 times, making it one of the band's most played songs. It's included on the live albums Reunion and The End: Live in Birmingham as well as Live Evil where Ronnie James Dio is lead vocalist. Ozzy Osbourne also played "N.I.B." live during his solo career, with it being included on the live album Speak of the Devil. The song was dropped between 1972 and 1976, and between 1982 and 1997 would only see 11 performances, returning to live staple status after Osbourne rejoined the group.
Lyrics[]
Oh, yeah
Some people say my love cannot be true
Please believe me my love and I'll show you
I will give you those things you thought unreal
The sun, the moon, the stars all bear my seal
Oh, yeah
Follow me now and you will not regret
Leaving the life you led before we met
You were the first to have this love of mine
Forever with me 'till the end of time
Your love for me has just got to be real
Before you know the way I'm going to feel
I'm going to feel
I'm going to feel
Oh, yeah
Now I have you with me, under my power
Our love grows stronger now with every hour
Look into my eyes, you'll see who I am
My name is Lucifer, please take my hand
Oh, yeah
Follow me now and you will not regret
Leaving the life you led before we met
You were the first to have this love of mine
Forever with me 'till the end of time
Your love for me has just got to be real
Before you know the way I'm going to feel
I'm going to feel
I'm going to feel
Oh, yeah
Now I have you with me, under my power
Our love grows stronger now with every hour
Look into my eyes, you'll see who I am
My name is Lucifer, please take my hand
Covers[]
"N.I.B." was covered by American hard rock band Ugly Kid Joe and released in 1994 on the tribute album Nativity in Black. Another cover was recorded by American funk metal band Primus with Ozzy Osbourne and released in 2000 on the tribute album Nativity in Black II.
References[]
| Black Sabbath | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Black Sabbath • The Wizard • Behind the Wall of Sleep • N.I.B. • Evil Woman • Sleeping Village • Warning • Wicked World | |||