Rock Singers

"Tell me I'm a sinner I got news for you I spoke to God this morning and He don't like you You telling all the people the original sin He says He knows you better that you'll ever know Him"

"A Devil with a crucifix Brimstone and fire He needs another carnal fix To take him higher and higher Now Jimmy, he got busted With his pants down Repent ye wretched sinner Self righteous clown"

"Taught by the powers that preach over me I can hear their empty reasons I wouldn't listen, I learned how to fight I opened up my mind to treason But just like the wounded, and when it's too late They'll remember, they'll surrender Never a care for the people who hate Underestimate me now"

"If none of us believe in war Then can you tell me what the weapon's for? Listen to me everyone If the button is pushed there'll be nowhere to run"

"War is just another game Tailor made for the insane But make a threat of their annihilation And nobody wants to play If that's the only thing that keeps the peace Then thank God for the bomb"

"If we're offensive and pose a threat You fear what we represent is a mess You've missed the message that says it all And you'll never know why Oh no, you'll never know why We rock"

"I warned you then and I'm warning you now If you mess with me you're playing with fire Winds of change that are fanning the flames Will carry you to your funeral pyre"

"They live a life of fear and insecurity And all you do is pay for their prosperity The ministry of fear that won't let you live The ministry of grace that doesn't forgive Do what you will to try and make me conform I'll make you wish that you had never been born"

"I'm just a Rock and Roll Butthole, I tell you no lies, they say I worship the devil, they must be stupid or blind"

"Howling in the shadows, living in a lunar spell, he finds his heaven, spewing from the mouth of hell."

"You've got to believe in yourself Or no one will believe in you Imagination like a bird on the wing Flying free for you to use"

"And they don't really know even what they're talkin' about And I can't image what empty heads can achieve Leave me alone, don't want your promises no more 'Cos rock & roll is my religion and my law Won't ever change, may think it's strange You can't kill rock & roll, it's here to stay"

"I had a vision, l saw the world burn And the seas had turned red The sun had fallen, the final curtain In the land of the dead Mother, please show the children Before it's too late To fight each other, there's no one winning We must fight all the hate"

"I've been the king, I've been the clown, now broken wings can't hold me down, I'm free again. The jester with the broken crown, it won't be me this time around to love in vain."

"Everybody's having fun, except me I'm the lonely one I live in shame."

"I've listened to preachers, I've listened to fools I've watched all the dropouts Who make their own rules We're pushed and conditioned to rule and control The media sells it and you live the role"

"Nobody ever told me, I found out for myself, You gotta believe in foolish miracles, it's not how you play the game, it's if you win or lose, you can choose, don't confuse Win or lose, it's up to you."

"People look to me and say Is the end near, when is the final day? What's the future of mankind? How do I know, I got left behind"

"It was my fate to be who I am and what I am. I've just been myself. And I've got a great manager."

"I know what's going to be on my tombstone, and there's no getting around it: "Here lies Ozzy Osbourne, the ex–Black Sabbath singer who bit the head off a bat.""

"You don't accidentally become an asshole. It takes a bit of work."

"Sharon's father was a gangster manager, so she's a great businesswoman. I remember saying to her once, "What's always amazed me is that you've been in the music business most of your life, but when you sing, you sound like a fucking dying wildebeest." She said, "What's always amazed me is how you've been in the music business most of your life and you don't know the ass end of a contract.""

"People ask me, "Do you regret anything?" Sure, I have fucking regrets. But if I didn't have my life the way it's been or the way it's gonna be, I'd be fucking with the big guy in the sky."

"When I heard "She Loves You," my world went up like a shooting star. It was a divine experience. The planets changed. I used to fantasize that Paul McCartney would marry my sister."

"Back in the day, it was, "If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair." Where in the fuck was San Francisco? And the only flowers we ever saw in Aston were on a coffin going to a cemetery."

"My problem is that by the time I understood a little bit about life, I was well on the way to fucking burnout."

"I grew up in Aston, a neighborhood in Birmingham, right at the poverty line. I always felt shitty and intimidated by everyone. So my whole thing was to act crazy and make people laugh so they wouldn't jump on me."

"Survival is my legacy … I mean, I'm 73. People go, "Well, you're 70… why don't I throw the towel in?" … Why should I? People still want to buy my records. People still want to see me, so why should I? It motivates me to get off my backside and do something. I mean, if my career had gone down the toilet and I knew it was the end, I'd be pretty miserable. … Never give up. If you've got a passion for something, you've got to find a way around it to carry on the passion."

"David Fricke: You were arrested in 1989 for trying to kill her in a drunken rage."

"David Fricke: You've been married to Sharon for 20 years. What was it that first attracted you to her?"

"David Fricke: Given your own history of substance abuse, what have you said to your children about drugs and alcohol?"

"Ozzy Osbourne: My home was very poor. My father worked nights as a toolmaker. He was the English Archie Bunker; he wouldn't change with the times. He would never buy my mom a washing machine. We had a boiler house in the garden — you'd put a fire under this copper boiler, where you would boil the clothes to death. I used to sleep in a bed with one of my brothers. We had no sheets. We had to use old coats. When I was a young kid, my father would take me on Sunday mornings with my Uncle Jim to the pub, the Golden Cross. Since I wasn't allowed in, I'd sit on the step, and they'd bring me a shandy, which is half lemonade, half beer. I remember thinking, “Beer must be the best lemonade in the world. I can’t wait until the age when I can drink it.” When I had my first beer, I spat it out: “That can’t be the fucking stuff. It’s like dishwater.” But then I got the glow. I didn't drink for the taste — I did it for the feeling."

"Ozzy Osbourne: My son, Jack Osbourne, gets pissed off sometimes. He said to me one day, “Dad, the difference is whether people are laughing with you or at you.” I said, “As long as they’re laughing, it doesn’t matter.”"

"I never did this black-magic stuff. The reason I did “Mr.Crowley” on my first solo album Blizzard of Ozz, 1980 was that everybody was talking about Aleister Crowley. Jimmy Page bought his house, and one of my roadies worked with one of his roadies. I thought, “Mr. Crowley, who are you? Where are you from?” But people would hear the song and go, “He’s definitely into witchcraft.”"

"We rehearsed at a community center near Tony Iommi’s house, across the road from a movie theater. One morning, Tony says to us, “It’s interesting. I was looking over at the theater.” It was showing something like The Vampire Returns. “Don’t you think it’s weird that people pay money to be scared? Maybe we should write scary music.” That's when we came up with “Black Sabbath” [hums the guitar riff]. That was the fucking change of my life."

"I'm not going to get up there and do a half-hearted Ozzy looking for sympathy. What's the fucking point in that? I'm not going up there in a fucking wheelchair."

"My assistant showed me a video called Forks and Knives (sic) or something, about (cutting out) meat and dairy products, so I thought, 'I'll give this a shot!' ... I feel OK actually, I feel better about myself, you know? I go on binges... That's the reason why I decided to cut out meat out and dairy because I've limited what I can have because when you're on the road and you're travelling, you grab buns and... burgers are everywhere... so now I've just narrowed the margin. ... I'm not saying I'm gonna do it forever; I might go back - when my wife learns to cook, so that'll be never!"

"I wonder where that bat is now? Maybe he's sitting in Bat Heaven somewhere, with his own bat roadies..."

"I tried out that Buckethead guy. I met with him and asked him to work with me but only if he got rid of the fucking bucket. So I came back a bit later and he's wearing this green fucking Martian's-hat thing. I said, 'Look, just be yourself!' He told me his name was Brian, so I said that's what I'd call him. He says, 'No one calls me Brian except my mother.' So I said, 'Pretend I'm your mum then!' I haven't even got out of the room and I'm already playing fucking mind games with the guy. What happens if one day he's gone and there's a note saying, 'I've been beamed up?' [Laughs] Don't get me wrong, he's a great player. He plays like a motherfucker!"

"God, beam me up!"

"People say it's hard at the top, but it's even harder at the bottom."

"Sometimes I'm scared of being Ozzy Osbourne. But it could have been worse. I could have been Sting."

"Where do I live?"

"Dimebag was a dear friend of mine, I'm absolutely beside myself with grief. I can't for the life of me understand why someone would do this. Pantera toured with me many, many times. I'll always remember the signed guitar that he gave me at my 50th birthday party. My heart goes out to Dime's family, his fans and the other innocent victims who were killed in this senseless tragedy. It's just terribly, terribly sad."

"When I was a practicing alcoholic, I was unbelievable. One side effect was immense suspicion: I'd come off tour like Inspector Clouseau on acid. 'Where's this cornflake come from? It wasn't here before.'"

"[on Kelly's drummer friend] Anyone that beats fucking skins for a living has got to be somewhat weird."

"I'm not picking up dog shit. I'm a rock star."

"I like the smell of armpits in the morning. It's like victory."

"I've been dictating to my son, who's helping me on his computer. I'm spending a lot of time doing research--I've just got up to 1971, when I went crazy and dived through the window. My life is so full of interesting stories..."

"The biggest thing has been realizing how much people really do love the early Sabbath music. People have said it in the past but I've never really believed them before. I remember years ago when Metallica opened up for me, I went backstage and they were playing old Black Sabbath albums and I thought they were taking the piss! They said, 'No, we really love Sabbath.' I couldn't see that at the time--because towards the end of my time with Sabbath 20 years ago I thought what we were doing was boring and stupid, because we were boring and stupid, totally sick of what we were doing and totally out of our brains with drink or drugs when we were playing it."