"Paranoid" is a song by English rock band Black Sabbath, released in 1970 off the band`s second studio album, Paranoid (1970). It is the first single from the album, while the B-side is the song "The Wizard". The song is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavy metal songs of all time. It reached number 4 on the UK singles chart and number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100.[1]

Song information

"Paranoid" was the first Black Sabbath single release, coming six months after their self-titled debut was released. Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler (from Guitar World magazine, March 2004):

A lot of the Paranoid album was written around the time of our first album, Black Sabbath. We recorded the whole thing in about 2 or 3 days, live in the studio. The song "Paranoid" was written as an afterthought. We basically needed a 3 minute filler for the album, and Tony came up with the riff. I quickly did the lyrics, and Ozzy was reading them as he was singing.[6]

The song is an E minor pentatonic and only uses power chords. The guitar solo is a dry signal on the left channel, which is patched through a ring modulator and routed to the right channel; this effect was used again on the 1978 song, "Johnny Blade".

According to extant lyric sheets, "Paranoid" was at one time titled "The Paranoid."[7]

"Paranoid" eventually became the name of the album, and somewhat unusually, the word paranoid is never mentioned in the lyrics. Originally, the band had wanted to call the album War Pigs after the song of the same name, but the record company persuaded them to use "Paranoid" instead because it was less offensive.[8]

"Paranoid" drew controversy for apparently encouraging suicide, much like the song "Suicide Solution". Particularly, the lyric "I tell you to enjoy life" was misheard as "I tell you to end your life".[9]

Reception

Cash Box described the song as being "as dense, musically as `Whole Lotta Love,`" stating that "crashing, non-stop beat with gobs of bass and drums laced liberally with stinging, echoey vocals and hot guitar licks move the song along at a blistering pace."[10]

"Paranoid" was ranked No. 34 on VH1`s 40 Greatest Metal Songs.[11] In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 11 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. Rolling Stone ranked it number 250 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[12] and 13th on their 2023 list "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time."[13] "Paranoid" was ranked the fifth best Black Sabbath song by Rock – Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check.[14] In 2020, Kerrang ranked the song number five on their list of the 20 greatest Black Sabbath songs,[15] and in 2021, Louder Sound ranked the song number six on their list of the 40 greatest Black Sabbath songs.[16]

Personnel

• Ozzy Osbourne – vocals
• Tony Iommi – guitar
• Geezer Butler – bass
• Bill Ward – drums

Accolades

(*) designates unordered lists.

Track listing

• 7" single (Vertigo 6059 010)[28]

1. "Paranoid" – 2:45
2. "The Wizard" – 4:20

• 7" single (Vertigo 6059 014)

1. "Paranoid" – 2:50
2. "Rat Salad" – 2:30

• 7" singles (Vertigo AS 109)

1. "Paranoid" – 2:50
2. "Happy Being Me"[I] – 15:54

• 7" 1977 re-release (Immediate 103 466)

1. "Paranoid" – 2:50
2. "Evil Woman" – 3:25

• 7" 1977 re-release (Nems SRS 510.044)

1. "Paranoid" – 2:50
2. "Tomorrow`s Dream" – 3:11

• 7" 1980 re-release (Spiegelei INT 110.604)

1. "Paranoid" – 2:45
2. "Snowblind" – 5:25

Note

• I^ "Happy Being Me" is performed by Manfred Mann Chapter Three and appears on their second album Manfred Mann Chapter Three Volume Two.

Charts

Certifications

Legacy

• In 1971, German schlager vocal duo Cindy & Bert covered the song with lyrics based on Arthur Conan Doyle`s The Hound of the Baskervilles as "Der Hund von Baskerville". The unlikely cover version with a heavy hammond organ, featured in a TV show[49] with a tiny Pekingese dog standing in as "hound" and dancers getting ushered back to their seats, has become a collector`s curiosity and a document of 1971 zeitgeist.
• American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold covered the song for both Diamonds in the Rough and Covered, A Revolution in Sound.
• American punk rock group the Dickies covered the song for their debut album The Incredible Shrinking Dickies (1979). Released as single, it charted at #45 in the UK.[50]
• The song was covered by the goth metal band Type O Negative on their album The Origin of the Feces as a bonus track on the 1994 Remastered Edition.
• The song was covered by industrial rock group the Clay People for the various artists compilation album Shut Up Kitty, released in 1993.
• Soft Cell covered "Paranoid" on early live shows, before releasing their debut album; a demo recording of the cover was released on the compilation album The Bedsit Tapes in 2005.
• A live version by Doctor and the Medics was included on the 12" of their single "Burn", in 1986.
• Skrewdriver covered the song for their The Strong Survive album in 1990.
• Thrash metal band Megadeth covered the song for the 1994 rendition of Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath. The cover also appeared on the Hidden Treasures EP released in 1995.
• Weezer included a cover of the song on their covers album The Teal Album, which was released in 2019.
• The original Black Sabbath recording has been used numerous times in various films and television shows including Sid & Nancy,[51] Dazed and Confused,[52] The Stoned Age,[53] Any Given Sunday,[54] Almost Famous,[55] We Are Marshall,[56] The Angry Birds Movie, Suicide Squad, Kong: Skull Island and CHiPs,[57]. The song was used in the video games Rock n` Roll Racing, Guitar Hero 3, Madden NFL 10, WWE 2K17, and Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX 2.[58]

Popular culture

• In Finland, "Paranoid" has the same status as Lynyrd Skynyrd`s "Free Bird" in the United States as a song the audience finds humorous to request during a concert. So regardless of a band or the style of music in question, somebody may shout "Soittakaa `Paranoid`!" ("Play `Paranoid`!") during a gig.[59][60]