Black Sabbath - Walpurgis

[DemonOfDublin]

Regarding why they changed lyrics and title:

I heard that their manager/producers/label convinced them to make a politically charged song to sell more albums. So they changed witches to generals and drew comparisons between the two as anti-Vietnam war lyrics, even though it seems like the band was politically neutral and just wanted to rock.

Please correct me if I am wrong, this is just what I heard.

[maggotfrom1993]

Someone knows why they changed the title ?

[dirtybongtokes]

I came across the word walpurgis when I was reading dreams in the witches house so I decided to google it and get some info. I find this video and i'm thinking "huh. the original idea for this song is so much better then what they changed it to." the lyrics could use a little work but I doubt they had time before the switch.

[TheGravelfist]

matches in single file its just a dream

[Hyde8]

thank you for posting this version. it's been very difficult to find it except for on the CD.  it's very much appreciated.

[w7class]

Ξέρει κανείς απο τι πιέστηκαν να αλλάξουν τίτλο, στίχους και concept, και να το κυκλοφορήσουν;

[doom696mented]

They should have kept the original lyrics and the song should have stayed "Walpurgis". Black Sabbath would have definetly scared the shit out of all human beings in the early days. But then again... the band had a lot of problems from narrow-minded idiots who all though Ozzy and co. were devil worshippers, something they weren't. Meh...

[thebishopofme]

@doom696mented they used to practice behind/by/next door to (can't remember) a cinema. William and Ozzy thought it was rather odd how folks would want to be scared and decided to follow that vain. Geezer and Ozzy were interested in dark magicks much like Jimmy Page and Plant were. Black Sabbath used to be Earth, a blues rock band, but the new "scary" image made more money. People just put the idea out there and it was eaten up. Plus, the 70s were full of narrowminds

[homeoftheblues]

I would love to PERSONALLY stick the stake through 3 people

[legofreak1011]

i dont care what they say this version should have been released on the original album instead of having to wait almost 30 years to it being released on ozzys ozzman cometh cd

[Cannsanity]

Sooo um yeah...Im gonna go watch my walls bleed, while I listen to this. If you care to join me bring a case of beer, a black cat, and a paperclip. Thanks.

[ElleMariachi]

I heard the reason why Black Sabbath decided against releasing this version was because of the Manson murders that were going on around that time and they didn't want to be associated with the occult and such things.

I still think that this version is more interesting though. XD

[jacobladders]

@ElleMariachi that is true though i can't agree more with you on that thought their 1st u.s. tour in 69/70 was canceled because of the manson murders i read that in the liner notes of the remastered version of paranoid pretty fuckin wild i'd say

[CJayPIMP]

NEVER HAD HERD THIS VERSION

[doom696mented]

@CJayPIMP I think the version is right after their debut was released. I dunno... their debut was released on 13th February 1970, this should be during a show from March or April(?)... I may be mistaken so I don't ask to trust what I've said rofl

[realityfrominsanity]

@fahqloosers No, awesome lyrics. They should've been used for the album version. More dark and brutal. Unless your some christian kid who's afraid of stuff like that..

[realityfrominsanity]

These lyrics should've been the ones used on the album. More brutal.

[nuppert]

This song was about satan but since their were all these rumors going they were satanist they changed the lyrics.

[xenoghost1]

this is as black sabbath as it can get

[metalliqe]

War pigs is the winner!

[wickedbeauty1]

@metalliqe cause its too hardcore for you?

[MrPwnzawr]

this version is the better one i think

[Crimsonhelldragon]

That, the original lyrics is far better than "War Pigs" version. That's my opinion 'cause I don't like political lyrics.

[xarrozki91]

de quien es el brazo que esta a la izquierda?

[1986kirkhammettfan1]

@xarrozki91  anthony iommi

[mnap128]

holy shit wtf is this

[joshp6585]

these lyrics are sooo metal

[smackythefrog23]

@lukevertiis actually is pronounced "Sowen"

[hydraIX]

@lukevertiis True...Sow-Win

[evilexluv]

thanx for this. never knew if i actually heard this version or imagined it haha.

[reymysterios9]

damn ozzy looks hella young here

[trueblueaussiyacunt]

@reymysterios9 prolly couse he is about 19 to 25 years old in that pic

[reymysterios9]

@trueblueaussiyacunt well i knew that, but he's such an old geezer nowadays and i'm just used to seeing him that way

[dannyhill1971lives]

I have always liked this version better.

[Jerry7613]

just want to say thanks for uploading the original

[thejake1453]

@lukevertiis

I know what it is. I've also heard it pronounced "So-In"

Of course, its an old, old, old celtic word, so good luck tryign to proove how it should be pronounced.

I could personally careless what anyone htinks about wicca or witches though, I put the song up here so everyone could listen to such bad-ass music, and perhaps here a version they may not have known exists.

But if everyone wants to blabber on about their faith and practices, thats their perogative.

[dingo99]

@thejake1453 its actually spelt Samhain and pronounced S-ow-in, trust me i'd know its Irish for November

[happywarmgun13]

Who's hand is that that's touching ozzy from the right side of the picture?

[panagoskrimizeas]

@happywarmgun13 its ozzy's own hand

[Moonserpent9]

@happywarmgun13 It's his own hand.You can see the O-Z-Z-Y tattooed on his fingers.

[JOLLYJUGS]

In this picture. Ozzy stands out because everyone elso looks the same. Long hair and a bushy mustache.

[s146722]

ozzy is the real god of the wiccan

[davidmumma66]

@s146722 xD dude ozzy hates all the occult crap

[Dracoa79]

Interesting bit about Walpurgis Night is that the Night on Bald Mountain segment of Disney's Fantasia is supposed to take place on that night. Always was my favorite scene of that movie.

[bombadecasa]

What an evil song lol, I like War Pigs better

[SexyBeastOfPR]

@CorpBeast Actually, Black masses are......gatherings of people for dark acts. It's the same as a regular mass, only with witches. As for Walpurgisnacht, no shit its a pagan holiday you shit stain. Furthermore I think I know a little more than you when it comes to what pagans do as I am one. You sniveling fuck.

[ChuckMetal13]

Walpurgisnacht is a pagan christian holiday. It's celebrated as May day the start of spring in America. As far as neopagan witches have fun pretending kiddies. Ozzy and Bush practice a different brand of magic predating christian or pagan gods. They both practice sacrifice Ozzy bites the heads off of bats. America sacrifices Millions of American and foreign Men women children and babies.Sacrifice =power. In all aspects of life.

[thylegionscome]

walpurgis literaly means "witch burning" and it is a festival that happens every year on april 30th

[mikexlong]

@thylegionscome fuck I missed it!

[Mrmusicmonarch]

This version is on "The Ozzman Cometh" CD

[JFA1331]

what does walpurgis mean

[thejake1453]

Walpurgis is a pagan festival, like Sam Hein (halloween)

[Heatherdollemo]

@thejake1453 thank you so much for uploading this..i've been trying to find this version, i never knew it had a different name. I used to have the Ozzman cometh(before i gave it to my little brother lol). Its still titled War Pigs on there. I've been trying to find it all night online,getting pissed when i have to listen to the whole intro then hear generals gather..so i finally just typed in witches gather at black masses bodies burning in red ashes and your video came up...THANK YOU SO MUCH =]

[thebishopofme]

@thejake1453 isn't Samhein one word? Either way, good ups to ya mate. Glad others know the history behind our overly consumered culture.

[MegaFly95]

It means "The Witches Sabbath"

[smackythefrog23]

@JFA1331 and is also the second highest of the satanic holidays. ones own birthday being the highest. the night of the black mass. April 29th.

[inkblotangel]

@JFA1331 Hex night. Disney's "Bald Mountain" is about the legend of Walpurgis. On the night of May Day eve (May 1st) witchs gather under a mountain and summon Satan and his demons by having orgies. This is mainly celebrated in Germany by lighting huge bonfires and dressing up like witchs and demons . The Nazi's also see this holiday as sacred.

[Downoneburn]

@JFA1331 Wal·pur·gis [vahl-poor-gis]

noun

Saint, a.d. c710–780,  English missionary and abbess in Germany: feast day May 1.

[SexyBeastOfPR]

Alright...Gonna say this once...The song is just a song. Stop arguing about what qualifies as witchcraft. You're wrong no matter what you think. Even self proclaimed witches are wrong...because most are just emo kids following a fad. Witches don't gather in black masses, sacrifice babies, or devour the blood of the innocent...well...maybe for the lulz. Furthermore...wicca isn't the only path out there. Also please don't mix faith and politics...the douchebaggery is astronomical. God doesn't care

[andiskomfort]

could u (or anyone) pls explain to me why "witches"and "sorcerers"(did i spell it correctly^^) gather on the 30 April (walpurgisnacht) on the top of Brocken mountain? And i think that black mass(es) is a ceremonial parody of Catholic mass.... but im really interested in this... and yet i am skeptical :)

[mikexlong]

@SexyBeastOfPR that was a sexy beast of a comment right there, thums up!

[death0by0zgs]

@SexyBeastOfPR That comment was fucking Metal.

[Bruno7734]

@SexyBeastOfPR...THANK YOU!!!

[s7o0a0p]

The unmixed sound is better!

[lustfordeath]

As much as i love the lyrics to "War Pigs" (and I really do LOVE those lyrics) these are even better than those, this is just so damn dark. That is probably why they changed it, they probably thought it was too much for people to handle.

[2003Brad]

As a practicing Witch, we don't gather in black masses. Witches/Wiccan don't practice what the ameriCON government's occultic secret societies do.

Skull and Bones G.W.Bush, Kerry, Os/bama etc. equals genocide

[thejake1453]

Uhuh.

Because Wiccan and Witch practices have been the exact same for the past few thousand years.

[MrOzzyIommi]

I've nothing to do with witches and sourceres but your comment shows me you're nether a witch nor an inteligent being.

Do you know there are various kinds of witchcraft? Black and White Magic? and do you think witches did the same thing all these years? another thing: your cospiration theories just sucks and shows more intellectual misery.

2003Brad equals mental illness.

[joeb1963]

@2003Brad Walpurgisnacht or Walpurgis night is a yearly celebration by witches,warlocks,demons,etc that dance around huge bonfires at the Harz Mountains in Broken Germany. it is celebrated on April 30th each year.

[kickassmage]

@2003Brad lol calm down u know ur not rely a witch right.

[davidmumma66]

@2003Brad Just sayin brad, Black sabbath members weren't cultists xD they were all raised Christians for the most part and they did this because they wanted the unique sound they had and it made them money

[s7o0a0p]

Too good to handle! Same for the original Children of the Grave! (although the lyrics to the original aren't as good as the studio.)

[MrOzzyIommi]

No, they changed it because Geezer saw 300 people died in Vietnam and he wanted to change the lyrics to a more serious argument

[doomedelk]

geezer was in vietnam?

[MrOzzyIommi]

omg no, he saw it on TV

[biffwalnuts2]

this is how the song should have stayed

[help4343]

good, no more rhyming a word with itself

[VinceCloak]

even though I grew up on thr version we all know I like this one the best

[panagoskrimizeas]

@VinceCloak you're not the only one

[ElRico2525]

This shit is dark.

[monkeymagoo47]

Oh man....

They really shoul've kept this song, and made a new song called "War Pigs."

[Taydude411]

1:35-1:39......cant think of any worse punishment.

[Taydude411]

For anyone woh doesn't know, this is the original version of 'War Pigs'

These lyrics were by Will 'Geezer' Butler

however, they saw stuff on t.v about the war in vietnam, so the lyrics were changed, a LOT.

[BraumSevil]

Such interesting lyrics. You could see why in the late sixties and early seventies these lyrics would be considered obscene and even incendiary. Not that the version that DID get put on the album (War Pigs) wasnt..

[LifeInBrunswick]

They would've been considered literally 'incendiary.' "Hell's the place for all bad sinners" :P .

[2003Brad]

Too bad your God has not taken all of the Bush family there, Os/bama too and all of the perverts that are part of the Skull and Bones.

[thejake1453]

what the hell does that mean?

[locoxlog]

@thejake1453

He's an inept. Completely oblivious to reality. Ever consumed by borderline schizophrenic paranoia that creates the facade of what seems like an actual political ideology. He's a moron. :)

[tomek92pl]

@2003Brad u r not a witch. more of an conspiracy theorist

[JacksonEspFender]

@2003Brad dude you have some major issues

[luis56nj]

now you where demonic lyrics came from

long live ozzy

[stygian87]

ozzy did deliver them, but didnt write them. Butler did, and he was tired of having this occult image, so they changed it ino war pigs somewhere between the end of june and the 12th of july 1970...

[thesithempire]

Actually that's not quite correct. Ozzy wrote the original "Walpurgis", continuing in a similar vein from "Black Sabbath", which he also wrote. However, Geezer Butler rewrote "Walpurgis" as "War Pigs"

[luis56nj]

i've reaserched on google nd other sites about this

u were right

i can't think of any lyrics that have to do with dead rats

[pinetoppedro]

@luis56nj

The Doors - Break on Through... when they played it live Morrison sometimes added a bit about ' Dead Cats Dead Rats.' I think it's on the album Absolutely Live.

[luis56nj]

@pinetoppedro

kool

i didnt really kno that

thnx for tellin meh

hey i hav some videos on my chanel(they suk tho) give me some ideas

thanks a bunch

[pupooo3]

how the fuck did he write those lyrics i can't understand

[laxkid61]

This is what its all about.

THIS is metal.

[Rockfreak117]

i like this version sounds cool

[ryanloveskansas]

it was on ozzman cometh

[HolyWasteland]

if u want this on a tape look for the album called "BLACK SABBATH, basement tapes." its pretty much the demo of a lot of their songs

[Teutonic1250]

ha! WMG cant take this off of youtube! its not really an official song and it hasnt been released on an album!

[inuyoukai87]

It was released on the ozzman cometh in 97 i think

[prototypep4]

these lyrics are better then the original causee this is the true song but they did war pigs as an anti war song

[alim8889]

Ozzy is a BAMF.

[EasyEnoughMeals]

Yeah he is. One hell of a BAMF

[zekoneman]

what is differnts beetwen war pigs and walpurgis?

[Hectorschizoidman]

the lyrics haha

[Hectorschizoidman]

oh...and the title

[KrewSaydr]

Walpurgis was the original song, then when vietnam broke out they changed the lyrics and renamed it. Note that, I do not think that this was every released onto a CD. I'm sure that they had it, but when War Pigs was released, Walpurgis was completely overshadowed.

[killethantripp]

ozzy released it on one of his solo albums man

[marquesteen]

yes its on "Ozzman Cometh" Greatest Hits CD

[KrewSaydr]

I know that, I have the album

[wiglinater]

different lyrics

[wiglinater]

diferent lyrics man

[bobthegoo]

hahahahah, it just makes me laugh that this was recorded 40 years ago, and few songs(i guess i should say few bands too) can match the heaviness and pure genius of black sabbath.

[wiglinater]

true dat brosky

[1223339]

this whole song is a testiment to rock and roll

[bigbluecrane3]

5/5

[jonasbacklund]

has anyone else noticed that geezer butler is more of a god than most of the best guitarists in the world? and he plays bass!!

[Lando1981]

I wonder if they ever played this live before? That would be kickass!

[cheeseman1777]

wow...geezer butler sure can write some heavy fuckin' metal lyrics lol. black sabbath for ever \m/

[1223339]

my face just melted

[Energizerer]

yeah this version is wwaaay better than warpigs...isnt this version of the song found in the Ozzman Cometh album?

[dimebagdemon626]

yeah

[cdimeo]

I'm getting goosbumps, it's like being 17 and hearing War Pigs for the first time...but better. Only Sabbath could write 2 awesome set of lyrics for the same song. They played with such passion.

[derek123wil0]

better lyrics on this one

[metalupyourass169]

this is mad

[xjamesxreedx]

Way heavier than the Album version!

[Privat3Kag3]

better than the released version by far, and more of a true war song.

[bobthegoo]

this song was meant to scare the living shit out of everyone! hail the mighty sabbath!!!

[thejake1453]

hell yeah!

[tmdkshaft]

Lol the thing about dead rat's innards worked for me...

I peed a little...

[dimebagdemon626]

the priest thing was it for me lol

[1223339]

is a good way or a bad way

[dimebagdemon626]

in an awesome holy shit i just heard an alternate version of war pigs that doesent suck kinda way

[Superjew14]

exactly

[1223339]

Ozzy is the DARKNESS

[DaCOWisINdaHOUZZ]

dis is mad poop im tis is da original poop yo

[josephanterola]

you're right this was the original version

[DaCOWisINdaHOUZZ]

cool