War Pigs Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Generals gathered in their masses
Just like witches at black masses
Evil minds that plot destruction
Sorcerer of death's construction
In the fields, the bodies burning
As the war machine keeps turning
Death and hatred to mankind
Poisoning their brainwashed minds
[Refrain]
Oh, Lord, yeah
[Bridge]
Politicians hide themselves away
They only started the war
Why should they go out to fight?
They leave that all to the poor, yeah
Time will tell on their power minds
Making war just for fun
Treating people just like pawns in chess
Wait till their judgment day comes, yeah
[Guitar Solo]
Now, in darkness, world stops turning
Ashes where their bodies burning
No more war pigs have the power
Hand of God has struck the hour
Day of Judgment, God is calling
On their knees, the war pigs crawling
Begging mercies for their sins
Satan, laughing, spreads his wings
[Refrain]
Oh, Lord, yeah
[Instrumental Outro: Luke's Wall]
About
As the opening track of the influential Black Sabbath album, Paranoid, “War Pigs” was originally titled “Walpurgis.” Walpurgis Night takes place on the 30th April to mark the eve of the feast day of Saint Walpurga, an 8th-century English missionary to the Frankish Empire. It is also believed to be the night of a witches’ meeting or sabbath. The instrumental outro is entitled, “Luke’s Wall.” It is one of the most-covered songs in history and is frequently ranked among the greatest rock songs of all time.
The song talks about war and—like the hippies—Black Sabbath was totally against it, specifically the Vietnam War (occurring at the time), and although Geezer Butler has stated that:
[“War Pigs” is] totally against the Vietnam War, about how these rich politicians and rich people start all the wars for their benefit and get all the poor people to die for them.
And in an interview with Mojo in 2017:
Britain was on the verge of being brought into it, there was protests in the street, all kinds of anti-Vietnam things going on. War is the real Satanism. Politicians are the real Satanists. That’s what I was trying to say.
Ozzy Osbourne has said that:
[The group] knew nothing about Vietnam. It’s just an anti-war song.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
“Walpurgis” [which was the original title of the song] is sort of like Christmas for Satanists. And to me, war was the big Satan. It wasn’t about politics or government or anything. It was [about] evil. So I was saying “Generals gathered in the masses/Just like witches at black masses” to make an analogy. But when we brought it to the record company, they thought “Walpurgis” sounded too Satanic. And that’s when we turned it into “War Pigs.” But we didn’t change the lyrics, because they were already finished.
The title “Luke’s Wall” is most likely an homage to the band’s two-man road crew, Geoff “Luke” Lucas and Spock Wall.
The original title of “War Pigs” was “Walpurgis,” written by the bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler. But when they brought it to the record company, they thought “Walpurgis” sounded too Satanic. And that’s when Black Sabbath turned it into “War Pigs.” But they didn’t change the lyrics, because they were already finished.
- 1.War Pigs
- 2.Paranoid
- 4.Iron Man
- 6.Hand of Doom
- 7.Rat Salad