The title of the song and the single art, as well as certain parts in the song, are obvious references to Friedrich Nietzsche’s statement in his book The Gay Science, aptly named “God is Dead.”
The song is about a religious fanatic and somebody that’s been told God is dead and that he wants to prov...
[Verse 1]
Lost in the darkness, I fade from the light
Faith of my father, my brother, my Maker and Savior
Help me make it through the night
Blood on my conscience
And murder in mind
Out of the gloom I rise up from my tomb
Into impending doom
Now my body is my shrine
[Chorus 1]
The blood runs free
The rain turns red
Give me the wine, you keep the bread
The voices echo in my head
Is God alive or is God dead?
Is God dead?
[Verse 2]
Rivers of evil, run through dying land
Swimming in sorrow, they kill, steal, and borrow
There is no tomorrow
For the sinners will be damned
Ashes to ashes
You cannot exhume a soul
Who do you trust when corruption and lust creed of all the unjust
Leaves you empty and unwhole?
[Chorus 2]
When will this nightmare be over?
Tell me
When can I empty my head?
Will someone tell me the answer?
Is God really dead?
Is God really dead?
[Verse 3]
To safeguard my philosophy
Until my dying breath
I transfer from reality
Into a living death
I empathize with enemies
Until the timing’s right
With God and Satan at my side
From darkness will come light
[Chorus 3]
I watch the rain as it turns red
Give me more wine
I don’t need bread
These riddles that live in my head
I don’t believe that God is dead
God is dead
[Bridge]
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
Wondering if we will meet again on the other side
Do you believe a word what the Good Book said?
Or is it just a holy fairytale and God is dead?
God is dead, God is dead
God is dead, God is dead, right?
[Guitar Solo]
[Chorus 4]
But still the voices in my head
Are telling me that God is dead
The blood pours down, the rain turns red
I don’t believe that God is dead
God is dead, God is dead
God is dead, God is dead
God Is Dead? was written by Tony Iommi & Geezer Butler & Ozzy Osbourne.
God Is Dead? was produced by Rick Rubin.
Black Sabbath released God Is Dead? on Fri Apr 19 2013.
I was in somebody’s office and there was a magazine on a table and it just said, ‘God Is Dead’, and I suddenly thought about 9/11 and all these terrorist things and religion and how many people have died in the name of religion. When you think about the tragedy that’s happened throughout time, it ju...
Rubin told Rolling Stone,
This time, I tried to get them to work in the way they used to work, where a lot of material would happen through jamming. So they would have a part to start from like a jazz band, so Tony [Iommi] would have one or two main riffs and then take it into different directions....