War Pigs

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For the Hungarian rock band, see Warpigs (band).

"War Pigs" is an anti-war song by British heavy metal rockers Black Sabbath from their 1971 album, Paranoid. The song talks about war and the absurdities of those who make war without regard to the powerless people who are sent to die. It's sometimes called a protest song.

It is the opening track on Paranoid, Black Sabbath's best selling album. It can also be found on every live and compilation album by the band along with Paranoid itself and "Iron Man". The instrumental part in the end of the song is called "Luke's Wall".

Originally intended to be the title-track, the name of the album was changed to Paranoid, as Black Sabbath's record company feared a backlash by supporters of the Vietnam War. It is one of Black Sabbath's most popular songs, and is still played on Classic Rock stations regularly. The riff, as with most Sabbath songs, is powerful and memorable, as are the eerie verses, which feature Osbourne singing alone (using a melody cribbed from their earlier "Behind The Wall Of Sleep") and punctuated at every line by a guitar lick.

The song has been covered by the band Faith No More in 1990. It has also been performed live by The Dresden Dolls and by The Flaming Lips in 2004 to 2006, at times with female vocalists such as Cat Power and Peaches. It is very likely the riff that inspired Metallica's "Master of Puppets" main riff.

"It was about Vietnam. We knew nothing about Vietnam, it's just an anti-war song." - Ozzy
"It's about the sad shape that our world is in." (Ronnie James Dio, 1992).

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Walpurgis

The song was originally called "Walpurgis" and contained lyrics about Satanists. The band decided to change the lyrics shortly before Paranoid was recorded to reflect an anti-war mentality. The "Walpurgis" version can be heard on Ozzy Osbourne's "Ozzman Cometh" greatest-hits album.

"Originally, [War Pigs] was called 'Walpurgis', about Satan's Christmas thing, but we had to change the lyrics, because all the Satan stuff was going on." - Geezer

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