TrogDawn
Janitor of the Void
 Number of posts : 7533
Age : 56
Location : Underground
Registration date : 2007-01-05
 |  Subject: BLACK SABBATH Lyric Analysis #4: "N.I.B."  Tue Feb 13, 2007 3:28 pm | |
| "N.I.B." (Black Sabbath, 1970)
Some people say my love cannot be true
Please believe me my love and I'll show you
I will give you those things you thought unreal
The sun the moon the stars all bear my seal
Follow me now and you will not regret
Leaving the life you led before we met
You are the first to have this love of mine
Forever with me 'til the end of time
Your love for me has just got to be real
Before you know the way I'm going to feel
I'm going to feel
I'm going to feel
Now I have you with me under my power
Our love grows stronger now with every hour
Look into my eyes you'll see who I am
My name is Lucifer please take my hand
Follow me now and you will not regret
Leaving the life you led before we met
You are the first to have this love of mine
Forever with me 'til the end of time
Your love for me has just got to be real
Before you know the way I'm going to feel
I'm going to feel
I'm going to feel
Now I have you with me under my power
Our love grows stronger now with every hour
Look into my eyes you'll see who I am
My name is Lucifer please take my hand | |
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TrogDawn
Janitor of the Void
Number of posts : 7533
Age : 56
Location : Underground
Registration date : 2007-01-05
| | Subject: Re: BLACK SABBATH Lyric Analysis #4: "N.I.B." Tue Feb 13, 2007 3:43 pm | |
| - LordTsebaoth wrote:
- Fell in love with this song the first time I heard it actually.
If I may--
I think this song is more straightforward than some of the others. The temptations of the Devil. Obviously it is supposed to be Lucifer speaking here, but you don't realize that until near the end.
Most of the lines are representative of those lies, ie "You are the first to have this love of mine" etc etc. The idea that the Devil will say whatever he can to make people fall from a righteous path, whether or not he can put his money where his mouth is. - TrogDawn wrote:
- I like your interpretation. In that light, it sort of portrays the devil as the ultimate "playah". Seducing one third of the angels in Heaven and many people on earth to join him. If you look at these lyrics as examples of the devil's lies, it puts a different spin on how I've always heard this song. I was sort of just starting to see it that way before your post, and your words reinforce that new view.
By all accounts and interviews I have read, the initials "N.I.B." do NOT stand for "Nativity In Black" as so many have suggested. Every interview I've read that discusses this subject says that Bill Ward had a beard that was pointed and looked like the "nib" of a pen, and the guys used to call him "nibby" and that is where the title came from. The interviews I've read have also said that the title and the lyrics have nothing to do with each other.
This quote is from Joe Siegler's Sabbath site, the "official/unofficial" site:
- Quote :
- NIB does not stand for "Nativity in Black". It is a reference to a nickname the band had for Bill Ward's beard at the time, a "pen nib".
However, if you do use the premise of the initials standing for "Nativity in Black" and use that title to interpret the lyrics, the song could be interpreted as Satan trying to seduce some young woman into having his baby. A polar opposite of the Christian nativity. A creepy idea to be sure, but not unthinkable and certainly one that has been oft portrayed in movies such as "The Devil's Advocate" and "The Omen" trilogy.
I've also read an interpretation of these lyrics that they are about the devil meeting someone and falling in love and changing into a different person (i.e. a "better" person). Seems kind of simplistic though.
A couple lines that I don't understand though:
"I'll give to you those things you thought unreal
The sun, the moon, the stars, all bear my seal"
Is this just some grandiose lie? Sort of like the way a guy will try to seduce a girl? "If you come with me (aka 'let me get in your pants'), I'll give you the sun, the moon, the stars!" That's all I can see it as, because I can't recall any info of the devil having any authority over those heavenly bodies mentioned. Or is it because Lucifer was the angel of light and those are earth's main three light sources? Any ideas? I used to think the line said "All them I steal", but I think that's incorrect.
One interesting thing to notice, the lines:
"Your love for me has just got to be real
Before you know the way I'm going to feel"
is almost exactly the same as the lines in Buddy Holly's song Not Fade Away :
"Your love for me has got to be real
For you to know a just how I feel"
And also the line:
"My name is Lucifer, please take my hand"
has always bugged me. It's just such a shocking statement. It's just one of a handful of Sabbath lyrics that rub me the wrong way, but I suppose that in light of the "devil's lies" interpretation, it makes more sense.
Excellent bass playing in this song though! Especially in the bass solo "Bassically" right before the intro! 
 - ghosts of athanasius wrote:
- Well it is the sensational element that the band was always about. I think it exposes lu as a liar and when you tip your hand it is hard to trick one no? I remember as a kid getting Keith Green's So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt Record?
There was a lyric book and it had cool art. I think the song for No More Lies depicted the devil hiding behind a clown mask trying to entice a child into a facade amusement park which was really the path to hell. There child was holding an ice cream cone and there were other pitched cones near the entrance.
This song seems to be in a similar vein. If you know it is the devil it is less likely you want to follow. He is promising things he can not deliver. He lies about the nature of his love and your relationship with him.
But there is no clear warning and the message is very much take it however you want IMO. This seems to be Sabbath's attempt to entertain (one way or another) through story telling. Just what they do. - TrogDawn wrote:
- ghosts of athanasius wrote:
- Well it is the sensational element that the band was always about. I think it exposes lu as a liar and when you tip your hand it is hard to trick one no?
Yeah, true. I sometimes have a bad habit of taking things like this at face value and understanding it on a very shallow level. I'm sure it's probably based in fear.  - ghosts of athanasius wrote:
- I don't know, I could be wrong, just my take
IT makes you wonder why they left in the periods instead of going with straight NIB. And the trib album was entitled Nativity In Black. Where did this anagram even come from?
Rosemary's Baby was a very popular movie so it is hard to say. - TrogDawn wrote:
- I don't know where the "Nativity" interpretation came from. It does seem to fit the lyrics to an extent though. Maybe they added the periods in an attempt to make it look better?
I'm writing a parody of this song, and I'm calling it "Nativity in Bethlehem"!  Instead of the "Oh yeah!"s I'm gonna use "Oy vey!"s  - LordTsebaoth wrote:
- Have you seen the DVD release "The Last Supper"? There's a section in there where it talks about the song's name. I guess the band named it after 'Nibby', but then later someone came up with the term 'nativity in black' and it became an acronym. So the song does stand for Nativity in Black but it originally wasn't called that.
Supposedly they were on opium when they came up with it. 
I had never thought of it in terms of the Devil trying to seduce someone into having his baby. That's a great way to look at it, especially with the title the way it is.
@ the comment about the bass playing: yes you are right, I love the intro to this song, as well as the bass line throughout. - TrogDawn wrote:
- LordTsebaoth wrote:
- Have you seen the DVD release "The Last Supper"? There's a section in there where it talks about the song's name. I guess the band named it after 'Nibby', but then later someone came up with the term 'nativity in black' and it became an acronym. So the song does stand for Nativity in Black but it originally wasn't called that.
Supposedly they were on opium when they came up with it. I have the DVD but have not watched it yet. I guess I need to! Wow, that's pretty interesting. 
Opium, huh? Not exactly a household drug, eh? - metal canuk wrote:
- Musically this is one of my favourite songs but the my name is "Lucy fur" kills it for me. When my unsaved friends play the song and I am in the room, I usually yell out "Jesus Christ", it fits so well!
To me these verses have to speak of the truth that the devil has control over sinners (but he is a dog on a leash) and that he tempts them by the lust of the flesh, the eyes and pride. He appears as an "angel of light" and can make sinners think that to follow him is going to be filled with prosperity.
He gave that line to Jesus, so why wouldn't he try the same with sinners?
Matthew 4:8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;
Matthew 4:9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. - LordTsebaoth wrote:
- You need to watch that DVD brutha! It's probably my most spun music DVD, interpolating interview with concert footage. And it's the same tour as the Reunion disc but different performances, meaning it's not just the same songs.
They give very detailed and insightful information on the band's substance abuse issues, which I've always been interested in hearing more about, as well as the original transition from Earth to Black Sabbath (including some funny stories about misbooks). Plus there's some interesting insights into some of the songs (ie N.I.B.). - TrogDawn wrote:
- metal Canuk wrote:
- 2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
This is a great scripture for the song "Lord of This World"!  - candlemass wrote:
- It is a great dvd, save the interviews cutting up the songs, who's bright idea was that!?
- LordTsebaoth wrote:
- I actually like it the way it is, it's like a documentary/concert in one ... BUT, at the same time, I wish they'd given the option of whether or not to include the interview in the set. That would have been cool. Whatever, it's still one of my favorite DVDs.
- Stained Glass Flames wrote:
- The "my name is Lucifer" line used to bug me too, until I thought of it in terms of the literal interpretation of the name Lucifer - angel of light. To me, that line fits perfectly with the biblical concept of Satan disguising himself as an angel of light in an attempt to lure/seduce people into sin. I mean, if he showed up looking like the frightening, ugly "devil" we see portrayed so often, who would want to follow him (other than your average Slayer fan
 )? But because of his ability to make evil appear good, and because of our sin nature and our fallen condition, we buy right into his lies - we "take his hand."
Maybe that's just me justifying the lyrics because I love the music, but it really makes sense when you look at it that way.
 - Zombiewalkin wrote:
- The Last Supper is a good vid. I dig it.
I really like the way the discussions are going with Sabbath lyrics. Ive found a way to look at this song differently now and probably might help me enjoy the song more lyrically I guess. - TrogDawn wrote:
- Yeah, me too man. That's mainly why I started these discussions. I wanted to hear some other folks' perspectives on these lyrics instead of just my own.
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