Symptom of the Universe by Black Sabbath Lyrics Meaning – Unveiling the Cosmic Tapestry of Love

You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Black Sabbath's Symptom of the Universe at Lyrics.org.

Lyrics

Take me through the centuries to supersonic years
Electrifying enemy is drowning in his tears
All I have to give you is a love that never dies
The symptom of the universe is written in your eyes

Mother moon she’s calling me back to her silver womb
Father of creation takes me from my stolen tomb
Seven hundredth unicorn is waiting in the skies
A symptom of the universe, a love that never dies

Take my hand, my child of love come step inside my tears
Swim the magic ocean I’ve been crying all these years
With our love we’ll ride away into eternal skies
A symptom of the universe, a love that never dies

Woman child of love’s creation, come and step inside my dreams
In your eyes I see no sadness, you are all that loving means
Take my hand and we’ll go riding through the sunshine from above
We’ll find happiness together in the summer skies of love

Within the pantheon of rock, certain tracks transcend the mere melding of chords and lyrics to become emblematic of an era, a feeling, or a transcending message. Black Sabbath’s ‘Symptom of the Universe’ is one such song; it’s a seismic eruption from their 1975 album ‘Sabotage’. Embodying the raw power of metal and the exploratory spirit of prog-rock, this track is simultaneously an anchor in the band’s heavier roots and a sail catching the winds of a deeper existential quest.

On the surface, ‘Symptom of the Universe’ thrills listeners with a riff-heavy arrangement and Ozzy Osbourne’s unmistakable timbre. But to pause at this auditory feast would be a disservice to the lyrical tapestry woven by the band. This song, eclipsing mere auditory pleasure, encodes a profound discourse on love, time, and cosmic existence that merits not just a head-bang, but a soul-searching exploration.

A Thrash Metal Progenitor or A Psychedelic Odyssey? The Genre-Bending Influence of ‘Symptom’

Listeners are often encapsulated by the track’s innovative guitar work, which is largely considered one of the earliest harbinger of thrash metal. This song, with its hard-driving riffs and frenetic solos, set the template for a generation of metal that would come to define an era. Yet, the frenzied tempo and aggressive musicianship belie a philosophical depth simmering beneath the surface.

Here, Black Sabbath deviates from their established doom-laden soundscapes, steering the listener through the realms of a psychedelic journey – a sonic canvas stretching across time and space, where tempo changes and lyrical mysticism invoke a dalliance with the eternal and the ethereal.

Love As The Symptom: Decoding the Emotional Plague

Central to ‘Symptom of the Universe’ is the motif of love – a love ‘that never dies’, as starkly repeated throughout the track. This isn’t the pedestrian, whimsical love of popular ballads; it’s a cosmic love, boundless and perennial. By characterizing love as a ‘symptom,’ the band metaphorically suggests it as a natural and telltale sign of the universal condition, an inextricable part of the cosmos enduring through epochs.

It’s a radical perspective that views love not as a mere human emotion but as a force, an elemental, primordial presence that suffuses the vastness of the universe. Fascinatingly, it chips away at the very notion that to love is to suffer, instead positing that to love is to be attuned to the universe itself.

The Time-Traveling Tears: Diving into the Heart’s Ocean

Imagery in ‘Symptom of the Universe’ is rife with temporal leaps and elemental interplay. Lines like ‘Take me through the centuries to supersonic years’ and ‘Swim the magic ocean I’ve been crying all these years’ evoke a vision of emotions not constrained by linear time but flowing through an endless, mystical continuum.

The song’s narrative, with its talk of centuries, supersonic years, and tears that form oceans, invites listeners to experience love as a journey through not just internal landscapes but also through the annals of time itself. It is impassioned, grandiose, and surreal, asking us to slip the moorings of chronological tyranny and immerse ourselves in the ancient currents of feeling.

Cosmic Parenthood: Mother Moon and Father Creation

A standout feature of the lyrical artistry in this song is the anthropomorphization of universal elements. The mention of ‘Mother moon’ and ‘Father of creation’ establishes a celestial family structure, instilling earthly familial ties into the fabric of space. It bridges the gap between the mundane and the divine, suggesting that our origins and destinies are laced with stellar dust and governed by cosmic forces.

The themes of birth, revitalization, and escape from a ‘stolen tomb’ speak volumes of transformation and resurrection. These cosmic parents do not just give rise to physical forms, but they also engender the very essence of love that the song heralds. In this cosmic family, we are all children of love’s creation, beckoned back to our true home in the universe.

The Resonance of Immortality: The Song’s Most Memorable Lines

Music, when it strikes a chord deep within the human psyche, can endow a sense of immortality to its words. ‘Symptom of the Universe’ is replete with memorable lines that resonate on this immortal frequency. ‘The symptom of the universe is written in your eyes’ serves not only as a masterful refrain but also as a revelation that each individual embodies the very essence of the cosmos – to look into another’s eyes is to peer into the vastness of creation itself.

Moreover, the song’s coda ‘We’ll find happiness together in the summer skies of love’ epitomizes a transcendent optimism. It encapsulates a belief in an attainable utopia, an ever-summer, and a communal euphoria found within the celestial embrace of love. Such lyrical prowess ensures that the song’s profundity echoes infinitely in the hearts of listeners, long after the final note has faded.