Black Sabbath bassist Terence “Geezer” Butler, 67, wrote the lyrics to “War Pigs,” “Paranoid,” “Iron Man,” “Sweet Leaf,” “Children of the Grave,” “Changes,” and too many others to list. On the occasion of the UK metal quartet’s show in San Antonio on Saturday at the AT&T Center – billed as their last North American performance ever – Butler emailed us back.
Austin Chronicle: Bo Diddley was famously bitter he couldn’t collect royalties on all the songs that utilized the “Bo Diddley beat.” With the ubiquity of a phrase such as “Sabbath-like” over the last couple of decades, please tell me you thought to yourself at least once, “If I had a pound for every band ….”
Geezer Butler: No, I never thought about it in monetary terms, since I don’t believe anything in music is truly original. Everyone has their influences, but it’s very flattering to think that we have influenced a whole genre of music.
AC: Given that so many modern acts have taken clear inspiration from Black Sabbath have there been any that you actually fancied?
GB: I like Metallica and Mastodon in particular, and Soundgarden.
AC: Bob Dylan was famously just nominated for a Nobel Prize for his lyrics. Where do you fall on the lyrics as poetry/literature debate?
GB: Well, lyrics are a form of poetry, since they mostly rhyme, but they’re restricted to the length of a song. I find it easier to write poetry than lyrics, since an idea has to be condensed into the length of a particular song. I don’t particularly think lyrics should be classed as literature.
AC: Favorite: (a) lyricist, (b) poet, (c) author?
GB: Favorite lyricist is maybe John Lennon, no favorite poet, no favorite author, although I’m an avid reader of (mainly) crime fiction. I particularly like Ian Rankin and Gillian Flynn.
AC: What did different Black Sabbath vocalists – Dio, Gillan – bring to songs made famous by Ozzy?
GB: They basically sang the same melodies as Ozzy. They didn’t particularly add anything new.
AC: Sabbath had/has such distinct voices – Ozzy’s, literally, then Tony’s guitar, and of course your lyrics. At what point did it really hit home that this lot from Birmingham was different, unique?
GB: Very early when we started writing our own songs, in particular the song “Black Sabbath.” When we played that for the first time, the reaction was incredible as we were a 12-bar blues band at the time. People were totally surprised by the change-up.
AC: When I listen to the great heavy acts of the Sixties/Seventies/Eighties and beyond – Sabbath, Priest, UFO, Thin Lizzy – I’m struck by how almost pop they are compared to what’s termed metal today. Did you see the writing on the wall as far as this evolution? Will any contemporary extreme act ever write songs that can be turned into a lullabies album as the Rockabye Baby! series did with Black Sabbath?
GB: I’m sure there will always be bands that can be interpreted in different ways. As far as the evolution of metal goes, we took our influences one or two steps heavier and that’s what bands that have been influenced by us have done.
AC: Legend has it you contributed anecdotes to This Is Spinal Tap. If true, how did that come to pass?
GB: Not true.
AC: Any impressions of Austin when the band played here in 2013?
GB: I think it was the first time I saw a Whole Foods store!
AC: Last North American Black Sabbath performance. Please tell me of the first. Can there be closure?
GB: The first Sabbath gig in America was a tiny club called Ungano’s in New York. We didn’t realize that most of the audience consisted of booking agents. After that gig, we had tons of offers to tour.
Closure will come after our last gig in Birmingham, England, where it all started.
This article appears in November 11 • 2016.
