Black Sabbath Perform “Paranoid” Live In Paris, 1970

Paris, 1970

The godfathers of heavy metal as we know it, Black Sabbath gained a reputation early on in their career for putting on some seriously killer live shows. This performance of ‘Paranoid’ from the guys’ performance in Paris, 1970 is proof; Ozzy has quite literally never looked better than in this performance and his energy is absolutely electric. Flanked by the talents of Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass and Bill Ward on drums, Ozzy was unstoppable as Black Sabbath’s frontman!

This performance took place in December 1970 at L’Olympia Bruno Coquatrix in Paris.

One of the things about this performance of ‘Paranoid’ that’s given me a healthy appreciation for Black Sabbath is the fact that after nearly 50 years together, they’ve never sacrificed their heaviness or their sound. The Black Sabbath that we hear in this performance is the Black Sabbath we’re still hearing in 2015 – albeit a little older, sure, but nevertheless the best at what they do!

+ Paranoid lyrics +

Finished with my woman ’cause she couldn’t help me with my mind
People think I’m insane because I am frowning all the time
All day long I think of things but nothing seems to satisfy
Think I’ll lose my mind if I don’t find something to pacify
Can you help me occupy my brain?
Oh yeah
I need someone to show me the things in life that I can’t find
I can’t see the things that make true happiness, I must be blind
Make a joke and I will sigh and you will laugh and I will cry
Happiness I cannot feel and love to me is so unreal
And so as you hear these words telling you now of my state
I tell you to enjoy life I wish I could but it’s too late