Snowblind

Album: Vol. 4 (1972)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song is about addiction to cocaine. The "snowflakes" are baked goods, "snowblind" is the addiction, and when "my eyes are blind but I can see" it can either mean the trip, going cold turkey, or an overdose. >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Max - New York, NY
  • "Snowblind" is part of Vol. 4, the fourth Black Sabbath album. Their bass player, Geezer Butler, was their lyricist at this time. He told Songfacts that Vol. 4 and their next one, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, were "the cocaine albums."

    The band did a lot of drugs around this time but managed to stay productive and creative. Of course, it took a toll and nearly destroyed them a few years later. Lead singer Ozzy Osbourne was in and out of rehab clinics, including Betty Ford, for a long time before going sober in 1991.
  • Black Sabbath wanted to use Snowblind as the title to the album, but their record company would not let them because of the drug reference.
  • In the liner notes of the album, the band thanks "The COKE-cola Company," a reference to the drug.
  • Hoyt Axton was the first to use the word "snowblind" in a popular song. "Snowblind Friend" appears on his 1969 album My Griffin Is Gone, and was a minor hit for Steppenwolf when they covered it on their Steppenwolf 7 album the following year. That song is stark and sobering, telling the story of a friend of Axton's whose drug abuse killed him.

    In 1981, Styx released their own song called "Snowblind," which also deals with drug abuse.
  • System of a Down covered this on the 2000 Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity In Black II.
  • At least two Black Sabbath tribute bands were named Snowblind. One is from Long Island and the other is from the Maryland/Pennsylvania area.
  • This was covered by Sleep, Converge, Golgotha, Evoken, and After Forever (who are named after a Sabbath song). >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Brett - Edmonton, Canada
  • Frank Zappa, despite disliking drugs himself, told the band he enjoyed this song. Zappa also surprised Sabbath by covering "Iron Man" with his own band live.

Comments: 32

  • Dust 79 from Southern BrazilWe just want your soul to use... We have been gifted with all this good music. Each day it becomes more and more classic. My mind has been released, for sure!
  • Karah Eaton from MassachusettsSnowflakes are not baked goods! They are slang for cocaine
  • Luna Loud from Royal Woods, MichiganSunday, January 29, 2023 - I woke up early this morning before anyone else so I decided to give another listen to the Vol. 4 album on my iPod. When I listened to this song, and it got to the bridge, "My eyes are blind, but I can see/the snowflakes glisten on the trees/the sun no longer sets me free/I feel the snowflakes freezing meeeeee", I don't know why but I started tearing up. I don't know why. I've never even done coke or any kind of drug in my life, but it got to me. Maybe I was just tired, but it never happened to me before. And that solo...ohhhh my God! Such passion! These guys lived this, and they made such great music because of it. I'm not advocating drug use, though. I am a musician myself, and the older generation keeps telling me, "Luna, you've never done drugs, but yet you're a great musician. You've learned how to play without drugs, and not too many musicians can say that. Don't ever start doing drugs, because they will just destroy you, you don't need them." I'm not trying to toot my own horn, I don't think I'm better than anyone, I'm just telling you what some people have said to me. It is possible to be a good musician without drugs, unfortunately, there's not too many examples we can go by. Ted Nugget, Rivers Cuomo, Ian Anderson, Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein to name a very few. We need more, dudes!

    P.S. - Drugs do not automatically make talent. You have to have talent in you to begin with in order to be good at all. Just think of how many bands and musicians (today, especially) that do tons of drugs and SUCK!!!

    Peace and Rock on!!! ~ Luna Loud
  • George from Bristol EnglandPahahaa did someone try saying this song is about a brain tumour not cocaine.
  • Dan Gillespy from Courtenay BcA perfect Black Sabbath classic song about cocaine.
  • Dan Gillespy from Courtenay BcA very good Black Sabbath classic about cocaine.
  • Andie from Scotlandwho cares wots its about
    (drug dealers) thats all
    HEAVY MAAAAN
  • Andie from ScotlandThe snows falling on the carpet and I'm getting old soon I'll be frozen to the ground.
  • Jimmy Crackcorn from San DiegoThe song is about COCAINE!! Not only do they say cocaine in the song, everybody in the band acknowledged in their autobiographies that it was written during their life in LA while recording vol 4 and they were doing tons of coke.
  • Sean from Jennings, LaThe song is about cocaine. Ozzy even says it on recordings live during the song, damn, how could it be a debate?!
  • Steve from Virginia Beach, VaIn response to John, brownsvalley, CA: Get your lyrics right and they shout "COCAINE" in clear english...dead
  • John from Brownsvalley, Ca"Snowblind" isn't about cocaine. It's about dying of a brain tumor. Think about it: "Something growing in my head/Wings of ice that soon will spread."

    And how about this?: "Going to freeze my very soul/Makes me happy, makes me cold."

    "No one who's done cocaine would tell you that it made them feel happy. Bold and self-assured, maybe, but not euphoric. And cold? No way. But a tumor would definitely cause weird thoughts and feelings as it at away at the brain.

    Sorry to burst your bubble, folks..."

    k Pikadon now i have to burst your bubble, first of all why would a brain tumor make you happy? second of all cocaine is known to cause a
    numbing sensation that could be associated with feeling cold, bubble succesfully bursted
  • Pikadon from Haleiwa, Hi"Snowblind" isn't about cocaine. It's about dying of a brain tumor. Think about it: "Something growing in my head/Wings of ice that soon will spread."

    And how about this?: "Going to freeze my very soul/Makes me happy, makes me cold."

    No one who's done cocaine would tell you that it made them feel happy. Bold and self-assured, maybe, but not euphoric. And cold? No way. But a tumor would definitely cause weird thoughts and feelings as it at away at the brain.

    Sorry to burst your bubble, folks...
  • Oldpink from New Castle, InGreat song, especially the middle part, when Ozzy sings "my eyes are blind, though I can see!"
  • Lester from New York City, NyTwice when I saw Black Sabbath live, they had it snow onstage for this song.
  • Darren from Doylestown, Paozzy was into all sorts of drugs but he specialized in free basing cocaine
  • Paul from California, PaHey, uh, Kevin from Calgary.....marijuana is a drug to. It is evry psychologically addictive. I know because I smoked that crap for 12 years. The dangers of weed are very underrated. The crystals are not as beautiful as you seem to think.
  • Sindre from MosjÃ?enNow, who the heck was in charge of letting System of a Down('s) cover this song. Man... Talk about messing up the classics. Have any of you heard their version? It's got nothing to do with anything! It makes me mad... It makes me want to hunt down the ones responsible and biting their fingers off... Damn it!

    Oh... Before I forget; Yay, Sabbath! :P
  • Rocco from , CanadaIts weird that metal was created accidentaly
  • Joaquin from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico"my eyes are blind but i can see"... great singing by the prince of darkness, and the guitar part that goes just before "my eyes are blind..." is great, good arpeggios, but someone knows which chords is he strumming?
  • Claudio from Belo Horizonte, Brazili dont think "snowblind" is tuned down to c#. at least it is playable in standard tuning (unlike "killing yourself to live")
  • Devon from Westerville, Oha lot of their songs are tuned down 1 1/2 steps. It makes it easier to do string bends. This is one of my favorite Sabbath tunes because how heavy it is. Iommi invented down tunings.
  • Kevin from Calgary, CanadaThe song is obviously about cocaine, about that there can be no doubt. Now, is it a positive drug song or a negative one? I think the latter. The line: "the sun no longer sets me free" is the most powerful line in the song, I think. It sums it all up. Whatever nice, drugged out things he has to say about drugs, this is the heart of it. He needs the drugs to be happy. He can't be happy without them. "Will my ice age ever come?" is the desperate longing to get high again.

    On a side note: whenever he sings "the snowflakes glisten on the tree" I think of staring at marijuana bud closly and seeing the beautiful, beautiful crystals (kif) containing the THC. As with all songs about (hard) drugs, it should serve as a warning too and be read in context. When getting (ready to get) high you feel euphoric, but when coming down you get more depressed, and when sober you are depressed, and you just want it, always, all the time.
  • Jeremy from Warren , Riif you listen to the song after he says "icicles within my brain, you can here him say softly, "cocaine"!
  • Ravyn from Hell, NyI absolutely love this song!
  • Fred from Washington, DcThe tips of tony's fret hand ring and middle fingers were cut off the on his last day at his factory job before he quit to become a fulltime guitarist. He got fake tips for his fingers but he could only play really light guitar strings. He didnt like the light sound so on Master Of Reality, Vol. 4, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Sabotage and other songs after those albums, he tuned down three half steps
  • Robert from Chicago, Ilokay, damien is right on what this is about. michael is right SABBATH RULES. answering billy, tony always tuned down because he had that accident (which was the day before he was going to quit the factory to persue his musical career) and he had a hard time playing the standard tuning and fortunatly gave the guitar the doomier sound, BIRTH OF METAL. Geezer on the other hand tuned down on this song.
  • Ben from Aguadilla, United Statesyes...tony lost his fingers not too long before begining touring with the band...and has always played with caps on his fingers...
  • Billy Ross from Hagerstown, Mdalso, my friend said tony iommi had to tune down 1 1/2 steps because he lost two of his fingers in a machining accident. does anoyone know anything about this?
  • Billy Ross from Hagerstown, Mdthis i think was the only song where black sabbath didnt use standard tuning. the song is down 1 1/2 steps
  • Michael Picard from Lapwai, IdI love the way Tony made it sound frosty-ish on the Small scale part you know before the lyrics but not right before the lyrics. A very sweet Song to Blast!!!SABBATH RULES
  • Damien from Somewhere, Irelandsnowblind is a term used to describe being out oif your nut on cocaine
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