Tomorrow's Dream

Album: Vol. 4 (1972)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song is about "how fleeting fame could be," according to Black Sabbath bass player Geezer Butler, who wrote the lyric. He explained to Songfacts that bands around this time would suddenly get very popular, but then they would fade away and he'd never hear about them again. The Bay City Rollers are an example.
  • "Tomorrow's Dream" is a very heavy song even by Black Sabbath standards. It's powered by Tony Iommi's guitar, which could rattle the room when cranked up on good speakers.

    The song is part of the fourth Sabbath album, Vol. 4, released when the band was at a creative peak in 1972. They released five albums from 1970-1973 that helped define heavy metal. After that, drug use and infighting impaired the band, and in 1979 they parted ways with lead singer Ozzy Osbourne. In 1980, Sabbath started their second act with the acclaimed album Heaven And Hell, their first with new frontman Ronnie James Dio. That same year, Ozzy started even more remarkable resurgence with his first solo album, Blizzard Of Ozz, which includes the classics "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley."

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