Never was a Black Sabbath fan, but I loved Ozzy and I loved this song.
According to Wikipedia, the song's piano melody was composed by guitarist Tony Iommi, who was experimenting with the instrument in the studio. The lyrics were by bassist Geezer Butler, and Ozzy has referred to the song as "heartbreaking". Quite different from Sabbath's previous work, the song was described as a "forlornly pretty" ballad by critic Barney Hoskyns. It was inspired mainly by drummer Bill Ward's break-up with his first wife.
I came to know Ozzy by a more circuitous path. I love trashy paranormal shows (not all of them, most are unbearably bad) and I stumbled across "The Osbournes Want To Believe." In it, Jack Osbourne would play clips of alleged paranormal events and ask his parents to rate them on a scale of one to 10. Of course, the hilarity was Jack trying so hard to get them to agree with him -- and Ozzy's side comments.
