"Paranoid" is a song by the English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in 1970 on the band's second studio album, Paranoid (1970). It is the first single from the album, while the B-side is the song "The Wizard". The song is widely regarded as one of the greatest heavy metal songs of all time. It reached number 4 on the UK singles chart and number 61 on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming Black Sabbath's first song to place on both of those charts.

Song information "Paranoid" was the first Black Sabbath single release, coming six months after their self-titled debut was released. Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler (from Guitar World magazine, March 2004):

The song is an E minor pentatonic and only uses power chords. The guitar solo is a dry signal on the left channel, which is patched through a ring modulator and routed to the right channel; this effect was used again on the 1978 song, "Johnny Blade".

According to extant lyric sheets, "Paranoid" was at one time titled "The Paranoid".

"Paranoid" eventually became the name of the album. Originally, the band had wanted to call the album War Pigs after the song of the same name, but the record company persuaded them to use "Paranoid" instead because it was less offensive.

"Paranoid" drew controversy for apparently encouraging suicide, much like Osbourne's later solo song "Suicide Solution". Particularly, the lyric "I tell you to enjoy life" was misheard as a mondegreen: "I tell you to end your life".

Reception Cash Box described the song as being "as dense, musically as 'Whole Lotta Love'", stating that "crashing, non-stop beat with gobs of bass and drums laced liberally with stinging, echoey vocals and hot guitar licks move the song along at a blistering pace."

"Paranoid" was ranked No. 34 on VH1's 40 Greatest Metal Songs."VH1 40 Greatest Metal Songs", 1–4 May 2006, VH1 Channel, reported by VH1.com; last accessed 10 September 2006 In March 2005, Q magazine placed it at number 11 in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. Rolling Stone ranked it number 250 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and 13th on their 2023 list "100 Greatest Heavy Metal Songs of All Time". "Paranoid" was ranked the fifth best Black Sabbath song by Rock – Das Gesamtwerk der größten Rock-Acts im Check. In 2020, Kerrang! ranked the song number five on their list of the 20 greatest Black Sabbath songs, and in 2021, Louder Sound ranked the song number six on their list of the 40 greatest Black Sabbath songs.

Personnel Ozzy Osbourne – vocals Tony Iommi – guitars Geezer Butler – bass Bill Ward – drums

Accolades Publication Country Accolade YearRank NME United Kingdom "All Time Top 100 Singles" 1976 41 Spin United States "100 Greatest Singles of All Time" 1989 81 Radio Veronica Netherlands "Super All-Time List" 1989 16 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame United States "The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll" 1994 * Guitarist United Kingdom "Top 100 Guitar Solos of All-Time" 1998 84 Rolling Stone United States "500 Greatest Songs of All Time" Alt URL 2004 253 Q United Kingdom "1010 Songs You Must Own!" 2004 * Q United Kingdom "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever!" 2005 11 Q United Kingdom "100 Greatest Songs of All Time" 2006 100 VH1 United States "40 Greatest Metal Songs" 2006 1 VH1 United States "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs" 2008 4 Planet Rock (radio station) United Kingdom "Top 500 Greatest Rock Songs of All Time" 2026 12

(*) designates unordered lists.

Track listing 7" single (Vertigo 6059 010) "Paranoid" – 2:45 "The Wizard" – 4:20

7" single (Vertigo 6059 014) "Paranoid" – 2:50 "Rat Salad" – 2:30

7" singles (Vertigo AS 109) "Paranoid" – 2:50 "Happy Being Me" – 15:54

7" 1977 re-release (Immediate 103 466) "Paranoid" – 2:50 "Evil Woman" – 3:25

7" 1977 re-release (Nems SRS 510.044) "Paranoid" – 2:50 "Tomorrow's Dream" – 3:11

7" 1980 re-release (Spiegelei INT 110.604) "Paranoid" – 2:45 "Snowblind" – 5:25

Digital Single (Reunion Live Promo Single) "Paranoid" (Live at the NEC, Birmingham, UK - December 1997) - 3:49 "Psycho Man" (Radio Edit) - 4:03 "Psycho Man" (Danny Saber Remix Edit) - 4:14

Note I "Happy Being Me" is performed by Manfred Mann Chapter Three and appears on their second album Manfred Mann Chapter Three Volume Two.

Charts

Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for "Paranoid"Chart (1970–1971)Peakposition Australian Go-Set National Top 6018 Austrian Singles Chart3 Canadian Singles Chart54 Danish Singles Chart1 French Singles Chart7 German Singles Chart1 Irish Singles Chart12 Italian Singles Chart9 Norwegian Singles Chart6 South African Springbok Radio Top 203 Swiss Singles Chart2 UK Singles Chart4 US Billboard Hot 10061US Cashbox Top 10079

+1980 chart performance for "Paranoid"Chart (1980)Peakposition UK Singles Chart14

Chart (2023) Peak position + 2025 chart performance for "Paranoid" Chart (2025) Peakposition Greece International (IFPI) 61 Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan) 10 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 34 Norway (IFPI Norge) 48 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 46 Portugal (AFP) 175 Russia Streaming (TopHit) 97 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 21

Yearly charts +1970 year-end chart performance for "Paranoid"Chart (1970)PositionNetherlands (Dutch Top 40)9 + 2025 year-end chart performance for "Paranoid" Chart (2025) Position US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard) 78

Certifications

Cover versions Cindy & Bert version In 1971, German schlager vocal duo Cindy & Bert covered the song with lyrics based on Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles as "Der Hund von Baskerville". The unlikely cover version with a heavy Hammond organ, featured in a TV show with a tiny Pekingese dog standing in as "hound" and dancers getting ushered back to their seats, has become a collector's curiosity and a document of 1971 zeitgeist.

The Dickies version American punk rock group the Dickies covered the song for their debut album The Incredible Shrinking Dickies (1979). Released as single, it charted at No. 45 in the UK.

Type O Negative version American gothic metal band Type O Negative covered the song for the remastered 1994 reissue of their second album, The Origin of the Feces. Running for 7 minutes and 20 seconds, the cover features a slower, more extended arrangement than the original and incorporates a section of Black Sabbath's Iron Man midway through the song.

Megadeth version Megadeth's cover of "Paranoid" for the tribute album Nativity in Black: A Tribute to Black Sabbath received a Grammy nomination in 1995 for 'Best Metal Performance'. This track also famously ends with drummer Nick Menza forgetting to end the song and continuing to play as Dave Mustaine repeatedly yells his name.

Weezer version In 2019, American rock band Weezer released a cover version of "Paranoid" for their twelfth studio album, Weezer (also known as the Teal album). Rhythm guitarist Brian Bell handles the lead vocals instead of frontman Rivers Cuomo.

Legacy On 5 July 2025, Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath held their final live performance titled Back to the Beginning. "Paranoid" was the final song that they performed. Osbourne died 17 days after the concert at the age of 76. The Band of the Coldstream Guards performed the song in tribute to Osbourne during the Changing of the Guards ceremony at Buckingham Palace, London on the day of Osbourne's funeral procession at Aston, Birmingham on 30 July.

Popular culture In Finland, "Paranoid" has the same status as Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Free Bird" in the United States as a song the audience finds humorous to request during a concert. So regardless of a band or the style of music in question, somebody may shout "Soittakaa 'Paranoid'!" ("Play 'Paranoid'!") during a gig.Timo Rautio: Rokatessa roiskuu osa 3 (2004)Walter De Camp: "Sisäpiiri: Walter De Campin tutkimuksia – Extreme-seksin maantiede" An article appeared in paper City-lehti, 2006, issue 20, page 26 URL:

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