WAR PIGS Black Sabbath TITLE War Pigs My

WAR PIGS Black Sabbath

TITLE “War Pigs” My initial impression is that the song is about people who are part of wars and that it talks about the negative side to the wars and them.

PARAPHRASE The song talks about how the people who start wars, don’t fight in them, and leave it to less powerful and less wealthy people. Many lives are taken from people that may have never wanted a war in the first place, yet the politicians who begin the wars don’t seem to be punished for what is essentially murder. But it also states that the people who willingly take part in the wars as well, are just as bad and don’t seem to realize that it’s not the right way to come to an agreement on issues. In the last part of the song, the lyrics talk about a judgment day where the people who partake in the wars are now begging for their lives, just like how the people they killed begged for theirs. So what it’s trying to show is that they only realize what they’ve done, when it’s their faced with the same type of situation.

CONNOTATION “…like witches at black masses” (Simile) “Sorcerers of death’s destruction” (Metaphor) “Treating people like pawns in chess” (Simile) “God is calling” (Allusion) “Satan laughing spreads his wings” (Allusion) “They only started the war” (Understatement)

ATTITUDE Speaker’s attitude: Angry, intense, spiteful, warning. Writer’s attitude: Knowing, trying to foreshadow and warn, wants to change, bring awareness, angry, somewhat disgusted.

SHIFTS 1 st Verse: Angry 2 nd Verse: Ironic 3 rd Verse: Spiteful 4 th Verse: Satisfaction

TITLE “War Pigs” The people who indulge in wars and don’t realize what they are really doing and have just become players in the government’s game. They are like robots, but they beg for their own mercy when it’s them that are being terrorized.

THEME War, death, government, karma. War is started by governments, but fought by the citizens. People who didn’t want a war suddenly have to be involved/die because of them. The government pushes people to fight for their country, but really, it is to sacrifice the people instead of the power leaders who begin the wars. They only seem to feel bad when it’s their turn to beg for mercy, but they eventually get what’s coming to them, so, karma.