Hand of Doom Lyrics
What you gonna do? Time's caught up with you
Now, you wait your turn, you know there's no return
Take your routine roles, you join the other fools
Turn to something new, now, it's killing you
[Verse 2]
First, it was the bomb, Vietnam, napalm
Disillusioning, you push the needle in
From life, you escape reality's black drape
Colours in your mind satisfy your time
[Bridge 1]
Oh, you, you know you must be blind
To do such things like this
To take the sweet that you don't know
You're giving Death a kiss
Poor little fool, now
[Bridge 2]
Your mind is full of pleasure
Your body's looking ill
To you, it's shallow leisure
So drop the acid pill
Don't stop to think, now
You're having a good time, baby, but that won't last
Your mind's all full of things, you're living too fast
Go out, enjoy yourself, don't bottle it in
You need someone to help you, stick the needle in, yeah
[Instrumental Break]
[Guitar Solo]
[Verse 3]
Now, you know the scene, your skin starts turning green
Your eyes no longer see life's reality
Push the needle in, face Death's sickly grin
Holes are in your skin, caused by deadly pin
[Verse 4]
Head starts spinning 'round, you fall down to the ground
Feel your body heave, Death hand starts to weave
It's too late to turn, you don't wanna learn
Price of life you hide, now, you're gonna die
About
“Hand of Doom” describes addiction, specifically intravenous drug abuse such as IV heroin. The light bass that opens the song sets a tone of impending doom. Ozzy claims that there is no return from such drug abuse and it only progresses into something that will eventually lead to death. In the second verse, Vietnam is referred to. This is most likely referring to the many American soldiers fighting in Vietnam who became addicted to the readily available heroin and raw opium. Many returned with this addiction, and suddenly a demand for heroin in the United States was created.
This song is unique for its historical context, and of course, its amazing instrumental progression that Sabbath had mastered by their Paranoid as well as Master of Reality days. With its dark tone and lyrics describing the horrors of addiction, “Hand of Doom” is a metal masterpiece.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
“Hand of Doom” is about the experiences of soldiers. We played at an American army base in Germany and it was sort of a half-way house for soldiers coming back from Vietnam. And they were telling me that to get through the horrors of Vietnam they were turning to drugs over there, which, you know, was never broadcast on TV or anything like that back then. So it was all new to me and I thought it was a good subject to write about.