Heaven And Hell

The song is about ego, and the problems that go along with it.

Everything you see is an illusion, a play but you are merely a player in it. A dream colored with your opinions and meanings you put on everything. You play roles, and you think that you are absolutely right about your opinions.

Nothing is permanent, and you are pursuing for things that are just vanity. In the song; when you walk through the golden halls you think you are in heaven. But when the walls come crumbling down you are back in your hell and this goes on and on and on. You fool.

The love is the answer, but there is no unselfish love. You have to be emphatic, you have to love even the player, or the singer or the dancer in the life.

You have look for the answer. You can wake up only after you realize that you're dreaming.

This is written also by an ego that thinks it is right. Wonderful lyrics in a wonderful song, anyway!

In the documentary Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Dio said that this song is about which path we take. Weather it be the path to Heaven, or the path to Hell. He said this song was written for the religious people who force you to do things, and make you think that all things are evil. Dio said that this song is suppose to tell you to choose your own path, that makes you a good person.

'Fool fool, you got to bleed for the dancer':

What about 'the dancer' being the one who performs an act, a play, a hoax. And you, the 'fool' believe in him, and are willing to follow blindly. The 'fool' believes what others say (politicians, the media, etc.) The analogy to blood can be found in the example that soldiers in an army are willing to shed their blood for their country (because politicians tell half-truths) about the reason for a war.

Referring to 'nobody bleeds for the dancer' you can explain it from the perception of the person who thinks he is not a 'fool' and believes he can never be tricked by the 'dancer'.

I pondered on this song's meaning for a long time and suddenly the meaning became quite clear:

People are going to tell you what’s right and wrong your whole life but the only way to know for sure is to experience life for yourself.

As for the line: "you've got to bleed for the dancer" I only have a far-fetched idea. In the book "To Kill A Mocking Bird" its a sin to kill a mocking bird because they only do good for people. Now I could be way off but... maybe you've got to bleed for the dancer because all they do is bring joy for people (and NOT in the sick sort of way!).

While I'm almost positive the top part is right and the bottom part is a bit more opinionated, its still just my opinion and you don't have to go along with it if you don't want to. So don't go and harrass me for comparing Black Sabbath to "To Kill A Mocking Bird".

I love Dio. It sounds more like what Sabbath stands for when Dio was singing, cuz with Ozzy it becomes sellout-ish, just like Ozzy is a sellout. Dio takes Sabbath back to the pure days of rock. Even Sabbath now, after the reunion tour said that was the end, but here they are, making more money off Ozzfest 2005. Ah well, at least I get another chance to see them now ^_^ Plus... Dio's voice rocks my world. This song slays!

This is one of my all time favorite songs and I think it has many meanings.

1) First of all I think this is probably a political song in reference to the Vietnam War and/or any type of political situation where politicians use war to create their own gain.

The world is full of Kings and Queens Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams It's Heaven and Hell, oh well

2) Secondly, I think there is a deeper meaning in that none of us really know anything ("The closer you get to the meaning. The sooner you know that you're dreaming") though many people will try to tell you the "right" way of believing to either control you and/or project their own fears of why we are really here.

"Well if it seems to be real, it's illusion. For every moment of truth, there's confusion in life"

3) "Love can be seen as the answer, but nobody bleeds for the dancer" For me, this means the ordinary person and/or one that has an unfair advantage in life. Everyone says that "love is the answer" but still lives in their own illusions and/or dream world unable to have compassion and empathy for others.

4) Finally, religion and politics is often time used as a way to control others and will twist accordingly. Hence, what looks good is really black and vice versa.

"And they'll tell you black is really white The moon is just the sun at night And when you walk in golden halls You get to keep the gold that falls"

I think this song is about religion and how it tells us what is good and what is not, but in the end nothing is black/white, heaven/hell, good/evil as religion tries to teach us.

"Sing me a song, you're a singer Do me a wrong, you're a bringer of evil" - religions tend to divide peolpe into categories = do a good action and you get the eternal life, do someone a wrong and you're damned.

"The closer you get to the meaning The sooner you'll know that you're dreaming" - religious teachings are full of contradictions and are impossible to understand

Meaning becomes more clear when it refers to someone in particular "They say life is a carousel... they'll tell you black is really white". "They " stands for the church, or religion in general.

Songs like this or children of the sea are why dio is an awesome lyricist.

like all poetic sabbath song, this one is misinterpreted by many and even the band members too, someone here got it right tho.

This is about society, mostly about the society thinking its good but in truth it is wrong. I bet Geezer Butler wrote this song.

Sing me a song, you're a singer > Your place in society Do me a wrong, you're a bringer of evil > If you hurt someone , they think of you as a bad person The Devil is never a maker > Religion View of metal / devil is never good The less that you give, you're a taker > Society View , example: rich still greedy even if they give

The lover of life's not a sinner > Old philosophy , enjoying life isn't a crime The ending is just a beginner > Religion View , after life The closer you get to the meaning } these 2 lines may be a whack on religion The sooner you know that you're dreaming > these 2 lines may mean failed goals and lies / self delusion

Well if it seems to be real, it's illusion > this line speaks for itself

For every moment of truth, there's confusion in life > truth hurts, sometimes impossible, thus it turns into lies. / it could also mean lies can also be considered as truth

Love can be seen as the answer, but nobody bleeds for the dancer > sadly love is made exalted by society but the giver of grace and life (aka mother earth) doesn't have much protectors.

They say that life's a carousel > This stanza tells our society Spinning fast, you gotta ride it well ^ The world is full of Kings and Queens > people will rob you of your success , and you can't do anything Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams ^ It's Heaven and Hell, oh well >

And they'll tell you black is really white > society lying The moon is just the sun at night ^ And when you walk in golden halls > its the finder keepers/losers weepers ideology You get to keep the gold that falls > ^ It's Heaven and Hell, noh no

Fool fool, you got to bleed for the dancer > protect mother earth Fool fool, look for the answer > do not be blinded by society Fool, fool, fool >

All of these refers to the destructive nature of our society , pulling earth to what it is now today , and worse in the future.

thankyou for giving justice for this wonderful poetry. RIP Ronnie James Dio

The overall gist is pretty clear I think. Everything has a bit of heaven and hell in it. Everything's confusion, but don't give up looking for the truth and the answer to life. Most of it is just colourful illustration. This line is a little unclear, perhaps:

"Love can be seen as the answer, but nobody bleeds for the dancer"

Given that the second part follows to "love", maybe the dancer is representative of Jesus, and the "nobody bleeds for the dancer" therefore as a refutation of the first part would mean that the dancer had to bleed for himself, so it sort of didn't work out that well with love as the answer, but it's still open as one possibility. I'm not one who randomly interprets every song either as about god, drugs, or girlfriends, but in this case Jesus seemed logical.

It's the capability of good versus evil in a human.