Eric Clapton wanted anti-Christian lyric removed from the new single with Ozzy Osbourne
According to Ozzy Osbourne, Eric Clapton took issue with a religious lyric in ‘One of Those Days’, the pair’s new joint single. The former Black Sabbath frontman has since said that he’s pretty confident the song in question – featured on Osbourne’s 13th studio album Patient Number 9 – will “cause shit”, using Clapton’s dismay as an early example.
Osbourne sat down with Classic Rock to discuss the new album, paying particular attention to the apparently offensive lyric in ‘One of Those Days’, which reads: “One of those days / That I don’t believe in Jesus.” Clapton, it should be noted, is a born-again Christian.
Discussing the line, Osbourne recalled: “[Clapton] said, ‘Oh, I’m not sure about that lyric’ We tried to replace it with some alternatives. We did ‘One of those days / Where I don’t believe in Christmas’, but it didn’t sound right. Losing faith in Jesus makes much more sense when the world is turning to shit.”
Osbourne was careful to point out that the song in no way “an antichrist song”. Instead, it’s about “days where everything goes fucking wrong, and you’re going nuts trying to fix everything up”. The singer added, “I think [‘One Of Those Days’] and the whole album turned out great.”
‘One of Those Days’ is Osbourne’s first collaboration with Clapton, though the pair’s paths have crossed many times. Speaking on his Sirius XM show Ozzy Speaks, Osbourne remembered getting a photo with Clapton and Grace Jones while intoxicated. Clapton, meanwhile, had only just checked out of rehab.
Osbourne was apparently “paranoid as fuck” that Clapton would resent him. He recalled attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and doing his best to avoid the guitarist. “I’m thinking, ‘he hates me’”, Osbourne remembered. “He’s gonna call me the biggest cunt he ever met.”
Thankfully Clapton had no grudge to bear, and Osbourne walked away thinking he must be a pretty “nice guy” after all. Patient Number 9 is slated for release on September 9th.
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