‘Mama, I’m Coming Home’: The song Ozzy Osbourne has a “real soft spot for”
Musicians often say, once a song leaves the studio and hits the shelves, it’s no longer theirs. What made it personal up until the point of release is now up for grabs by a global audience, ready to project their own experiences onto it. It’s what makes the age-old journalistic question of what an artist’s favourite song of theirs is so interesting, for it’s a slight window into their soul for us to savour. That is permitting, they have a soul, which in the case of Ozzy Osbourne, I’m not so sure.
It’s hard to picture him arriving on Earth with the same normality as everyone else in the world. Instead, I can only imagine that he rose through the fiery gates of hell and emerged as a fully formed adult with long hair, black eyeliner, and a devil horn symbol thrust into his hand.
He threw absolutely everything into the recording and performance of every song he was involved in, an attitude integral in developing classic rock into something darker, more sinister and, dare I say it, more powerful. In recent years, his discombobulated disposition has damaged the very real musical reputation that sits behind it, for his influence on music is indelible. In fact, legendary rock worshipper Jack Black went as far as calling him “the greatest frontman in the history of rock and roll” before brazenly stating, “This motherfucker invented heavy metal”.
It’s hard to imagine Ozzy without his foot pressed firmly on the pedal, which is why he often regards the Black Sabbath monster hit ‘Paranoid’ as his personal anthem. But when asked what his favourite Ozzy Osbourne song was, he moved away from the relentless power of Sabbath and chose something a little bit more expansive from his solo career.
“I’ve got a real soft spot for ‘Mama, I’m Coming Home’,” he admitted. While the song boasts a rousing solo in the bridge, it veers more towards a ballad than the sort of growling footstomper we had come to expect from the Sabbath days. It’s surprising given the collaboration he sought on the song: “I didn’t write the lyrics—Lemmy did—but I told him exactly what I wanted to say”.
But it was a slightly half-hearted answer from Osbourne, who was undoubtedly swayed by the inclusion of Lemmy on the tune as opposed to its actual merit. Because he was quick to swat any further questioning by saying, “But I tell you what, I don’t really have a personal favourite. People always ask what my favourite album I’ve done is—I don’t have one! They are records of fun, chaos or when I’ve been having a miserable fucking time. Each one is a reflection of me at the time.”
While his solo hit deserves credit in its own right, there is no doubt that Osbourne was at his enigmatic best in front of Sabbath. And when thousands of screaming fans jostle in the crowd at their swansong reunion shows this summer, it’s the chaos Osbourne alludes to that they will all desperately crave, for that’s what he’s best at creating.
