Heaven and Hell - The Meaning

[Dio_Is_My_God]

Well, I have this poetry project I am doing for school. Normally I hate most poetry, but I found out we could choose lyrics to a song. Naturally, the first song that popped into my head was Heaven and Hell.

Thing is, I am having trouble figuring out exactly what it means. This is where I need your help. If you wouldn't mind taking a few days out of your busy lives to help me, I would greatly appreciate it, thanks


Here are the lyrics, so you don't have to look them up yourselves:

Sing me a song, youre a singer
Do me a wrong, youre a bringer of evil
The devil is never a maker
The less that you give, youre a taker
So its on and on and on, its heaven and hell, oh well

The lover of lifes not a sinner
The ending is just a beginner
The closer you get to the meaning
The sooner youll know that youre dreaming
So its on and on and on, oh its on and on and on
It goes on and on and on, heaven and hell
I can tell, fool, fool!

Well if it seems to be real, its illusion
For every moment of truth, theres confusion in life
Love can be seen as the answer, but nobody bleeds for the dancer
And its on and on, on and on and on....

They say that lifes a carousel
Spinning fast, youve got to ride it well
The world is full of kings and queens
Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams
Its heaven and hell, oh well
And theyll 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
Its heaven and hell, oh no!
Fool, fool!
Youve got to bleed for the dancer!
Fool, fool!
Look for the answer!
Fool, fool, fool!
_________________
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"
-Epicurus

[DevinMacGregor]

Ahh but fool fool fool ... you've got to bleed for the dancer

If we do your work for you then you will have lost out in that journey. Each of us must bleed on our own otherwise the pot will not be as rich.
_________________
Smacks & Manly Thumps,

The Cap'n

Sons of Griogair


http://www.atheists.org
http://www.clangregor.org/famous.htm
http://www.merchco-online.com/metalbladerecords/
'S Rioghal Mo Dhream

[nunoni]

as much as I agree that each person must think for themselves, there is one little helpful link that can be connected with H&H that I could not get myself until somebody pointed it out in some other forum.

http://www.magickalmind.com/tarot101.htm

The "dancer" is the "World Dancer or the Universe". So H&H is, together with many other so-called important Ronnie James Dio song, about the travel from the "fool" to the "dancer, which is a road of enlightment. With many traps in between.

Please, do not put any weight on this... you do have to make up your own mind and your own interpretation. So fool fool fool ... you've got to bleed for the dancer

[jaxxen]

Awesome. To put subtle meanings in songs requires considerable songwriting talent. But to me, it just sounds so much better than if the lyrics just scream out a message in such a blatant, obvious way.

Hence I often don't like artists that put obvious activism into their songwriting. It's so much more fun when everything's cryptic and the listener is left thinking "now, what did they mean by that?"

[mrblitz]

Isn't the 2nd line, 'Do me no wrong' rather than 'Do me a wrong.'

That would make more sense to me.

If you're yet working on this school project, I can give you another take on these lyrics; but with it being 10 June already, perhaps school is already out?

[DevinMacGregor]

No, it is do me a wrong, you're a bringer of evil.
_________________
Smacks & Manly Thumps,

The Cap'n

Sons of Griogair


http://www.atheists.org
http://www.clangregor.org/famous.htm
http://www.merchco-online.com/metalbladerecords/
'S Rioghal Mo Dhream

[mrblitz]

Well, I don't know then.

Someone had mentioned that Dio preferred pain over pleasure. Maybe that's what this particular lyric was about.

It sounds like he's asking an evil-doer to do him wrong.

Well, I'll give a go at the rest of it:

--The devil is never a maker

This is basic Christian theology. The devil is not capable of real creation, but only ersatz or false creation.

--The less that you give, youre a taker

He's making an obvious statement about 'selfishness.' But like he has mentioned in interviews, his lyrics can be taken in more than one way.


--So its on and on and on, its heaven and hell, oh well

As we spiral through life or existence, there are always these two forces interacting; heaven and hell; elysium and tartarus; positive and negative; etc.

--The lover of lifes not a sinner

That's like a new age thought; someone brimming with a love of life can't be a sinner. This is in contrast with Christianity, which states that everyone is a sinner, even a 'lover of life.'

--The ending is just a beginner

Pointing out the paradox in life.

--The closer you get to the meaning
--The sooner youll know that youre dreaming

Once a person thinks they have it all figured out, then they stumble and realize they're back at square one. Or, once you start to figure it out, you realize it's all a charade or dream.

--So its on and on and on, oh its on and on and on
--It goes on and on and on, heaven and hell

And it's neverending.

--I can tell, fool, fool!

Maybe he's trying to wake up the listener by calling them a fool.

--Well if it seems to be real, its illusion
--For every moment of truth, theres confusion in life

More examples of the paradoxes in life.

--Love can be seen as the answer, but nobody bleeds for the dancer
--And its on and on, on and on and on....

I think he might be talking about himself as the dancer.

--They say that lifes a carousel
--Spinning fast, youve got to ride it well

He could be speaking of the 'impeccability' which he himself seems to have always strived for.

--The world is full of kings and queens
--Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams

He's talking about ripoff artists who will give you the shaft if you're not careful.

--Its heaven and hell, oh well
--And theyll tell you black is really white
--The moon is just the sun at night

He's talking about various tricks that so-called 'authorities' will play on the unwary.

--And when you walk in golden halls
--You get to keep the gold that falls

Maybe he's saying that the listener won't get any gold, because in truth no gold ever falls.

--Its heaven and hell, oh no!
--Fool, fool!
--Youve got to bleed for the dancer!
--Fool, fool!
--Look for the answer!
--Fool, fool, fool!

He's berating the audience with the fool label, perhaps as a device to get them to act; to prove that they are not fools after all.

But to do that, you have to bleed for the dancer.

I really am not certain about any of these interpretations of mine. As mentioned, a lot of these lyrics can be taken in multiple ways.

He did mention in one interview that life is like heaven and hell, in that people will promise you heaven, then they break the promises and it becomes hell. The expression on his face when he was relating this seemed to indicate that he himself had been burned at one time or another.

Just for kicks, I rewrote the Heaven and Hell lyrics:

Paradiso

There's an asian queen across the sea
She's calling you and me
She wears a garter belt and she knows you well

Recite me a poem like an earth gnome
Do us right you're the bringer of the light

Azmodeus is forever a tailor
Weaving garments of desire
All ablaze with eternal fire

Tell me a tale, storyteller
Then let me be from your curse set free
Satan was never a lover
We are into ourselves and no other
And we go off the deep end to Paradiso

The ones who cherish never perish
And begin is another word for end
The more the confusion from your leanings
Some would call your vision unseemly
And some go off to the depths of a Sothoth trough

If it looks to be fake it's for the taking
For every little white lie there's truth do or die
Hatred is seen as the cancer; Some give their blood for necromancers
And we go off the deep end to Paradiso
Forever without end



Inferno

Some pretend that life is tragic
Never moving into the fantastic
The world has lost all of her knights and her maidens
And it's replaced it with a vision that is craven
It's the Inferno

Some will tell you that up is down
And that confidence springs forth from a clown
When you sit in silver twilight
Mist rises up from the ground to the sky
From the depths of the Inferno and I'll tell you why

In a place called Inferno
Wise man, you can find the answer
But you've got to cure your own cancer
And slay the necromancer
In the Inferno

[DevinMacGregor]

[Lucifer2066]

This is a really good song that deals mostly with the duelality of life and the choices we make, good as in heaven, bad as in hell. While the idea of heaven and hell is strongly rooted in a religious context, this song is not so much about that. I believe it is more about people and the situations we encounter and how we classify and react to them based on our experiences. This is what I got from this song when I first heard it back in 1980....

Sing me a song, youre a singer
Do me a wrong, youre a bringer of evil

* Basically, if you sing me a song you are entertaining me and this is a positve action towards me so you are cool. But if you do me a wrong this is a negative action towards me, you are bringing evil to me, hence you are not cool.

The devil is never a maker
The less that you give you're a taker

*This is perhaps the most religious part of the song. The devil never creates anything. That is God's relm. The devil sews deceit, deception, and temptation to destroy. The less that we give the more we are taking. So those that give nothing are accually taking from everyone else.

So its on and on and on, its heaven and hell, oh well

*This part, to me, says that this cycle of positive and negative situations and choices continue on and on throught our life and from the structure of the statement, I believe Dio is saying it's very taxing and frustrating. The "Oh Well" at the end is interesting for it emphasizes that he has no control over the repeating cycle and has to just deal with it the best he can. Sure, it rhymes with hell so it fits, but I kinda think it was really put in there on purpose.

The lover of lifes not a sinner
The ending is just a beginner

*The first line is saying a sinner has no love of life for he does whatever suits him without regard to others. The second line I allways thought was "The ending is just the begining", but either way it says that as soon as something ends something new begins to take it's place. Thus adding to the "it goes on and on" part with seemingly never ending choices, and situations.

The closer you get to the meaning
The sooner youll know that youre dreaming

*Here, it seems to me, that just when you think you have found the answer, perhaps the the whole meaning of why you are here, it eludes you once again. Leaving you feeling that you were only dreaming to believe that you could accually figure it all out on your own.

So its on and on and on, oh its on and on and on
It goes on and on and on, heaven and hell

*Same as the first chourus, however even more emphasis on it and how it keeps going on and on. Almost like a torture.

I can tell, fool, fool!

*Here again we see a very small but powerfull addition to place even more meaning to the chourus. I can tell referes to how you can see it is about to be another dissapointing cycle, while stating we are fools for not seeing it sooner.

(Incedently, I love how Dio uses these in his lyrics. While many people tend to overlook them as filler they are quite clever as a tool to emphasize or even change entirely the meaning of the previous statment. While easily dissmissed by most people, I tend to pay close attention to these little rebuttals for they can drastically alter the whole meaning of a song.)

Well if it seems to be real, its illusion
For every moment of truth, theres confusion in life

*The first line to me seems to be a reference to a grand deception. One that took some work to put together, like an illusion. While acting as a warning to others to especially watch out for these. A lesson he has learned from a previous experience. The second part is also a lesson he has learned that there almost seems to be a balance to when we see things with clarity, and when we do not.

Love can be seen as the answer, but nobody bleeds for the dancer
And its on and on, on and on and on....

*This to me seems to refere to the concept of if we love eachother things can work out. However no one is willing to give of themselves to make this happen. To bleed for the dancer would mean you are willing to make a sacrifice for someone who is a friend but not necessarily a close friend. A sacrifice of this nature is considered to be the most noble and pure.

They say that lifes a carousel
Spinning fast, youve got to ride it well

*What i get from this is that as we progress though life time seems to move faster and this constant struggle with good and evil keeps up with the tempo. (You will also notice how the tempo of the music picks up here) Where we once had more time to think about our decisions and actions, now things are moving so fast we are left with making important choices with little or no time to consider them fully. So we are metaphorically trying to ride it well.

The world is full of kings and queens
Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams

*Here the reference to kings and queens is of the many people of great importance in our lives that we serve or work for who are using us as pawns to advance themselves with no regard to what happens to us. They drain us for all we are worth then cast us aside empty and alone. For a person with no dreams has no hope.

Its heaven and hell, oh well

*Again he is refering to the good and evil in life, and his understanding of it, but "Oh well", what can you do but deal with it?

And theyll tell you black is really white
The moon is just the sun at night

*More tricks and deception used to attempt to reverse your moral footing. Many people are drawn into evil by others who attempt to change thier moral compass...like changing north to south, or trying to make you believe that by perfroming evil you are accually doing good. This can be a very persuasive tactic that is commonly used.

And when you walk in golden halls
You get to keep the gold that falls

*This is a play on your greed plain and simple. The very idea that you can keep something that you know is not yours just because it has fallen to the ground is wrong, but you try to justify it pretending it was disgarded.

Fool, fool!
Youve got to bleed for the dancer!

*Here he seems to be reminding himself and/or others of the nobility we should be seeking rather than be taken in by all of the temptation, greed, and deception of others.

Fool, fool!
Look for the answer!
Fool, fool, fool!

*Here he is telling you to look for the answer, but not any answer ... the right answer. The word fool may be directed at himself and/or you for not listening and making a foolish move.

All and all I take this song to represent the journey of life and the lessons we learn or do not learn from it. While the song has alot of negative references it also shows there is hope for all of us. It will not be easy though and Dio is trying to tell us to watch for the pitfalls that are sometimes hidden from us. So in a way he is trying to lend you some of his wisdom to lead you along the path....where this path leads is entirely up to you...or is it?

While he could have used any part of any of the 8 songs on the album I find it interesting he placed this one part on the back of the album at the very bottom as if to mean it's the bottom line....

"The world is full of kings and queens.
Who blind your eyes and steal your dreams.
It's Heaven and Hell!"

Fools, Fools, ...Look for the answer!

I hope you enjoyed my take on this song. I wish to note that these are my opinions and what I, with my meager intelect, have felt the meaning is. I would like you to know that Dio is my favorite singer of all time, not only for his extremely talented voice, or his commanding stage presence, but also his gift with conveying so much though his lyrics. I was lucky enough to see him perform the original Heaven and Hell tour with Black Sabbath in July of 1980 and it will always be one my most cherished memories.
_________________

[The Sentinel]

This is taken from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heaven_and_Hell_(Black_Sabbath_album)

" "Heaven and Hell"
The title track was written mainly by Tony Iommi, but credit is given to the entire band. The lyrics, written entirely by Dio, are by some interpretations[whose?] about contradictions and hypocrisy in the way good versus evil is typically portrayed. In Metal: A Headbanger's Journey, Dio explains the song is about how every individual has "heaven and hell" inside them self, as well the ability and the choice whether to choose good or evil.

Keyboardist Geoff Nicholls is said to have been responsible for this song's famous bass line. A guitarist himself by trade (though his role with Sabbath has always been as keyboard player), Nicholls likely got the idea from the Quartz song "Mainline Riders."

In live performances by Black Sabbath or Dio, the song is usually stretched out with extended guitar solos, audience participation, and new or ad libbed lyrics regarding angelic and demonic apparitions and personal judgment. When Ian Gillan was in the band, "Heaven and Hell" featured on the US Tour and was included in the RKO "Captured Live" show. Dream Theater has played the song's intro during their Scenes From a Memory tour. Tony Martin also sang it many times live with Black Sabbath as well as with his solo band.

The song is featured on the soundtrack for the 2007 movie Halloween and the 2008 video game Grand Theft Auto IV."



_________________
Sick of all of this
The suffering and we just carry on
Isn't it time we care and lose the hate
Understand our fears

[Dio_Is_My_God]

Hah, I forgot about this post I made a long time ago. The project is way over, but I definitely appreciate the responses. Somehow even though I did everything on the rubric sheet, I only got a D+ on it My teacher must not like Dio that much

Oh well, I think my description of the song was pretty well thought our and accurate. Maybe one of these days I'll bust it out and post it. But as of now I refuse to open my school backpack until school actually starts.
_________________
"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God?"
-Epicurus

[metal44]

You know Wikipedia's sources are not reliable, the song is offitaliy written by Butler, Dio, Iommi and Ward. IMO it is , 100% Dio's influence.
other versions? I am proud to say that I have never listened H&H with other voice, I don't want to offend anyone, but I couldn't resist that!

And beware
"The world is full of kings and queens who blind your eyes and steal your dreams"

[nunoni]

[stargazer]

[quote="mrblitz"]Well, I don't know then.

Someone had mentioned that Dio preferred pain over pleasure. Maybe that's what this particular lyric was about.


This is an interesting observation, if you listen to the track 'PAIN' on the album STRANGE HIGHWAYS this can confirm this. This is an interesting side to Ronnies character, perhaps a bit of sadism or S and M.?

[Holymagica]

[quote="stargazer"]