Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train (Official Animated Video)
Inspiration Behind Crazy Train:
Crazy Train formed out of a hybrid of a studio accident, a unique guitar sound, and broader cultural anxieties. As preparations for the Blizzard of Ozz album began, guitarist Randy Rhoads had an effects pedal that “chugged” even when not in use. This defect produced a sound that reminded him of a train. When you mix in the reality that countless human beings are one step away from losing it, Crazy Train was conceived.
Biblical Application:
They went across the lake to the region of the Gerasenes.[a] 2 When Jesus got out of the boat, a man with an impure spirit came from the tombs to meet him. 3 This man lived in the tombs, and no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain. 4 For he had often been chained hand and foot, but he tore the chains apart and broke the irons on his feet. No one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and in the hills he would cry out and cut himself with stones, Mark 5:1-5.
Exegesis of Crazy Train:
All aboard! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay, ay…
Ozzy is like a rock conductor.
Crazy, but that’s how it goes
Millions of people living as foes
Maybe it’s not too late
To learn how to love and forget how to hate
Craziness causing individuals to live side by side as enemies. Ozzy doubts if these people filled with hate can change.
Mental wounds not healing
Life’s a bitter shame
I’m going off the rails on a crazy train
I’m going off the rails on a crazy train
Millions of people allow these mental wounds to fester. This is why shame is a tough pain to swallow. Even Ozzy feels like his life is going off the rails.
Let’s go!
Ozzy is encouraging others to hop on.
I’ve listened to preachers, I’ve listened to fools
I’ve watched all the dropouts who make their own rules
One person conditioned to rule and control
The media sells it and you live the role
Ozzy quickly summaries people who have tried to explain to him the root cause of crazy. Individuals who drop out of school tend to break away from social norms. Those who play by the rules are often swayed to conform to the media’s message.
Mental wounds still screaming
Driving me insane
Mental wounds are tougher to heal so they often go unnoticed or left alone.
I’m going off the rails on a crazy train
I’m going off the rails on a crazy train
This is a root cause of craziness.
I know that things are going wrong for me
You gotta listen to my words, yeah, yeah!
Crazy people can sense when things are about to go wrong. Ozzy seems to want to help people.
Heirs of a Cold War, that’s what we’ve become
Inheriting troubles, I’m mentally numb
Crazy, I just cannot bear
I’m living with something that just isn’t fair
Reference to the Arms races between the United States and the former Soviet Union. Becoming cold inside, comfortably numb. Inheriting generational sins from your family. These addictions, bad habits and unwholesome cravings are what Ozzy can’t break free from. This is what Ozzy believes is unfair.
Mental wounds not healing
Who and what’s to blame?
I’m going off the rails on a crazy train
I’m going off the rails on a crazy train
Struggling to understand why his mind isn’t healing and who is to blame for his ordeal.
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
The edge
Living on the edge, not sure the next time crazy rears its ugly head.
Final Thoughts:
As a former youth pastor, I’ve dealt with several teenagers who were suicidal. Since two of my high school teammates committed suicide, I take mental health extremely seriously. Books like Restoring the Foundations by Chester and Betsy Kylstra helped me sort through my own mental wounds. Restoring the Foundations helped answer questions that I had for decades, allowing my mind to be restored by the power of the Holy Spirit. This is how I got off the Crazy Train that I got on when I was in college.
by Jay Mankus
