Life Won't Wait - the new Ozzy

I was going to write about something else, but then I heard this new Ozzy song on the radio, and I can't get it out of my head...

Stay strong,
Stay true,
Be brave,
It all comes down to you


Now, I enjoy Ozzy, and listened to some Black Sabbath in my youth, but I don't remember him ever being quite this deep, except when writing about hopelessness and pain. I'm not a follower (didn't even know he had a new album), so what I know of him what shows up in the most mainstream of media - the image of him biting the heads off doves, screaming at Sharon, or playing with his dogs. I know how reality TV is scripted through post production work, so I know the Ozzy we saw in the show wasn't really him, but he was shown as such a messed up, washed up, useless kind of guy whose brain was literally fried, that this song really threw me for a loop. I just frikkin love what he is saying here!

Stand up,
Aim true,
Keep heart,
The future looks to you

Every second you throw away,
Every minute of every day,
Don't get caught in a memory,
'Cause life won't wait for you,
No, life won't wait for you, my friend

And there's more...

I'm watching the change,
Who will carry the flame?
It all feels very strange

Dreams that men can be good,
Faith to live as we should and know we're all connected,
We give ourselves the power

Stay strong,
Stay true,
Be brave,
It all comes down to you

Every day that you wait, you're falling faster,
No slight of hand,
No twist of fate,
No ever after

There is so much here about personal power, living fully, and living in the moment. I have found a new respect for Mr. Osbourne. 

The lyrics are so simple, and so encouraging, even from his dark perspective - it's like he's saying "I'm a cautionary tale. Don't waste your life. Don't mess about, because it's all gone now." And I'm thinking YES! It's so true.

You never know what life will throw at you, but you gotta be ready to catch, because it is all on each of us. There is no ever after. There are no happy endings. There is only today, and you and me, and the things that keep us connected.

Whatever it is that drives you, what makes you smile, what gives you joy - it's there, and you gotta grab it, because life won't wait, indeed. I'm finding new things that can give me drive and joy, things that won't drain my energy, things that won't tire me out. Things I can do from my couch. Writing, knitting, beading, internetting, musicking... Just 'cause I'm stuck here doesn't mean I can't learn to enjoy my time here.

Life's not waiting for me either.

Full lyrics

The official video, directed by his son Jack, is flashbacks through Ozzy's life.