Diggin Me Down

Album: Scream (2010)
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Songfacts®:

  • Ozzy Osbourne takes on Jesus' Second Coming on this song, which finds The Prince Of Darkness singing:

    You're just a self-made messiah, selling brimstone and fire
    So c'mon Jesus, don't keep us waiting just for you
    How will I know you Mr. Jesus Christ? Have you already been here once or twice?
    The son of man or obsolete facade. How will I know that you're the Son of God?
  • In an interview with Jane Stevenson of the QMI Agency on the Jam! Music site, Osbourne remarked that he has never shied from controversy in his rock 'n' roll career: "That's what I've always done, and why should I change it now?" he said. "What that (song asks) is, 'How bad does it have to get before (Jesus returns)? If he's not coming now, what the f--- have we got to do? A nuclear war every hour? I mean, how many people have died for their religion and how many still are? I'm going to Israel this year. I'm quite interested to go because (there are) Christians and Muslims and Jewish people all in the same area. And if they can't get on, what chance has anybody got? Too many religions but only one God."
  • Despite his "Prince Of Darkness" image, Osbourne was actually bought up as an Anglican and sometimes went to church as a child. In an interview with Spinner UK, he was asked whether this song is questioning his faith. The ex Black Sabbath frontman replied: "No, when my house is on fire I get religious; when it's cool I don't want to know and that's the truth."
  • Guitarist Gus G contributes a classical-sounding acoustic guitar intro to this track. He admitted to Musicradar.com: "Truth is, I suck at acoustic guitar. [laughs] Really, I'm not good at all. I do like to play chords with a lot of open strings, so that's kind of what I do when it comes to playing the acoustic. Really, though, I just copied what you hear on classic rock songs. If you listen to classic rock, there's lots of acoustic guitar playing going on underneath the electrics."
  • The Second Coming of Jesus Christ is a fundamental part of the Christian faith. In a 2010 poll of 1,546 adults aged 21-26, four in ten young Americans said they believe the Son of God will return by 2050. The New Testament as a whole teaches that Jesus will return to earth, evil will be punished, justice will be done and all that trust in him will enter into eternal life. At the last supper, Jesus promised to return and take his disciples to be with him for ever in heaven.

    Throughout history the timing of Jesus' return has been speculated. In France during the year 1033, for instance, there was a mass panic that the 1000th anniversary of the death of Christ would result in the end of the world. Fears were heightened when terrific thunderstorms destroyed the crops during spring resulting in famine. Many people made public spectacles of repentance and a number more went on pilgrimages to the Holy Land.

    The date of Christ's return is not known, however Jesus did say that in the run up to his second coming, there will be increasing disbelief, false Christs and prophets, wars and rumors of war, famines and earthquakes. This is what Ozzy is alluding to when he sings, "How can you shut off their cries? Ignore a new genocide? So come on, Jesus, We're all here waiting just for you."

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