Which Black Sabbath song is about the Vietnam War?

“Which Black Sabbath song is about the Vietnam War?” — “War Pigs” is the canonical answer. The song is an anti-war protest from Black Sabbath’s 1970 album Paranoid, presenting generals and politicians as warmongers who send ordinary people to die.

The song’s connection to Vietnam is strong, although its message is broader than one conflict. Bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler later described it as an attack on powerful people who start wars for their own benefit. Vocalist Ozzy Osbourne has also called it an anti-war song rather than a strictly Vietnam-specific narrative.

A common mix-up is “Hand of Doom,” another Paranoid track. That song is more directly about American soldiers returning from Vietnam, drug addiction, and trauma. “War Pigs,” however, is the better-known and standard quiz answer because it became one of the era’s defining anti-war songs.

The song was originally titled “Walpurgis,” referring to a witches’ Sabbath. The title changed because the record company thought “War Pigs” was more suitable, while the lyrics remained essentially intact.