N.I.B. - Wikipedia

Home » What Does Nativity In Black Mean » N.I.B. - Wikipedia

Maybe your like

Song by Black Sabbath For other uses, see NIB.
"N.I.B."
Song by Black Sabbath
from the album Black Sabbath
Released13 February 1970 (1970-02-13)
StudioRegent Sounds (London)
GenreHeavy metal[1]
Length6:07
LabelVertigo
Songwriters
  • Geezer Butler
  • Tony Iommi
  • Ozzy Osbourne
  • Bill Ward
ProducerRodger Bain
Audio sample
  • file
  • help

"N.I.B." is a song released by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. It first appeared as the fourth track on the band's self-titled debut album. The lyrics are in the first person from the point of view of Lucifer. Bassist Geezer Butler, who composed the song's lyrics, has said that "the song was about the devil falling in love and totally changing, becoming a good person."[2]

Title

[edit]

The song's title has long been a source of speculation, with some fans over the years interpreting the title as meaning "Nativity in Black" or "Name in Blood". In the early 1990s, Geezer Butler claimed that the title was a reference to drummer Bill Ward's beard at that time, which his bandmates felt looked like a pen nib.[3] According to Butler, "Originally (the title) was Nib, which was Bill's beard. When I wrote N.I.B., I couldn't think of a title for the song, so I just called it Nib, after Bill's beard. To make it more intriguing I put punctuation marks in there to make it N.I.B. By the time it got to America, they translated it to 'Nativity in Black'."

Though "Nativity in Black" is a semi-unofficial title, it was later used for a pair of Black Sabbath tribute albums released in 1994 and 2000 respectively.

Cover versions and other uses

[edit]

Ugly Kid Joe recorded their cover of N.I.B. for the Nativity in Black tribute album, followed by Ozzy Osbourne and Primus on Nativity in Black II; the latter cover peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart in October 2000.[4] This version also appears in Osbourne's 2005 boxed set Prince of Darkness. Storm Large also covered it for her 2014 album Le Bonheur.

A track titled Naivete in Black written by Geezer Butler appeared on the Black Sabbath album 13.[5]

Certifications

[edit] Certifications for "N.I.B."
Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[6] Gold 15,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Monger, James Christopher. "Black Sabbath | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 August 2019. Flush with eventual [heavy metal] genre classics like 'The Wizard,' 'N.I.B.,' and the aforementioned title cut, Black Sabbath was initially dismissed by critics
  2. ^ Quote from the 1992 documentary The Black Sabbath Story: Volume One.
  3. ^ "FAQ version 2.0". Black Sabbath. Retrieved 19 May 2014.
  4. ^ "Primus Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  5. ^ https://loudwire.com/black-sabbath-naivete-in-black-best-buy-edition-new-album-13/
  6. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Black Sabbath – N.I.B." Radioscope. Retrieved 4 August 2025. Type N.I.B. in the "Search:" field and press Enter.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Black Sabbath
  • Geezer Butler
  • Tony Iommi
  • Ozzy Osbourne
  • Bill Ward
  • Vinny Appice
  • Bev Bevan
  • Gordon Copley
  • Ronnie James Dio
  • David Donato
  • Jeff Fenholt
  • Ian Gillan
  • Ray Gillen
  • Craig Gruber
  • Glenn Hughes
  • Ron Keel
  • Tony Martin
  • Neil Murray
  • Geoff Nicholls
  • Cozy Powell
  • Bobby Rondinelli
  • Eric Singer
  • Dave Spitz
  • Dave Walker
Studio albums
  • Black Sabbath
  • Paranoid
  • Master of Reality
  • Vol. 4
  • Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
  • Sabotage
  • Technical Ecstasy
  • Never Say Die!
  • Heaven and Hell
  • Mob Rules
  • Born Again
  • Seventh Star
  • The Eternal Idol
  • Headless Cross
  • Tyr
  • Dehumanizer
  • Cross Purposes
  • Forbidden
  • 13
Extended plays
  • The End
Live albums
  • Live at Last
  • Live Evil
  • Cross Purposes Live
  • Reunion
  • Past Lives
  • Live at Hammersmith Odeon
  • Live... Gathered in Their Masses
  • The End: Live in Birmingham
Compilations
  • We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll
  • The Collection
  • The Sabbath Stones
  • Symptom of the Universe: The Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
  • Black Box: The Complete Original Black Sabbath 1970–1978
  • Greatest Hits 1970–1978
  • The Dio Years
  • The Rules of Hell
  • Greatest Hits
  • Iron Man: The Best of Black Sabbath
  • The Ultimate Collection
  • Anno Domini 1989–1995
Unofficial albums
  • The Sabbath Collection
  • The Ozzy Osbourne Years
  • Under Wheels of Confusion
  • The Best of Black Sabbath
Singles
  • "Evil Woman"
  • "The Wizard"
  • "Paranoid"
  • "Iron Man"
  • "Children of the Grave"
  • "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath"
  • "Am I Going Insane (Radio)"
  • "Neon Knights"
  • "Trashed"
  • "Psycho Man"
  • "God Is Dead?"
  • "End of the Beginning"
Other songs
  • "Black Sabbath"
  • "N.I.B."
  • "War Pigs"
  • "Planet Caravan"
  • "Hand of Doom"
  • "Fairies Wear Boots"
  • "Sweet Leaf"
  • "Into the Void"
  • "Changes"
  • "Supernaut"
  • "Hole in the Sky"
  • "Symptom of the Universe"
  • "Children of the Sea"
  • "Heaven and Hell"
Videos
  • Never Say Die
  • Black and Blue
  • The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 1
  • The Black Sabbath Story, Vol. 2
  • Cross Purposes Live
  • The Last Supper
  • Live... Gathered in Their Masses
  • Black Sabbath: The End of the End
Tours
  • Technical Ecstasy Tour
  • Never Say Die! Tour
  • Heaven & Hell Tour
  • Mob Rules Tour
  • Born Again Tour
  • Ozzfest
    • lineups
  • Black Sabbath Reunion Tour
  • The End Tour
  • Back to the Beginning
Managers
  • Don Arden
  • Patrick Meehan
  • Wilf Pine
Related
  • Discography
  • Members
  • List of cover versions of Black Sabbath songs
  • In These Black Days
  • Nativity in Black
  • Heaven & Hell
    • tour
    • The Devil You Know
  • Bob Daisley
  • Terry Chimes
  • Jo Burt
  • Laurence Cottle
  • Rob Halford
  • Mike Bordin
  • Adam Wakeman
  • Tommy Clufetos
  • Brad Wilk
  • Mythology
  • Velvett Fogg
  • GZR
  • Rainbow
  • Dio
  • Deep Purple
  • Electric Light Orchestra
  • Kiss
  • Badlands
  • Whitesnake
  • Category
  • v
  • t
  • e
Primus
  • Les Claypool
  • Larry LaLonde
  • John Hoffman
  • Tim Alexander
  • Todd Huth
  • Jay Lane
  • Brain
Studio albums
  • Frizzle Fry
  • Sailing the Seas of Cheese
  • Pork Soda
  • Tales from the Punchbowl
  • Brown Album
  • Antipop
  • Green Naugahyde
  • Primus & the Chocolate Factory with the Fungi Ensemble
  • The Desaturating Seven
Live albums
  • Suck on This
Compilations
  • They Can't All Be Zingers
  • The Revenant Juke: A Collection of Fables and Farce
EPs
  • Miscellaneous Debris
  • Rhinoplasty
  • Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People
  • June 2010 Rehearsal
  • Conspiranoid
Singles
  • "John the Fisherman"
  • "Too Many Puppies"
  • "Jerry Was a Race Car Driver"
  • "Tommy the Cat"
  • "Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers"
  • "My Name Is Mud"
  • "DMV"
  • "Mr. Krinkle"
  • "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver"
  • "Southbound Pachyderm"
  • "Shake Hands with Beef"
  • "Behind My Camel"
  • "Lacquer Head"
  • "Tragedy's a' Comin'"
Videos
  • Cheesy Home Video
  • Videoplasty
  • Animals Should Not Try to Act Like People
  • Hallucino-Genetics
  • Blame It on the Fish
Related articles
  • Discography
  • Sausage (band)
  • Colonel Les Claypool's Fearless Flying Frog Brigade
  • Oysterhead
  • Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains
  • Les Claypool's Fancy Band
  • Blind Illusion
  • Possessed
  • Prawn Song Records
  • Lance Montoya
  • Category
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
  • MusicBrainz work

Tag » What Does Nativity In Black Mean