Ozzy Confronts His Mortality: “My Time Is Going to Come”

May 21st, 2022 at 8:23am
Emperor Rhombus

At 73 years old, Ozzy Osbourne has successfully become the elder statesman that metal always hoped he would be. Rock’s prince of darkness has taken a pretty loving, chill approach to heavy metal in the recent past, making it clear to the world that making people happy through his music is all he wants to do. Now, in a new interview with Classic Rock, Ozzy talks about being sober, coping with lockdown, and, eventually, his own mortality.

In the interview, Ozzy is classically candid about everything from Sharon to his art to his relationship with drugs and alcohol. In regards to sobriety, he says the following:

Do you think you’re sober for life now?
I don’t know. I hope so. I take it one day at a time. If I drink, I’ll drink. But I don’t want to drink today. I don’t want to smoke tobacco today. I don’t want to take drugs today. So today’s going to be okay, I suppose. I don’t know about tomorrow.
How has day-to-day life changed for you?
Well I don’t wake up in fucking jail any more.

Best response ever.

The part that moved us most, however, is at the end, when Ozzy is asked if he thinks about mortality. His response:

“At fucking seventy-three I’ve done pretty well. I don’t plan on going anywhere, but my time’s going to come.”

I’ve written in the past on how rock and metal need to be ready to embrace the death of its legends. It’s a difficult topic, to be sure, and in the past couple of years — fuck, the past week — it’s been one we’ve faced in real time. So good on Ozzy for being brave enough to know that even he has to take a final bow eventually.

Meanwhile, the following dates on Ozzy’s farewell tour are still on schedule:

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