N.I.B.
song by Black Sabbath
"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."
Title
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. 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
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.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “N.I.B.” is song by Black Sabbath. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through song, Black and Sabbath, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “song by Black Sabbath” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Attribution, date and provenance are strongest when supported by the original work, a catalogue record and documented transmission. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 9, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q2083951. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1994 and 2000.
Rights, attribution and provenance may remain disputed even when a general reference summary presents a stable account. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.
- Identifying works and editions
- Tracing reception history
- Finding collection records
The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “N.I.B.”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow N.I.B. primary sources, N.I.B. archive and song research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “N.I.B.”?
- Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
- Which edition, object, performance or recording is being described?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “N.I.B.” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.