Sweet Leaf
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- For other uses see sweetleaf.
| “Sweet Leaf” | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Black Sabbath | |||||
| Album | Master of Reality | ||||
| Released | July 21, 1971 | ||||
| Recorded | Record Plant, Los Angeles, California | ||||
| Genre | Heavy metal Stoner metal |
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| Length | 5:05 | ||||
| Label | Vertigo (UK) Warner Bros. Records (US) |
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| Writer | Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward | ||||
| Producer | Rodger Bain | ||||
| Master of Reality track listing | |||||
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"Sweet Leaf" is a song by Black Sabbath from their album Master of Reality (1971). The song, an obvious hymn to recreational marijuana use, got its title from a packet of cigarettes bassist Geezer Butler bought in Dublin that claimed the tobacco was "the sweet leaf." The song begins with a tape loop of guitarist Tony Iommi coughing (as revealed in the Symptom of the Universe booklet).
Other drug anthems by Black Sabbath include "Hand of Doom", "Fairies Wear Boots", "Supernaut", and "Snowblind".
[edit] Cultural impact
Due to its popularity, "Sweet Leaf" played a big part in making Black Sabbath one of the progenitors of modern stoner metal.
- Ugly Kid Joe's debut EP As Ugly as They Wanna Be features their version of the song.
- Norwegian black metal band Ancient covered the song as well.
- Anthrax ended their cover of "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" with both the coughing intro and the main riff of "Sweet Leaf"
- The song's main riff is looped up by the Beastie Boys on the their track "Rhymin' & Stealin"
- The band Godsmack also covered this song as part of the tribute album Nativity in Black 2.
- The Swedish band Candlemass did include in their album "Ancient dreams" (1988 CD version) a medley to honor Black Sabbath which include a fragment of the song.
- Choking Victim used the coughing loop for their song "Choking Victim".
- On country music artist Shooter Jennings' 2005 debut album Put the O Back in Country the song "Busted in Baylor County (Sweet Leaf version)" contains an exact replaying by the band of the main riff of "Sweet Leaf";
- The Butthole Surfers album Locust Abortion Technician contains a song called "Sweat Loaf" which also uses the main riff.
- The Red Hot Chili Peppers song Give It Away uses the main riff in the ending part.
- The Australian band Silverchair use almost an identical riff to the main riff of "Sweet Leaf" in their song "Leave Me Out" off their debut Post-Grunge album Frogstomp
- The Canadian band Alexisonfire have covered this song and it has since appeared on the Trailer Park Boys Movie Soundtrack.
- Virtuoso Guitarist Paul Gilbert has been known to play a medley of the Spice Girls song "2 Become 1" with the solo from Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven" and ending the song with "Sweet Leaf".[citation needed]
- The Garage-Punk-Rock Mexican Girls Band "Las Ultrasonicas" did a Spanish Cover of the song named "Dulce Hoja", it was released in their debut album "Yo fui una adolescente terrosatanica" (I was a terrosatanic teenager). This Spanish version have the same riff but almost a perfect translation of the original lyric.
- The cover of the Public Enemy's "Bring The Noise" played by Staind and Limp Bizkit contains the riff of Sweet Leaf, played along the verses.
- Next Step Up, a hardcore band from NYC also covered the song.
- The Bruisers, a well-known Boston-based Oi! band, used the opening riff and vocal flourishes in the opening of their single "Molotov."
- The song was covered by Six Feet Under in their Graveyard Classics album.
- The song was covered by Scottish Post-Rock band Mogwai on a 1998 split-single with Magoo's cover of Black Sabbath.
- The song appears on the Widespread Panic album of live covers, Jackassolantern, as well as on the Gov't Mule DVD The Deepest End, Live In Concert. Gov't Mule covers "Sweet Leaf" along with other Black Sabbath songs, such as War Pigs, live occasionally.
- Additionally, the song appears as downloadable content in the music video game Rock Band in a 3-song pack, along with other Black Sabbath songs "N.I.B." and "War Pigs".
- The jam band Galactic has covered this song various times live and it appears on their live album We Love 'Em Tonight.
