If you were alive in 1991, you couldn't escape it. That bass line. That descending, menacing groove played by Bob Daisley that felt like a weight on your chest. Then came the Prince of Darkness himself. But when we talk about the Ozzy Osbourne No More Tears lyrics, most people think they’re just listening to a standard "Prince of Darkness" horror story. They aren't. Not even close.
It's actually much weirder. And darker.
Most fans assume Ozzy sits down with a notebook and pours his soul into every line. Honestly? That's rarely how it worked in the nineties. By the time No More Tears was being recorded at A&M Studios in Hollywood, Ozzy was struggling. He was trying to get sober. He was bored. He needed a spark. That spark didn't come from a dark ritual or a graveyard—it came from a guy who had just conquered the charts with a band called Mötley Crüe.
The Lemmy Connection and the Ghostwriters
Here is the thing about the Ozzy Osbourne No More Tears lyrics that usually gets glossed over: Ozzy didn't write a huge chunk of them.
Zakk Wylde, the blonde beast on guitar, was riffing. John Purdell and Duane Baron were producing. But the lyrics were hitting a wall. Enter Lemmy Kilmister. Yes, that Lemmy. The Motörhead frontman was brought in as a ringer. Ozzy famously said Lemmy wrote the lyrics to several songs on the album—including "Mama, I'm Coming Home" and "Hellraiser"—in about the time it takes to finish a sandwich.
But "No More Tears" itself was a collaborative beast. It’s a seven-minute epic. It’s the longest song Ozzy ever recorded for a studio album. While Lemmy's fingerprints are all over the record, the title track was a culmination of the whole "A-Team" trying to capture a specific, cinematic vibe. It wasn't about the occult. It was about a serial killer.
Specifically, it’s about a stalker.
Reading Between the Lines: "The Man in the Dark"
"The light in the window is a crack in the sky."
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That opening line is iconic. It sets the stage for a voyeuristic nightmare. When you look at the Ozzy Osbourne No More Tears lyrics through the lens of early '90s slasher cinema, everything starts to click. You’ve got this character, "Mr. Tinkertrain" (who got his own song on the album, but the themes bleed over), and this sense of inevitable doom.
The song isn't about crying or sadness. "No more tears" is a threat. It's the killer telling the victim that it's all over. It’s the end of the line.
- "A sign of the times": This phrase pops up and feels almost political, but in the context of the song, it's about the decay of urban safety.
- "Hand in the bush": A direct, creepy reference to someone lurking where they shouldn't be.
- The "Mama" references: Ozzy often returns to maternal themes when he's writing about madness or fear. It’s a recurring motif in his entire solo career.
The middle section—that psychedelic, orchestral breakdown—wasn't just for show. It was meant to simulate the mental fracture of the protagonist. It’s one of the few times Ozzy’s music truly felt "progressive" without losing the radio-friendly hook.
Why the Bass Line Almost Didn't Happen
We have to talk about Bob Daisley.
Daisley is the unsung hero of the Ozzy world. He wrote so many of the lyrics and melodies for the early albums (Blizzard of Ozz, Diary of a Madman), but his relationship with the Osbournes was... complicated. He was in and out of the band more times than a revolving door.
During the No More Tears sessions, the bass line was the foundation. Without that slide and that rhythmic thumping, the lyrics wouldn't have the same impact. They would feel thin. Daisley claims he wasn't properly credited for his contributions to the album's success for years. It’s a classic rock and roll tragedy. You have this massive hit, but the guys in the room are arguing over who owns the commas and the periods in the lyric sheet.
The Sound of 1991
Heavy metal was dying in 1991.
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Nirvana's Nevermind came out the same month as No More Tears. Grunge was about to execute hair metal in the streets. But Ozzy survived. Why? Because the Ozzy Osbourne No More Tears lyrics and the overall production felt "real." It didn't feel like the cartoonish devil-worship of the eighties. It felt like a psychological thriller. It felt like The Silence of the Lambs, which had been released earlier that same year.
Ozzy wasn't singing about dragons anymore. He was singing about the guy hiding in your backyard. That shift in lyrical focus is exactly why the song still gets played on classic rock radio three times a day. It’s timelessly creepy.
Misconceptions About the Meaning
Some people think "No More Tears" is about addiction.
I get it. Ozzy has spent forty years talking about his battles with the bottle and the bag. And sure, "the sky is falling" could be a metaphor for a comedown. But if you talk to the people in the room—Zakk Wylde especially—they’ll tell you it was about the "vibe." They wanted something that sounded like a movie.
They wanted a "heavy version of James Bond."
If you listen to the way the strings swell during the bridge, you can hear it. It’s cinematic. The lyrics serve the atmosphere. They aren't a diary entry; they’re a screenplay.
Zakk Wylde's Influence on the Narrative
Zakk was young, hungry, and obsessed with pinch harmonics. His guitar work on this track gave the lyrics teeth. When Ozzy sings about "a kiss of death," Zakk’s guitar screams in response. It’s a call-and-response that you don't see in modern rock much anymore.
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The song was originally much shorter. They jammed it out. They let it breathe. This allowed the lyrics to settle in. Instead of a fast-paced thrash song where you can't hear the words, "No More Tears" forces you to listen to every syllable Ozzy pronunciates.
Impact on the Charts
No More Tears went quadruple platinum.
It was a massive comeback. After the somewhat lukewarm reception to No Rest for the Wicked, Ozzy needed a win. He got it. The song reached number five on the Mainstream Rock tracks. But more than the numbers, it redefined Ozzy for a new generation. He wasn't just the "Iron Man" guy anymore. He was the guy who could make a seven-minute epic about a murderer into a global anthem.
Practical Steps for Dissecting the Track
If you really want to understand the Ozzy Osbourne No More Tears lyrics, you need to do more than just read them on a screen. You have to experience the context of the 1991 production.
- Listen to the 1991 Original Mix: Avoid the later remasters if you can. The original mix has a specific "air" around the vocals that makes the lyrics feel more intimate and threatening.
- Compare with "Mr. Tinkertrain": Listen to these two songs back-to-back. They are essentially two chapters of the same story. One is the hunter's perspective; the other is the atmosphere of the hunt.
- Watch the Music Video: Directed by Ole Sassone, the video uses a lot of mirrors and water imagery. It visually reinforces the "tears" and "reflection" motifs in the lyrics.
- Isolate the Bass: If you can find the isolated tracks on YouTube, listen to the bass and vocals together. It reveals how much of the "story" is actually told through the rhythm rather than just the words.
The legacy of this track isn't just in the catchy chorus. It’s in the way it bridged the gap between eighties excess and nineties grit. It proved that Ozzy could evolve. He didn't need the bats or the capes. He just needed a great riff, a haunting lyric, and a bass line that sounds like a heartbeat.
Next time you hear that "crack in the sky" line, remember that it wasn't just a random thought. It was a calculated, brilliant piece of studio alchemy involving Lemmy, Zakk Wylde, and a version of Ozzy Osbourne that was fighting for his career. And he won.
Fact-Check: Who wrote what?
While Ozzy is credited, the heavy lifting on the No More Tears album lyrics often fell to Lemmy Kilmister (four songs) and Bob Daisley. For the title track, the credit is officially shared between Osbourne, Wylde, Randy Castillo (drums), Mike Inez (bass, though Daisley played on the record), and Purdell. This "committee" approach is what gave the song its layered, complex feel. It’s a masterclass in how to build a rock anthem without losing the artistic soul of the performer.
Check the liner notes of the 30th Anniversary Edition for the most updated breakdown of who contributed what during those chaotic Hollywood sessions. You'll find that the truth is often messier—and more interesting—than the official press releases.