Bill Ward has published several poems in recent years, some inspired by the coronavirus pandemic and others celebrating the fall and winter holiday season, including Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Last Monday, the 28th, the musician shared his new poem titled “It's Near” on his official Instagram profile. The new poem is inspired by Halloween.
Below is a free translation of the new poem, followed by the original excerpt released by the drummer:
“If it will bring
A sinister wind, a whistling wind
Let someone bring the wind.
If a full, yellowish moon is needed,
Bring the moon,
Thunder and lightning too.
Promise now that you will be there in the night
With howling dogs and ghostly laments everywhere,
Aged and now, for me, seventy-six years old,
Quiet and the ghosts in the kitchen
Shaking the oak drawers make my back itch.
Who is this now, an arrogant fellow,
Can't stop talking, is he the St. Vitus dance?
No, no,
Tired rats, I saw Cinderella,
Falling on red crabs and caramel apples,
Parading and singing nursery rhymes.
Give a treat to the dog,
Give a trick to the cat,
The pretty nurses, in the old castle,
Carry dim lanterns, and a queue forms.”
Even the sound of the river waves,
A mirage, forgotten pyramids
Safe here and linked by chants and historical laughter from a hundred years ago.
We all deserve laughter,
We all deserve that providence manifests itself with joy,
Nothing that is thorny I will measure
Will prosper, especially on this,
The simplest of nights.
Floating apples, and the hand on the door, which never opens.
Halloween, dear and dark, with bright laughter,
New shoes clicking at the Queens' Banquet.
Sad and silly faces,
Sleepy children,
It will carry a sinister wind,
I think we'll manage this, said
The very tall and happy person,
Yes, we can do this.
Happy Halloween to all who believe.
And much love to all who don't believe,
Bill Ward.
Bill Ward did not participate in the Black Sabbath reunion.
Bill was on board for the Black Sabbath when it was first announced 13 years ago, but dropped out shortly afterwards. The drummer later claimed he was left out of the recordings and tours because of unfair contractual terms, although Sabbath members have hinted in other interviews that he wasn't physically fit for the task.
All four original members of the band were present at the announcement of their reunion in late 2011. However, the drummer left the group in 2012, citing an "unyielding" contract, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne , guitarist Tony Iommi , and bassist Geezer Butler went ahead with their album 13 , produced by Rick Rubin , as well as an extensive international tour without him.
Ozzy told The Pulse Of Radio during Black Sabbath's last tour that Ward wasn't fit enough to participate. "Bill Ward has the most physically demanding job of all of us, because he's the timekeeper," he stated. "Personally, I don't think he has the ability to pull it off, you know. The saddest thing is that he had to admit it, and we could have worked around it, whether it was with a drummer alongside him or something like that."
There were rumors that the band wanted to bring in a second drummer on tour to share duties with the drummer, something Iommi confirmed in 2017 during a Q&A session about Sabbath's Ten Year War box set
Bill Ward admits he no longer has the "ability" for live performances.
Bill Ward said during an interview with Eddie Trunk that he would like to return to the studio with the group's original lineup, but believes he no longer has the "ability" to play live shows .
“…when it comes to touring with Black Sabbath, I don’t have the know-how and the ability to lead a band like that on stage. I’d have to go back 60 years in time to be able to do that.”
In 2015, Bill released his first solo album in 18 years. Titled Accountable Beasts , the album can be purchased on iTunes .
In November 2017, his band, Day Of Errors , released their first two songs, “Day Of Errors” and “Blaspheming At Creation,” available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon MP3, and Google Play. Two additional tracks, “Dark” and “Ghost Train,” were released in 2019.
In March 2021, Ward revealed that he was working on his autobiography.
READ ALSO: Bill Ward, drummer of Black Sabbath, shares a moving original poem.
