"Iron Man" is a song by British rock band Black Sabbath. It is taken from their second studio album, Paranoid, released in 1970. It was later included on their initial greatest hits compilation We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll (1976), as well as all subsequent greatest hits compilations; The single version was included on the Greatest Hits 1970–1978 album.

Upon hearing the main guitar riff for the first time, vocalist Ozzy Osbourne remarked that it sounded "like a big iron bloke walking about". The title became "Iron Man", with Geezer Butler writing the lyrics around the title.

Butler wrote the lyrics as the story of a man who time travels into the future, and sees the apocalypse. In the process of returning to the present, he is turned into steel by a magnetic field. He is rendered mute, unable verbally to warn people of his time in the future and of the impending destruction. His attempts to communicate are ignored and mocked. This causes Iron Man to become angry, and drives his revenge on mankind, causing the destruction seen in his vision.

This was the second Black Sabbath single in the US, but it was not released as a single in Britain. It got very little radio play in the US, but developed a cult following, which led to enough sales to give it a chart position.

A new version was included on the 1998 Reunion album. It won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance in 2000.

Ozzy Osbourne recorded a new version of "Iron Man" for the 1994 Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black. Osbourne also recorded a version with Busta Rhymes in 1998 for Busta Rhymes's album Extinction Level Event (Final World Front). The track was renamed "This Means War". The version with Busta Rhymes was included on the Black Sabbath tribute album Nativity in Black II. On his 2001 song "Gets Me Through", Osbourne referenced the song in the line, "I'm not the Antichrist or the Iron Man".

...
Wikipedia