For the next week I’ll run several posts as a tribute to the late, great Ozzy Osbourne. I will continue covering Ozzy-related stuff next week, but I’m doing this all off the cuff so I don’t know exactly what form everything will take. You’ll find out just after I do!

Today I’ll get into the song that became Ozzy’s most successful single. We all know that Crazy Train is ubiquitous with Ozzy and is his most-recognized track, but it was Mama, I’m Coming Home that took the highest chart position of Ozzy’s solo career.

This well-known and loved ballad came to form on the 1991 album No More Tears. The album is often cited as one of Ozzy’s best, he and his music partners did a marvelous job of retooling for the 1990’s and offering up an album that was heavy and real. The songs were MTV and radio staples, and are still in rotation over 30 years later.

The song was composed by Ozzy and Zakk Wylde. The lyrics were written by Lemmy Kilminster, one of four lyrical contributions he made to No More Tears. Lemmy stated many times that he made more money from Mama, I’m Coming Home than he did from his career in Motörhead.

This ballad granted Ozzy his only solo Billboard Top 40 single, it peaked at number 28. His only other entries higher on the singles charts were collaborations with Lita Ford and Post Malone. The single also hit number 2 on the Mainstream Rock chart and was certified platinum in Canada.

Today’s song is a ballad, but one with a lot of power behind it. The song begins with some clean picking from Zakk Wylde and Ozzy ruminating through the first verse before the full band kicks in and delivers a fair bit of heft for what is considered such a tender ballad. Ozzy sings very powerfully here and the chorus soars along with the keyboard enhancements.

Lyrically this is a pretty dense and tough affair. The song is Ozzy’s lament to Sharon, who put up with a lot of Ozzy’s shit. The years just before No More Tears had some especially bad moments, but Sharon stuck with her husband through it all. The years following this song and album would be much better for the couple, both personally and professionally.

Mama, I’m Coming Home had two videos filmed for it. The first one was weird and Ozzy did not like it at all, so they went back and filmed the far more familiar second cut. The original is also really, really hard to find – my digging has not turned up a version that I could post here, so I won’t bother.

This song took a special place at Ozzy’s final show on July 5^th in Birmingham. The Back To Beginning concert featured a slew of acts inspired by Ozzy and Black Sabbath, as well as brief sets from Ozzy’s solo outfit and Sabbath. Mama, I’m Coming Home was the only song played in Ozzy’s five song set that was not from the Blizzard Of Ozz album. The song’s performance was very emotional for many and clips of the performance have been among the show’s most-viewed highlights.

And of course now the song takes on a whole new meaning, as on July 22^nd Ozzy truly did go home for the final time. While we are left without the powerful voice and simple charm of Ozzy Osbourne, his legacy is immortal and is etched in his songs, perhaps none more fitting of the end of the line than this sweet and somber ballad.