Mama, I'm Coming Home

{{Short description|1991 single by Ozzy Osbourne}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Mama, I'm Coming Home

| cover = OzzyOsbourne MamaImComingHome Single 1991.jpg

| type = single

| artist = Ozzy Osbourne

| album = No More Tears

| B-side = Don't Blame Me

| released = 18 November 1991 (UK){{Cite book |last=Strong |first=Martin Charles |url=https://archive.org/details/greatrockdiscogr00stro/page/610/mode/2up |title=The Great Rock Discography |year=1995 |isbn=9780862415419 |page=610|publisher=Canongate Press }}
{{Start date|1992|02}} (US)

| format =

| recorded = 1991

| studio =

| genre = {{flatlist|

  • Heavy metal{{Cite web |last=Tucker 2/13/2014 |first=Dan |title=Saint Valentine's Day Massacre: Heavy Metal's 13 Most Romantic Love Songs |url=https://www.vh1.com/news/doyugg/metals-most-romantic-love-songs |access-date=2021-08-07 |website=VH1 News}}
  • hard rock{{Cite web |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine |title=Mama I'm Coming Home - Ozzy Osbourne {{!}} Songs, Reviews, Credits |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/no-more-tears-mw0000611759 |access-date=29 October 2022 |publisher=AllMusic}}

}}

| length = {{Duration|m=4|s=11}}

| label = Epic

| writer = {{hlist|Lemmy Kilmister|Ozzy Osbourne|Zakk Wylde}}{{Cite web |title=Ozzy Osbourne - Mama I'm Coming Home |url=https://www.discogs.com/Ozzy-Osbourne-Mama-Im-Coming-Home-/release/4444534 |access-date=2 November 2020 |website=Discogs}}

| producer =

| prev_title = Road to Nowhere

| prev_year = 1991

| next_title = Mr. Tinkertrain

| next_year = 1991

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|K0siYUjV9UM|"Mama, I’m Coming Home"}}}}

}}

{{Song ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1Score = {{rating|2.5|5}}

| noprose = yes

}}

"Mama, I'm Coming Home" is a power ballad by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne from Osbourne's sixth studio album No More Tears, which first released on 17 November 1991. The song features Osbourne on vocals, Zakk Wylde on guitar, Bob Daisley on bass, and Randy Castillo on drums. Lyrics were written by Lemmy, and the song was produced by Tom Fletcher. Two music videos were also produced to accompany the song's release.

The single is Osbourne's only solo Top 40 single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 28; his only other top 40 hits being his duet with Lita Ford, "Close My Eyes Forever", and his feature on the 2019 Post Malone song "Take What You Want", both of which peaked at number 8.{{Cite book |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tjQeP-BHy78C&pg=PA473 |title=The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits |date=1 July 2004 |publisher=Billboard Books |isbn=978-0-8230-7499-0 |page=473 |access-date=5 September 2010}} It also reached number 2 on Billboard{{'}}s Mainstream Rock Tracks.

Background

As Zakk Wylde recalled in a 2022 interview, "I remember me and Ozzy originally did that on a piano in my apartment in North Hollywood...I transposed it to guitar when we got in the studio when we were working on the record, and then y'know it sounded great...the song started off with the pedal steel kind of thing. I mean it just sounded great...I mean everybody's performances and everything like that but I mean just the overall sound of it – the guys knocked it out of the park for sure."{{Cite web |author=Olivier |date=5 October 2022 |title=Zakk Wylde Recalls Writing the Ozzy Osbourne Song "Mama, I'm Coming Home" |url=https://sleazeroxx.com/zakk-wylde-recalls-writing-the-ozzy-osbourne-song-mama-im-coming-home/ |website=SleazeRoxx.com |access-date=12 December 2022}}

Music videos

Two music videos were created for the single. The first was a surreal video that Osbourne disliked because he felt the video's plot did not match the song's concept. A second music video was then created with Samuel Bayer as its director, which subsequently augmented Osbourne's interest. Osbourne compared the effects in the second video to the hazy smoke effect seen in the video for Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit", which was also directed by Bayer.

Personnel

Reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of music website AllMusic called the song "a very good hard rock ballad and one of his finest singles".

Charts

class="wikitable sortable"
Chart (1992–1993)

!Peak
position

{{Single chart|Austria|42|artist=Ozzy Osbourne|song=Mama, I'm Coming Home}}
{{Single chart|Germany|27|artist=Ozzy Osbourne|song=Mama, I'm Coming Home|songid=5469}}
{{Single chart|New Zealand|48|artist=Ozzy Osbourne|song=Mama, I'm Coming Home}}
{{Single chart|Switzerland|62|artist=Ozzy Osbourne|song=Mama, I'm Coming Home}}
{{Single chart|UK|32|artist=Ozzy Osbourne|song=Mama, I'm Coming Home|date=1991-09-29}}
{{Single chart|Billboardhot100|28|artist=Ozzy Osbourne}}
align="left"|US Mainstream Rock{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/ozzy-osbourne/chart-history/rtt/ |title=Ozzy Osbourne Chart History (Mainstream Rock) |magazine=Billboard |access-date=2022-12-12}}

|align="center"| 2

Certifications

{{Certification Table Top}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Ozzy Osbourne|title=Mama, I'm Coming Home|certyear=2021|award=Platinum|type=single|access-date=14 December 2021}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|noshipments=true|nosales=true|streaming=true}}

References

{{Reflist}}