# Apocalyptic Songs **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 26, 2009, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201 "2009-10-26T17:55:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Floppy\_Joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3bc359/32.png) [@Floppy\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floppy_Joe)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/81 "2009-10-29T18:05:56Z")
How about “Veteran of the Psychic Wars” by Blue Oyster Cult. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/82 "2009-10-29T18:13:20Z")
> [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](#): > > “Wooden Ships”, I think originally by Crosby Stills Nash and Young, but the Airplane did a fine cover of it too. Katner was a co-writer, and CSN (no Young) and the Airplane released their versions at about the same time. > [@](#): > > “Wooden Ships” is a rock song written and composed by David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Paul Kantner of Jefferson Airplane fame in the late 1960s. The song was written and composed on Crosby’s boat in Florida. Crosby composed the music, and Stills and Kantner wrote most of the lyrics.[1]. > > Kantner could not be credited as one of the joint authors-composers on the original release of Crosby, Stills & Nash due to legal issues, but he is thus credited on the 2006 re-release. The song was also released by Jefferson Airplane the same year on the album Volunteers. Both versions are considered to be original versions of the song, although they differ slightly in wording and melody. [Cite.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wooden_Ships) ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/83 "2009-10-29T18:37:41Z")
> [@Contrapuntal](#): > > Katner was a co-writer, and CSN (no Young) and the Airplane released their versions at about the same time. > > [Cite.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wooden_Ships) Just to nitpick. Neil Young did play on Wooden Ships with CSN at Woodstock, and many times thereafter. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/84 "2009-10-29T18:50:46Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > Just to nitpick. Neil Young did play on Wooden Ships with CSN at Woodstock, and many times thereafter. Nitpick right back. The poster said “originally.” All sorts of folks have performed the song. That doesn’t mean it is “by” them. And wouldn’t that be CSN **Y** at Woodstock? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/85 "2009-10-29T19:34:08Z")
If the OPer isn’t absolutely fixed on his/her playlist, here’s a few more: “Until the End of the World” – U2. Less about the actual end and more about a neurotic person who’s preoccupied by such topics: “We ate the food, we drank the wine/Everybody having a good time/Except you/You were talking about the end of the world…”. OTOH, it was a huge hit, and it’s not a downer musically. “Living Through Another Cuba” – XTC. Comparing a contemporary flare-up in the Cold War to the Cuban Missile Crisis is, if nothing else, a novel angle to hang a song on. Upbeat, fast-tempo, fun, and compulsively danceable. For much more fun, use a live version in which this segues to the similarly upbeat, fast-tempo, and danceable “Generals and Majors,” as on XTC’s Live at the BBC (Dec. 1980) recording. “Exo-politics,” “The United States of Eurasia,” and "Exogenesis: Symphony (Pts. 1-3) – Muse. The first is Bellamy’s mad vision of alien invasion/domination \*a la \*the movie \*They Live \*(“When the Zetas fill the skies/It’s only our leaders in disguise…”; the second is Bellamy’s mad injunction for all of Europe and Asia to unite as one massive nation-state, in order to counter American hegemony, with musical references to Queen and Frederick Chopin; and the third is Bellamy’s poignant masterpiece about the eclipsing of human civ on Earth and a desperate attempt to find other suitable planets for colonization. The latter two are on Muse’s new album, The Resistance. Sadly, none of these are dance tunes, although the first is a mid-tempo rocker, and the latter two are quite beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![ivan\_astikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@ivan\_astikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivan_astikov)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/86 "2009-10-29T19:55:50Z")
**The Earth Dies Screaming - UB40** ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/87 "2009-10-29T19:58:42Z")
For what it’s worth, John Wetton said he wrote Asia’s “Sole Survivor” after watching John McEnroe defeat Bjorn Borg after a lengthy battle in the the Wimbledon finals, in front of a largely hostile crowd. So, it’s actually about tennis, not the end of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@Myron\_Van\_Horowitzski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myron_Van_Horowitzski)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/88 "2009-10-29T20:08:42Z")
Here’s a good one: [_King of the World_,](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiRIE2irAgc&feature=PlayList&p=DE3905D7CFB0C178&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=1) Steely Dan. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/89 "2009-10-29T20:25:14Z")
> [@MadTheSwine](#): > > Here are a few from Queen. I was gonna suggest [Hammer to Fall](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjyka1gkodo). ---
**Author:** ![panamajack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/47e85d/32.png) [@panamajack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panamajack)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/90 "2009-10-29T21:16:02Z")
> [@The\_Scrivener](#): > > If the OPer isn’t absolutely fixed on his/her playlist, here’s a few more: > > “Until the End of the World” – U2. Less about the actual end and more about a neurotic person who’s preoccupied by such topics: “We ate the food, we drank the wine/Everybody having a good time/Except you/You were talking about the end of the world…”. OTOH, it was a huge hit, and it’s not a downer musically. More specifically it’s a song from the point of view of Judas, singing to Jesus. A better song from the soundtrack to that movie is Nick Cave’s [(I’ll Love You) Till the End of the World](http://quietube.com/v.php/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGq8bl_V6qo), which has a great danceable chorus. Another funny one is Bob Dylan’s **Talking World War III Blues** Kevin Gilbert’s **All Fall Down** is about dressing up and looking nice for an accidental nuclear holocaust. The Postal Service’s **We Become Silhouettes** is happy and pretty upbeat too. ---
**Author:** ![Grendel\_s\_Father](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b782af/32.png) [@Grendel\_s\_Father](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grendel_s_Father)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/91 "2009-10-29T21:55:08Z")
How about “John the Revelator”? > **[John the Revelator (disambiguation)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_the_Revelator_%28song%29)** > > John the Revelator (John of Patmos) is the traditional author of the Book of Revelation, the final book of the New Testament. > John the Revelator may also refer to: Old blues song, and there’s a pretty killer modern cover on the Sons of Anarchy soundtrack. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2009, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/92 "2009-10-29T22:50:27Z")
This is the second thread in a week or two that I’ve mentioned Verdi’s “Dies Irae”. Sure, you won’t understand any of the words, but you don’t need to understand them for it to be abundantly clear what the song is about. ---
**Author:** ![twit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twit)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/93 "2009-10-30T01:55:15Z")
Oh yeah, Johnny Cash’s “The Man Comes Around”. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_John\_de\_Pebble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Sir\_John\_de\_Pebble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_John_de_Pebble)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/94 "2009-10-30T13:13:15Z")
Looks like it’s too late, but I couldn’t let the thread pass without “Supper’s Ready” from Genesis. It’s basically the book of Revelation with a keyboard solo. It clocks in at over 23 minutes, so probably doesn’t fit in the playlist anywhere, but it must be mentioned! ---
**Author:** ![Woeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/df705f/32.png) [@Woeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Woeg)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/95 "2009-10-30T13:26:19Z")
I’m surprised no one has mentions Melt With You by Modern English! ---
**Author:** ![Lunar\_Saltlick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/977dab/32.png) [@Lunar\_Saltlick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lunar_Saltlick)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/96 "2009-10-30T13:53:39Z")
Phasers on Stun by FM, on the Black Noise disc. Great upbeat stuff, kind of apocalyptic sounding, and you can’t really make sense of the lyrics, which always helps. ---
**Author:** ![twit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twit)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/97 "2009-10-30T18:59:29Z")
[quote=“The\_Scrivener, post:85, topic:515201”] If the OPer isn’t absolutely fixed on his/her playlist, here’s a few more: “Until the End of the World” – U2. Less about the actual end and more about a neurotic person who’s preoccupied by such topics: “We ate the food, we drank the wine/Everybody having a good time/Except you/You were talking about the end of the world…”. OTOH, it was a huge hit, and it’s not a downer musically. I have heard that “Until the End of the World” was basically a conversation betyween Jesus and Judas who betrayed Him. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2009, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201/98 "2009-10-30T23:29:45Z")
**Instruments of Destruction** by **NRG** , from the **Transformers - The Movie** soundtrack (that’s the 80’s cartoon movie, BTW, not the recent CGI movie, **Transformers** ) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/apocalyptic-songs/515201.md?page=4)