How about “Veteran of the Psychic Wars” by Blue Oyster Cult.
Katner was a co-writer, and CSN (no Young) and the Airplane released their versions at about the same time.
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 CSNY at Woodstock? 
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.
The Earth Dies Screaming - UB40
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.
Here’s a good one: King of the World, Steely Dan.
I was gonna suggest Hammer to Fall.
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, 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.
How about “John the Revelator”?
Old blues song, and there’s a pretty killer modern cover on the Sons of Anarchy soundtrack.
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.
Oh yeah, Johnny Cash’s “The Man Comes Around”.
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!
I’m surprised no one has mentions Melt With You by Modern English!
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.
[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.
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)