# Songs of Nuclear Terror **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176 "2015-08-18T14:48:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/1 "2015-08-18T14:48:35Z")
Lately, I’ve been feeling a little nostalgic for some good old fashioned Cold War terror. Do you remember growing up half-expecting to see giant mushrooms sprout on the horizon at any moment? I do! Good times. So, I’ve been thinking about songs that deal with the threat of nuclear annihilation. But I can’t come up with very many. So, help me out before they drop the Big One. The classic example is probably the English version of Nena’s “99 Lufballons”. [Wiki](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Luftballons) tells me that the original German version is not explicitly about a nuclear war, but the English version is pretty clearly about a defective warning system that mistakes the balloons for incoming missiles, resulting in a war that quickly results in mass destruction. In “Russians,” Sting wonders how he can save his “little boy / from Oppenheimer’s deadly toy”, and he finds hope in the belief that the “Russians love their children too.” Billy Joel’s “Leningrad” is not one of my favorite songs. The lyrics are maudlin and the music is boring. But it captures the madness and paranoia of the era in the great lines, “And cold war kids were hard to kill / Under their desks in an air raid drill”. My favorite Cold War song is probably Weird Al’s masterwork of dark humor, “Christmas at Ground Zero”. I watched the [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t039p6xqutU)last night and couldn’t decide whether to laugh or cry. That’s all I’ve got so far. Help me build a playlist to enjoy in the 30 minutes between the time they push The Button, and we all get vaporized. ---
**Author:** ![Morgenstern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/2 "2015-08-18T14:52:00Z")
The classic… Barry McGuire - Eve Of Destruction _If the button is pushed, there’s no runnin’ away There’ll be no one to save with the world in a grave_ ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/3 "2015-08-18T14:59:30Z")
Kingston Trio-[The Merry Minuet](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp6dsKleGpU) Tom Lehrer- [Who’s Next?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRLON3ddZIw) Tom Lehrer-[We Will All Go Together When we Go.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIoBrob3bjI) ---
**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:** [August 18, 2015, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/4 "2015-08-18T15:03:23Z")
I’d have thought that the classic was Genesis’ “Land of Confusion”. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/5 "2015-08-18T15:07:25Z")
Wooden Ships. CSNY. ---
**Author:** ![batsto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b2d939/32.png) [@batsto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/batsto)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/6 "2015-08-18T15:08:25Z")
Megadeth- Set the World Afire Exodus-Fabulous Disaster Ozzy Osbourne-Thank God For the Bomb and probably about a hundred other late 80s metal songs I can’t think of right now, but it seemed like almost every album had a song about nuclear war or the like back then. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/7 "2015-08-18T15:15:31Z")
Randy Newman _[Political Science](http://www.lyricsfreak.com/r/randy+newman/political+science_20114159.html)_ > [@](#): > > No one likes us > I don’t know why. > We may not be perfect > But heaven knows we try. > But all around even our old friends put us down. > Let’s drop the big one and see what happens. ---
**Author:** ![AllShookDown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d9b06d/32.png) [@AllShookDown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AllShookDown)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/8 "2015-08-18T15:17:57Z")
Timbuk 3 - The Future’s so Bright (I gotta wear shades) ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/9 "2015-08-18T15:18:01Z")
“I Hate You”, by Kirk Thatcher. ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/10 "2015-08-18T15:27:48Z")
Ian Gillan (best known as the lead singer of **Deep Purple** ) had a UK hit with the rock ballad \*\*M.A.D. (Mutually Assured Destruction) \*\*. TCMF-2L ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanub/32/132_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUB)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/11 "2015-08-18T15:32:17Z")
The OP already mentioned my favorite - _Russians_ - so I’ll go with OMD’s _Enola Gay_ . It’s about the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan. I know many of our younger dopers won’t be familiar with it but anyone who came of age in the '80 will probably have heard it. Now that I think about it, I was all ready to come in here with several songs that I’ve always associated with cold war/ nuclear terror but upon looking at the lyrics turns out they’re not necessarily about that at all. Europe’s _The Final Countdown_ - apparently about space travel The Police’s _Bombs Away_ - really just an anti war / poke at puppet regimes White Lion’s _When the Children Cry_ ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/12 "2015-08-18T15:32:30Z")
“Morning Dew” by Bonnie Dobson, which was covered by numerous artists including the Grateful Dead, is specifically about the aftermath of a nuclear war. The song was inspired by _On the Beach._ > [@batsto](#): > > it seemed like almost every album had a song about nuclear war or the like back then. Heck, the band Nuclear Assault (“After the Holocaust”, “Radiation Sickness”, “Rise from the Ashes”) practically made a career of it. ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/13 "2015-08-18T15:32:37Z")
John and Mary’s [Rags of Flowers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zxggkp3IRBI) ---
**Author:** ![TCMF-2L](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tcmf-2l/32/16553_2.png) [@TCMF-2L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TCMF-2L)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/14 "2015-08-18T15:34:49Z")
Several \*\* RUSH \*\*songs but **Distant Early Warning** is as good example as any. TCMF -2L ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/15 "2015-08-18T15:42:20Z")
[The Buchanan Brothers - Atomic Power](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGy6WET0cAg) [The Who - Why Did I Fall For That?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jFCUp-d9Xk) ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/16 "2015-08-18T15:46:40Z")
Jackson Browne’s “Before the Deluge.” ---
**Author:** ![Finagle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@Finagle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Finagle)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/17 "2015-08-18T15:54:00Z")
Ooh, thought of two more: David Wilcox’s [Nightshift Watchman](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDNJK9F2AzA). “If I set to work my work is over, soon as I begin we’ll all be through”. Josh Ritter’s truly chilling [“The Temptation of Adam”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvCeCVmJAUA). Oh, and I guess Kate Bush’s “Breathing” falls into the nuclear catastrophe category as well. ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/18 "2015-08-18T16:13:51Z")
Fischer Z’s excellent album _Red skies over paradise_ is almost completely about this, first and foremost the fabulous title track. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/19 "2015-08-18T16:16:41Z")
Not completely sure of the interpretation, but I think “Silent Running” by Mike + the Mechanics was about a nuclear war. Lyrics are here- check them out and decide for yourself if I’m right. > **[Mike + The Mechanics - Silent Running Lyrics | AZLyrics.com](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/mikethemechanics/silentrunning.html)** > > Mike + The Mechanics "Silent Running": Take the children and yourself And hide out in the cellar By now the fighting will be close at hand... Sure SEEMS As if a family is being told to head down to a fallout shelter. ---
**Author:** ![TheInimitableMaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b19c9b/32.png) [@TheInimitableMaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheInimitableMaven)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/20 "2015-08-18T16:20:11Z")
Two I am amazed haven’t been mentioned before now: Metallica’s **[“Fight Fire With Fire”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgfY-0zcKLo)** and **[“Blackened”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAF5bhS_OLo)**. Another one: Rush’s **[“Distant Early Warning”](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yihefks_mM)**. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176.md?page=2)