# 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:** 2
**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, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/21 "2015-08-18T16:22:58Z")
King Crimson’s “Epitaph”. (Song and lyrics can be seen/heard below.) [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLHScgTJ9eQ) ---
**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, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/22 "2015-08-18T16:25:59Z")
“Two Tribes” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood? ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/23 "2015-08-18T16:27:52Z")
[Tom Lehrer “So Long Mom”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-WGG4zDbCI) ---
**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, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/24 "2015-08-18T16:29:37Z")
Missed the edit window…dagnabit. It needs to be said that although the lyrics to Rush’s “Distant Early Warning” don’t really say anything about nuclear war (outside of the mention of heavy water and acid rain and ‘cruising under the radar’), it was the theme of **[the song’s music video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrDj5XvZXX4)**. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/25 "2015-08-18T16:33:49Z")
10,000 Maniacs - [Grey Victory](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDQ4AkTrtFY) _Please build a future, darling, with our bomb Cherish and love it for the sake of Earth bound kingdom come_ Pink Floyd - [Two Suns in the Sunset](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TSz30Nj2n4) _The sun is in the east, even though the day is done Two suns in the sunset – could be the human race is run_ ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/26 "2015-08-18T16:35:32Z")
If you have Fallout 3 or New Vegas for PC there is a mod called Conelrad Radio that plays through your pipboy. Its about 30 classic cold war songs intermixed with some PSA spots by stars like Bob Hope on what to do if a nuke should hit. Great stuff. https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PLEC4A26B75DF33734&wmode=transparent&rel=0&autohide=1&showinfo=1&enablejsapi=1 ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/27 "2015-08-18T16:44:14Z")
[Party at Ground Zero](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJCaFe1yamg). ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/28 "2015-08-18T16:48:28Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > Tom Lehrer-[We Will All Go Together When we Go.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIoBrob3bjI) Beaten by the third post. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/29 "2015-08-18T16:54:15Z")
Camper Van Beethoven - Sweethearts “And on a mission over China The lady opens up her arms The flowers bloom where you haved placed them And the lady smiles, just like mom” Sisters of Mercy - Black Planet "So still, so dark all over Europe And the rainbow rises here In the western sky the kill to show for At the end of the great white pier " ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/30 "2015-08-18T16:57:52Z")
The Christmas classic “[Do You Hear What I Hear?](http://www.cracked.com/article_20104_6-popular-songs-you-didnt-know-have-dark-hidden-messages_p2.html).” Among other things, the “star dancing in the night/with a tail as big as a kite” refers to a nuclear missile. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/31 "2015-08-18T17:03:01Z")
Fun Boy Three: [_The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum_](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POzSXzwbwIc) ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/32 "2015-08-18T17:07:20Z")
[**I’m Afraid of the Russians**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ToCZ19lT9g). Used to get a lot of play on college radio in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/33 "2015-08-18T17:07:52Z")
[Orange Goblin - Nuclear Guru](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vaHogECEJjw) [King Goat - Nuclear Messiah](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zfC6nDQlLo) [Bolt Thrower - World Eater](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJdGwoqq7kc) (I’ll refrain from posting links to the other 2 dozen plus Bolt Thrower songs about nuclear war; this is my first “fav” song by the band) [Mother Corona - Nuclear Winter](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNAK7W9dwxM) ---
**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, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/34 "2015-08-18T17:23:57Z")
> [@TheInimitableMaven](#): > > Missed the edit window…dagnabit. It needs to be said that although the lyrics to Rush’s “Distant Early Warning” don’t really say anything about nuclear war (outside of the mention of heavy water and acid rain and ‘cruising under the radar’), it was the theme of **[the song’s music video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wrDj5XvZXX4)**. Well, the very title refers to a joint US-Canadian radar project that was supposed to notify us immediately if Soviet missiles or bomber planes were incoming. So your interpretation makes sense. > **[Distant Early Warning Line](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distant_Early_Warning_Line)** > > The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the north coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska (see Project Stretchout and Project Bluegrass), in addition to the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It was set up to detect incoming bombers of the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and provide early warning of any sea-and-land invasion. > The DEW Line was the ... My take, though, is that the song is not about nuclear war per se, but about Neil Peart’s fears and misgivings about the direction the United States was heading in the Reagan era. I think Peart worried about a LOT of things he saw going wrong in the USA (not surprisingly, while I liked the song, I dismissed the message as alarmist). . ---
**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, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/35 "2015-08-18T17:29:51Z")
Tesla’s “Modern Day Cowboy” was a pretty obvious dig at Ronald Reagan, who was widely perceived by liberals as a trigger-happy cowboy eager to launch a nuclear war with the USSR. http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/tesla/moderndaycowboy.html ---
**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, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/36 "2015-08-18T17:33:35Z")
How’d I forget this one: “It’s a Mistake” by Men at Work. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/I0AxrOUJ62E/maxresdefault.jpg "Men At Work - It's a Mistake (Video)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0AxrOUJ62E) ---
**Author:** ![minlokwat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minlokwat/32/2844_2.png) [@minlokwat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minlokwat)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/37 "2015-08-18T17:41:11Z")
Didn’t see these two mentioned. \*\*Overkill \*\*by Men at Work > [@](#): > > Sampling of lyrics: > > It’s time to walk the streets > Smell the desperation > At least there’s pretty lights > And though there’s little variation I understand the lights referred to the fire flash that came with the nukes. [Video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY7S6EgSlCI) Prince’s **1999** > [@](#): > > Sampling: > > When I woke up this morning > Could’ve sworn it was Judgment Day > The sky was all purple > There were people running everywhere > Trying to run from the destruction > You know I didn’t even care No link to the song. Prince doesn’t like that sort of thing. We’ve all heard it though. ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/38 "2015-08-18T18:00:46Z")
A couple by Bob Dylan: “Talking World War III Blues” “Let Me Die in My Footsteps (I Will Not Go Under the Ground)” “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” (Depending on how much you go for metaphor in place of explicit nuke dropping) ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/39 "2015-08-18T18:08:47Z")
I was surprised to find that Wooden Ships is a nuclear war song! I never thought so, but it appears to be true. I guess I’m not good at this sort of thing. But Overkill? I don’t see it! ---
**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, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/40 "2015-08-18T19:32:25Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > I was surprised to find that Wooden Ships is a nuclear war song! I never thought so, but it appears to be true. I guess I’m not good at this sort of thing. > > But Overkill? I don’t see it! David Crosby and Paul Kantner started out writing a song about how great it would be to live at sea on a boat, but the song took on a life of its own, and evolved into song about two soldiers from opposite sides who run into each other in the aftermath of a nuclear war. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176.md?page=3)