# 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:** 3
**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, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/41 "2015-08-18T19:36:47Z")
Oh, forgot Black Sabbath’s “Electric Funeral.” > **[Black Sabbath - Electric Funeral Lyrics | AZLyrics.com](https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/blacksabbath/electricfuneral.html)** > > Black Sabbath "Electric Funeral": Reflex in the sky Warn you you're gonna die Storm coming, you better hide From the atomic tide Flas... ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/42 "2015-08-18T19:56:07Z")
Lehrer is the American standard, but for Britons, _Flanders & Swann’s_ **20 Tons of TNT** is equally remembered. [_Yeah, mentioned it before._] _Father, Mother, Son and Daughter, Twenty tons of TNT. Give us land and seed and water, Twenty tons of TNT. Children have no need of sharing-, At each new nativity Come the ghostly Magi bearing Twenty tons of TNT._ I have seen it estimated: Somewhere between death and birth There are now three thousand million People living on this earth And the stock-piled mass destruction Of the Nuclear Powers-That-Be Equals-for each man or woman- Twenty tons of TNT. Every man of every nation (Twenty tons of TNT) Shall receive this allocation Twenty tons of TNT. Texan, Bantu, Slav or Maori, Argentine or Singhalee, Every maiden brings this dowry Twenty tons of TNT. Not for thirty silver shilling Twenty tons of TNT. Twenty thousand pounds a killing- Twenty tons of TNT. Twenty hundred years of teaching, Give to each his legacy, Plato, Buddha, Christ or Lenin, Twenty tons of TNT. Father, Mother, Son and Daughter, Twenty tons of TNT. Give us land and seed and water, Twenty tons of TNT. Children have no need of sharing-, At each new nativity Come the ghostly Magi bearing Twenty tons of TNT. Ends the tale that has no sequel Twenty tons of TNT. Now in death are all men equal Twenty tons of TNT. Teach me how to love my neighbour, Do to him as he to me; Share the fruits of all our labour Twenty tons of TNT. [**YouTube**](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrmwbppAMI0) ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/43 "2015-08-18T20:03:10Z")
Iron Maiden “[2 Minutes to Midnight](http://www.metrolyrics.com/2-minutes-to-midnight-lyrics-iron-maiden.html)” > [@](#): > > 2 minutes to midnight > The hands that threaten doom > 2 minutes to midnight > To kill the unborn in the womb > > The blind men shout, Let the creatures out > Let’s show the unbelievers > The napalm screams of human flames > Of a prime time Belsen feast ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/44 "2015-08-18T20:32:47Z")
Weren’t, like, ALL of the songs by The Fixx about nuclear war? The three I can remember (“Stand or Fall,” “Red Skies,” “Are We Ourselves?”) all were. And speaking of red skies, “Red Rain” by Peter Gabriel. ---
**Author:** ![Wolf333](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf333/32/3460_2.png) [@Wolf333](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wolf333)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/45 "2015-08-18T21:13:52Z")
“Siberian Nights” by Twilight 22 [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/jiW7NbkhbJ0/hqdefault.jpg "Twilight 22 - Siberian Nights") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiW7NbkhbJ0) So you believe everything you see ‘Cause you’re watchin’ the world on a color TV You’ve got nuclear war, atomic rain And nuclear war winter gonna freeze your brain, huh ---
**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, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/46 "2015-08-18T21:18:28Z")
> [@Haunted\_Pasta](#): > > And speaking of red skies, “Red Rain” by Peter Gabriel. That was one where people wondered whether it was about nuclear war or about acid rain. Same with REM’s “Fall on Me.” Some thought it was about the proposed Star Wars missile defense system, some said it was about about acid rain. Could be either or neither, as with most REM songs. ---
**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, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/47 "2015-08-18T21:20:35Z")
The imagery was all over the place, but U2’s “Bullet the Blue Sky” may have been about a nuclear war. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 6:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/48 "2015-08-19T06:15:37Z")
My favorite Christmas carol EVER!!! 😃 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/t039p6xqutU/maxresdefault.jpg ""Weird Al" Yankovic - Christmas At Ground Zero") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t039p6xqutU) ---
**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:** [August 19, 2015, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/49 "2015-08-19T13:02:06Z")
Queen’s “Hammer To Fall” may not be officially about the threat of nuclear annihilation, but it is at least influenced by it. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/50 "2015-08-19T15:05:16Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Oh, forgot Black Sabbath’s “Electric Funeral.” > > [Black Sabbath - Electric Funeral Lyrics | AZLyrics.com](http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/blacksabbath/electricfuneral.html) And “War Pigs”, and [“Children of the Grave”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-CpuuseZ7s) - buncha hippies, if you ask me. Social Distortion’s [“1945”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2URNb5NIEw) is about the dawn of nuclear terror. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/51 "2015-08-19T15:14:57Z")
Too late to edit,(and I have to edit this) but: Why doesn’t Fear’s [“Let’s Have a War”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUxkFCBPgx4) ever get mentioned? I know it’s not really germane to nuclear war, but I was wondering. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/52 "2015-08-19T17:08:01Z")
There was another novelty Christmas carol back in the '80s called “Red Christmas,” but I can’t find a recording of it anywhere: _Red Christmas! The bombs are on their way! **HEY!** Red Christmas! This must be the Russian way!_ ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/53 "2015-08-19T19:39:36Z")
Tim Rose, [Come Away, Melinda](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKWqEXoD--8). ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/54 "2015-08-19T19:57:46Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > [The Buchanan Brothers - Atomic Power](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGy6WET0cAg) The Louvin Brothers - [“The Great Atomic Power”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9xB7usNSPo) (thanks to Uncle Tupelo) ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/55 "2015-08-19T20:28:49Z")
Jefferson Airplane’s “House at Pooneil Corners”: _Suddenly everyone will look surprised Stars spinning wheels in the skies Sun is scrambled in their eyes While the moon circles like a vulture Some stood at a window and cried ‘One tear I thought that should stop a war But someone is killing me’ That’s the last hour to think anymore Jelly and juice and bubbles, bubbles on the floor_ And Steely Dan’s “King of the World”: _When you come around No more pain and no regrets Watch the sun go brown Smoking cobalt cigarettes There’s no need to hide Taking things the easy way If I stay inside I might live til Saturday_ ---
**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 19, 2015, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/56 "2015-08-19T23:58:50Z")
> [@Mixolydian](#): > > The Louvin Brothers - [“The Great Atomic Power”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9xB7usNSPo) (thanks to Uncle Tupelo) See post 26 for this and many like it ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/57 "2015-08-20T04:35:57Z")
_The Sun Is Burning_ by Ian Campbell [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/eNvZsB_4-cM/hqdefault.jpg "Ian Campbell Folk Group - The sun is burning") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNvZsB_4-cM) Fourth verse: > [@](#): > > Now the sun has come to Earth > Shrouded in a mushroom cloud of death > Death comes in a blinding flash > Of hellish heat and leaves a smear of ash > And the sun has come to Earth ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2015, 11:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/58 "2015-08-20T11:01:39Z")
[Don’t Go Down To The Fallout Shelter (With Anyone Else But Me)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uN-WTuASOY0) by Tom Fenton and Ice Nine. A Dr. Demento favorite. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/59 "2015-08-21T05:06:34Z")
Shel Silverstein wrote two. Standing on the Outside of Your Shelter [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZmrSVFIcyY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZmrSVFIcyY) Drop the Bomb > [@](#): > > I only wish they’d drop the bomb tomorrow > To teach you a lesson for runnin’ away from me, > And then I’d helter-skelter > To our cozy family shelter > And I’d lock you out and throw away the key… ---
**Author:** ![Banquet\_Bear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banquet_bear/32/373_2.png) [@Banquet\_Bear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banquet_Bear)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176/60 "2015-08-21T07:30:42Z")
…after a change of pace? Both these songs don’t quite fit the thread, but are close enough IMHO, and I’ll probably never get another chance to share a couple of my favourite songs. Kiwi classic reggae band Herbs with “Nuclear Waste.” A song about the chemical spill at Bhopal by Tim Finn. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfBi17Ow5Cs) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/songs-of-nuclear-terror/728176.md?page=4)