From the 40s through the early 90s, the United States and Russia (then the Soviet Union) were involved in a nuclear standoff, aka, the Cold War. Here are a few songs that reference war during that time and sound like they could be Cold War anti-anthems if you’re paying attention.
“1999” by Prince
Prince became inspired to write this song after watching The Man Who Saw Tomorrow, an HBO documentary that offered predictions for the future. “1999” really puts everything that was going on at the time through an optimistic lens.
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Released in 1982, the song seemingly references the Cold War with one swift line, saying that even though there might be the looming threat of nuclear weapons, that’s no reason not to party!
If you didn’t come to party, don’t bother knockin’ on my door, oww
I got a lion in my pocket and baby he’s ready to roar
Yeah hey
Everybody’s got a bomb, we could all die any day
But before I let that happen, I’ll dance my life away.
“Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears For Fears
It’s possible that this Tears For Fears classic wasn’t partially inspired by events that were going on at the time. However, that possibility feels a lot less likely when you find out what the original name for this song was going to be. As Roland Orzabal, who wrote the song, told Classic Pop, the title was going to be “Everybody Wants To Go To War”.
When it comes to describing their 1985 hit, Curt Smith summed it up perfectly, per Songfacts. “The concept [of the song] is quite serious—it’s about everybody wanting power, about warfare and the misery it causes.”
“We Didn’t Start The Fire” by Billy Joel
Billy Joel makes plenty of political and historical references in this song. But quite a few have to do with the Cold War. “We Didn’t Start The Fire” mentions H-bombs, the Rosenbergs, Joe McCarthy, and Kennedy, to name a few.
In a biography done by Fred Shruers, Joel talked about the intent behind the classic song of his.
“What does the song really mean? Is it an apologia for the baby boomers? No, it’s not,” he explained. “It’s just a song that says the world’s a mess. It’s always been a mess, it’s always going to be a mess.”
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