The destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a result of the atomic bombs was beyond imagination. (See Hiroshima, by John Hersey, for his description of the lives of six survivors before, during and after the bombing. “… [T]heir faces were wholly burned, their eye sockets were hollow, the fluid from their melted eyes had run down their cheeks…”; See also, Sakamoto, Midnight in Broad Daylight: A Japanese American Family Caught Between Two Worlds, Chapters 27 and 28.) Pictures of the devastation and stories about the effects of the previously unknown phenomenon of nuclear fallout caused great paranoia among the world’s populace. The concept of “mushroom clouds” became wide-spread. Fear of a third world war with atomic weapons dominated the public consciousness. Both the United States and Russia conducted atmospheric tests of their nuclear weapons in such places as Alamogordo, New Mexico, and Bikini Atoll in the Pacific, and the winds spread radioactive fallout far and wide. “…[T]he feeling [was] that civilization had entered a new terrible epoch…” (Jennings and Brewster, p. 291.)
Given the seriousness of the topic, the number of songs that touch on various aspects of “The Bomb” is not surprising. I’ve seen it as one of the most widely written about topics in my research; thus, I have selected more than a few songs on the subject.
Tom Lehrer, a 1950-60s sarcastic, comical singer-commentator on current events provided the following ditty on the fear associated with the atomic age: “We Shall All Go Together When We Go.” (https://youtu.be/frAEmhqdLFs) :
When you attend a funeral,
It is sad to think that sooner or
Later those you love will do the same for you.
And you may have thought it tragic,
Not to mention other adjec-
Tives, to think of all the weeping they will do.
But don’t you worry.
No more ashes, no more sackcloth.
And an armband made of black cloth
Will some day never more adorn a sleeve.
For if the bomb that drops on you
Gets your friends and neighbors too,
There’ll be nobody left behind to grieve.And we will all go together when we go.
What a comforting fact that is to know.
Universal bereavement,
An inspiring achievement,
Yes, we all will go together when we go.We will all go together when we go.
All suffuse with an incandescent glow.
No one will have the endurance
To collect on his insurance,
Lloyd’s of London will be loaded when they go.Oh we will all fry together when we fry.
We’ll be french fried potatoes by and by.
There will be no more misery
When the world is our rotisserie,
Yes, we will all fry together when we fry.And we will all bake together when we bake.
There’ll be nobody present at the wake.
With complete participation
In that grand incineration,
Nearly three billion hunks of well-done steak.Oh we will all char together when we char.
And let there be no moaning of the bar.
Just sing out a Te Deum
When you see that I.C.B.M.,
And the party will be “come as you are.”Oh we will all burn together when we burn.
There’ll be no need to stand and wait your turn.
When it’s time for the fallout
And Saint Peter calls us all out,
We’ll just drop our agendas and adjourn.And we will all go together when we go.
Ev’ry Hottentot and ev’ry Eskimo.
When the air becomes uranious,
And we will all go simultaneous.
Yes we all will go together
When we all go together,
Yes we all will go together when we go.
Every spring from 1951 through 1961, residents of New York City were required to take shelter during a mock nuclear attack. (Isserman, p. 144.) When the air-raid sirens sounded, everyone had to stop what they were doing and hide in subways or basements of high-rises. Refusal to cooperate with the exercise was punishable with up to a one year prison sentence and/or a $500 fine. (Id.)
As part of civil defense training, children in schools were taught what to do if and when a nuclear attack occurred. One thing they were told was, if they were in school and the air raid sirens went off, duck under the cover of their desk and stay there covered up. “Bert the Turtle” was the mascot for the “duck and cover” program, and the kids were supposed to follow his lead. “Bert the Turtle – The Duck and Cover Song,” performed by Dick ‘Two Ton’ Baker (1953) (https://youtu.be/XWGoVZF0jik) was intended to encourage the kiddies.
There was a turtle by the name of Bert
And Bert the Turtle was very alert
When danger threatened him he never got hurt
He knew just what to doHe’d duck and cover, duck and cover
He’d hide his head and tail and four little feet
He’d duck and cover!He hid beneath his little shell until the coast was clear
Then one by one his head and tail and legs would reappear
By acting calm and cool he proved he was a hero, too
For finding safety is the bravest wisest thing to doAnd now his little friends are just like Bert
And every turtle is very alert
When danger threatens them they never get hurt
They know just what to doThey duck and cover, duck and cover
They hide their heads and tails and four little feet
They duck and cover!He hid beneath his little shell until the coast was clear
Then one by one his head and tail and legs would reappear
By acting calm and cool he proved he was a hero, too
For finding safety is the bravest wisest thing to doAnd now his little friends are just like Bert
And every turtle is very alert
When danger threatens them they never get hurt
They know just what to doThey duck and cover, duck and cover
They hide their heads and tails and four little feet
They duck and cover!
They duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, and cover
The U.S. Civil Defense authorities also produced and disseminated many different kinds of “warning” videos on nuclear attack related topics, such as nuclear fallout or radioactivity (https://youtu.be/saLwgBKJT7o), family fallout shelters (https://youtu.be/j4gfV6Q86KE) and survival in case of a nuclear attack (https://youtu.be/lsHUIxt1iMw). These “educational” efforts did as much to foster fear as to alleviate it.
“The Civil Defense Song,” written and sung by Mark Spolestra (1962) is about the National Fallout Shelter Sign during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. (https://youtu.be/fQARr42Cpcc)
When you see this sign its time to go
This sign, this sign
You’ll know its time to go when the sirens start to blow
Remember the Civil Defense SignThis sign won’t save you and me
This sign, this sign
But its a hole for the souls
Of your friends and mine
Remember the Civil Defense SignMy town’s got more signs than yours
More signs, mores signs
I’ve got more band aids
More ice cubes and more iodine
Just in case it hurts some friends of mineWhen you see this sign its time to go
This sign, this sign
You’ll know its time to go when the sirens start to blow
Remember the Civil Defense signI won’t be the one to die
To die, to die,
Of course a certain percentage
Just has to go,
But I won’t be the one to dieMake the missiles so daddy will have a job
A job, a job
When the missiles start to fly
We can all lay down and die
Then daddy won’t have to work any moreWhen you see this sign its time to go
This sign, this sign
You’ll know its time to go when the sirens start to blow
Remember the Civil Defense sign
Remember the Civil Defense sign
“Nuclear Preparedness” was a concept fostered by the government during the 1950s. Underlying the concept of “nuclear preparedness” was the presumption that “limited” nuclear war was a viable military tactic, which in turn was based on the belief that it was possible to survive a battle between the nuclear powers. Cathy Winter, a singer-songwriter with a degree in linguistics and French Literature from Boston University, uses humor to address this incomprehensible position in her song, “Sure is Good to Know (We’re Ready for a Nuclear War)” (1982). (audio unavailable )
I’ve got my Master Card, Visa Card, check book and mortgage
Certified birth certificate, marriage and death
Sure is good to know we’re ready for a nuclear war
My ear is to the radio,
My feet are on the ground,
I’m no fool, o I’m getting it down;
Sure is good to know, we’re ready for a nuclear warThey say it can’t happen, at least not here
It’s just a precaution and we need not fear
I trust those men ’cause I know they’re really high paid
I’ve got the bus stops learned on the evacuation plan,
But they’ve got no drivers
And it seems to me I’d be standing on the corner
Soaking up the nuclear rays.
But I’d have my nuclear war.
Sure is good to know, when the sirens start to blow
We all know where we’ll go
Sure is good to know, we’re ready for a nuclear warThey say to tell your kids about the siren sound
So if they ever her it they can head right down
To the basement where they’ll be safe ‘til it blows away
And in a few hours we can take a deep breath
Poke out our heads and just see what’s left
Shake out our clothes and we can start all over again
It won’t be hard we’’ have our Master Charge…They say it can’t happen but their training all the troops
Equipping all the hospitals with medicine for the nukes
Checking out the maps to find out the best escape routes.
Now you can go north, east or south
But if they blow it up, you know the only way out
Is a rocket ship – headed straight to Mars –
Where you’ll need your Master Charge
In the 1950s, many people built fallout shelters in their homes or in their backyards to prepare for and to protect themselves in the case of a nuclear attack. Peter Scott Peters wrote and sung “The Fallout Shelter Song” in 1961. (https://youtu.be/WFUqh7uF1G4) Another version of the song by Mike and Bernie Winters with a more interesting video can be found at (https://youtu.be/dJFtTh0wvOY).
I’m not scared
I’m prepared
I’ll be sparedI’ve got a fallout shelter, it’s 9 by 9
A Hi-Fi set and a jug of wine
Let the missiles fly from nation to nation
It’s party time in my radiation stationA 14-day supply of multi-purpose food
Water, medicine, be sure to include
Build your bomb bungalow, you needn’t postpone
With no down payment and an FHA loanLet the tests go on in the atmosphere
In my fallout shelter, I’ll have no fear
My baby and me, cozy we will be
Away from radioactivityTwenty megatons is the size of the boom
And if they let it go, I’ll feel no doom
Let the cats run about, helter-skelter
I’m gonna, live, live, live in my fallout shelterI’m not scared
I’m prepared
I’ll be sparedTwenty megatons is the size of the boom
And if they let it go, I’ll feel no doom
Let the cats run about, helter-skelter
I’m gonna live, live, live in my fallout shelterSo if you want to be full of confidence
Get survival jazz and civil defense
You’ll live like a king in your fallout pad
‘Till the all clear sounds on CONELRAD (the civil defense radio station)
Dial six-four-o, twelve-four-o–CONELRAD
Another nuclear fallout song describing post-apocalyptic life in a shelter after the bomb is “A Letter from the Shelter,”sung by Planet P Project. (https://youtu.be/O6Nfbk_hLsE)
Well we all go down
To our caverns underground
And in our backyard caves
We’d hear the sirens soundAnd we took it very well
When then black rains fell
When the dust came down around us
We were safe and soundIt was baby needs shoes
The PTA and barbeques
And it was two-handed touch
Out on the white house lawnAnd we were nobody’s fools
Fillin’ in the swimming pools
We poured concrete and steel
When the neighbors had goneNow we all live here together
Yes we all live here as one
Now we all share the comforts of a hole in the ground
And we all remember livin’ in the sunHere in the shelter
We heard nuclear freeze
We heard first-strike strategies
We heard how to pay the taxmanWhen the big one falls
We heard good guys and bad guys
We heard little lies and big lies
About who comes out the winnersAnd it’s not that bad at all
When a madman gets a gun
He’s gonna point it at someone
If it’s up in Texas towerOr over there across the pond
And if you step on his pride
Or if he hurts somewhere inside
He might let one flyWhen his nerves are gone
Now we all live here together
Yes we all live here as one
Now we all share the comforts of a hole in the groundAnd we all remember livin’ in the sun
Here in the shelter
Bob Dylan wrote “Let me Die in My Footsteps” (1963) in reaction to what he thought was the cynical manipulation of the people by the government’s continuous discussion of the nuclear threat and the need for safety in fallout shelters. His song says that he was not going to let the government manipulate him and build a fallout shelter; he was going to die his own way. (David Pichaske, “Song of the North Country: A Midwest Framework to the Songs of Bob Dylan”, Bloomsburg Pub. Co., pp. 44-46.). (https://youtu.be/kBkwU-Cec2k)
I will not go down under the ground
’Cause somebody tells me that death’s comin’ ’round
An’ I will not carry myself down to die
When I go to my grave my head will be high
Let me die in my footsteps
Before I go down under the groundThere’s been rumors of war and wars that have been
The meaning of life has been lost in the wind
And some people thinkin’ that the end is close by
’Stead of learnin’ to live they are learnin’ to die
Let me die in my footsteps
Before I go down under the groundI don’t know if I’m smart but I think I can see
When someone is pullin’ the wool over me
And if this war comes and death’s all around
Let me die on this land ’fore I die underground
Let me die in my footsteps
Before I go down under the groundThere’s always been people that have to cause fear
They’ve been talking of the war now for many long years
I have read all their statements and I’ve not said a word
But now Lawd God, let my poor voice be heard
Let me die in my footsteps
Before I go down under the groundIf I had rubies and riches and crowns
I’d buy the whole world and change things around
I’d throw all the guns and the tanks in the sea
For they are mistakes of a past history
Let me die in my footsteps
Before I go down under the groundLet me drink from the waters where the mountain streams flood
Let the smell of wildflowers flow free through my blood
Let me sleep in your meadows with the green grassy leaves
Let me walk down the highway with my brother in peace
Let me die in my footsteps
Before I go down under the groundGo out in your country where the land meets the sun
See the craters and the canyons where the waterfalls run
Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, Idaho
Let every state in this union seep down deep in your souls
And you’ll die in your footsteps
Before you go down under the ground
The fear of atomic warfare produced a great number of songs reflecting the perilous times. Some of the songs addressed the possibility of a third world war, while others dealt with aspects of the atomic bomb. One of the first such songs, written months after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was “The Talking Atomic Blues” a/k/a “Old Man Atom,” sung by Sam Hinton (https://youtu.be/BU3Njv640Nw) written by Vern Partlow (1945). This song looks at the Bomb as a problem to be solved rather than a thing to be celebrated, as some jingoistic segments of society viewed it. (Routledge History, p. 100.) Six different versions of the song found their way on the hits lists, recorded by such performers as The Sons of the Pioneers. (N. Cohen, pp. 84-85.)
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Alamogordo, Bikini
I’m gonna preach you all a sermon
About Old Man Atom,
I don’t mean the Adam in the Bible datum
I don’t mean the Adam that Mother Eve matedI mean that thing that science liberated
The thing that Einstein says he’s scared of
And when Einstein’s scared
Brother, I’m scaredIf you’re scared of the a-bomb, here’s what’s you gotta do
You gotta gather all the people in the world with you
Cause if you don’t get together and do it
Well, first thing you know I’m gonna blow this world plum tooHiroshima, Nagasaki, Alamogordo, Bikini
Now life used to be such a simple joy
the cyclotron was just a super toy
And folks got born, they’d work and marry
And “atom” was a word in the dictionary
And then it happenedThe science boys, from every clime
They all pitched in with overtime
And before they knew it
The thing was doneAnd they’d hitched up the power of the gol-dern Sun
And put a harness on Old Sol
Splittin’ atoms
While the diplomats was splittin’ hairsHiroshima, Nagasaki, Alamogordo, Bikini
But the atom’s international in spite of hysteria
Flourishes in Utah as well as Siberia
And whether you’re a black, white, red or brown
The question is this, when you boil it down
To be or not to be, that’s the questionThe answer to it all ain’t military datum
Like who gets there firstest with the mostest atoms
No, the people of the world must decide their fate
They gotta get together or disintegrateWe hold this truth to be self-evident
That all men may be cremated equalHiroshima, Nagasaki, Alamogordo, Bikini
Yes, it’s up to the people
Cause the atoms don’t care
You can’t fence him in, I’m just like air
I don’t give a hoot about any politics
Or who got what into whichever fixAll he wants to do is sit around
And have his nucleus bombarded by neutronsNow the moral is this, just as plain as day
That Old Man Atom is here to stay
He’s gonna stick around and that’s for true
But, ah, my dearly beloved, are we?So listen folks, here is my thesis
Peace in the world or the world in piecesHiroshima, Nagasaki, Alamogordo, Bikini
However, the humorous lyrics met with dramatic negative responses from conservative right-wing elements. They characterized it as a pro-communist song. “As the cold war developed, speaking out for peace came to be viewed as pro-Soviet…” (Routledge, “Country, Folk and Atomic Protest Music,”; Cline and Weiner, p. 101.) The song was blacklisted in August 1950 by the Joint Committee against Communism. (Id. at p. 100.) Record companies withdrew it from distribution. According to the Saturday Evening Post: “A recording company withdraws platters of a song called ‘Old Man Atom’, apparently on the theory that people have become so hysterical that they are demanding a cheery attitude toward destruction.” (N. Cohen, p. 85.)
And, according to the song’s writer, “Those who protested against the song’s issuance on records insisted that it parroted the Communist line on peace and reflected the propaganda for the Stockholm ‘peace position’….[But] [i]t was written five years ago, long before any of these peace offensives.’” (New York Times, 9/1/50.)
“Atomic Sermon,” sung by Billy Hughes and his Rhythm Buckeroos (1953), preaches an anti-technology ideology from the first person perspective of a worried bumpkin who, in the tune’s refrain, pleads his case against “scientists.” The song’s narrator reflects the age-old complaint that science and technology move too fast and go “too far.” The real message of the song seems to be that despite occasional positive contributions from science, the one constant in this chaotic world is the Almighty and, as the preacher succinctly puts it, “Instead of us tryin’ to get up to Mars / We better get down on our knees!” (https://youtu.be/rb63FWL6R3k)
Then every Sunday mornin’, and the preacher gave his warnin’
Said you’d better get down and pray
You better listen to me mister, and you listen sister
We’re gettin’ close to that great day
You better listen to the teachin’ of the Good Book I’m preachin’
Said that men would fly like birds
But brother do you hear me, these things scare me
I don’t know how to put it in wordsYou better stop them scientists from re-searchin’
‘Cause they done gone too far
They got these boys flyin’ faster than sound
And the whole world’s in a war
Man that a-tomic energy sure scares me
‘Cause if it will do what they claim
You better start thinkin’ ‘bout savin’ your soul
Or Sam Johnson ain’t my name!Just a plain bomb is bad but that A-bomb is worse
And they done named that H-bomb well
Thousand times stronger than that A-bomb is
And it’s gonna blow us all to – kingdom come!
Now I’m not tryin’ to scare you, I’m just statin’ facts
They said they’d build man-made stars
But that’s a job I’m gonna leave to the Lord
‘N I ain’t got no business on MarsYou better stop them scientists from re-searchin’
‘Cause they done gone too far
They got these boys flyin’ faster than sound
They got the whole world in a war
Man that a-tomic energy sure scares me
‘Cause if it will do what they claim
You better start thinkin’ ‘bout savin’ your soul
Or Sam Johnson ain’t my name!Now I’m thankful for the drugs that kills the bugs,
The mosquitos, and the mice and the fleas
Instead of us tryin’ to get up to Mars
We better get down on our knees!
And thank the good Lord for the world we have
And in closin’ I got this to say
If God intended we should go to Mars
Why’d He put it so far away?You better stop them scientists from re-searchin’
‘Cause they done gone too far
They got these boys flyin’ faster than sound
They got the whole world in a war
Man that a-tomic energy sure scares me
‘Cause if it will do what they claim
You better start thinkin’ ‘bout savin’ your soul
Or Sam Johnson ain’t my name!
You think I’m kiddin”?
Sam Johnson ain’t my name!
Ewan MacColl, a leftist British singer-songwriter and thus the references to English places and politics, also wrote a “ban the bomb” song called “That Bomb Has Got To Go” (1959). In this song Seeger and MacColl describe the feelings and relate the events surrounding the times of the 1960’s when many nations were arming themselves for war and they warn of the dangers of using all bombs(including nuclear bombs)as weapons. The main points of the song tell about the size of the bomb and the number of people one bomb can kill. It tells of the hopes of old folk, children at school, and the newly-born Prince, all of whom have a plan to march to Trafalgar Square, London to protest ‘That Bomb Has Got to Go!’ The purpose of the song is to encourage the audience to take action and to attend the protest march which ends in the gathering of protestors at Trafalgar Square, London, where the politicians, the Queen, the Prime Minister would notice them and be forced to re-think their Defense Policies. This song is recorded on the album “That Bomb Has Got to Go,” by Ewan MacColl and Peggy Seeger; London Youth Choir Songs Against the Bomb, Topic 12001, 1960.
(looking for audio)
We’re marching on Trafalgar Square, Oh yes, oh!
Today we’re marching to declare that bomb has got to go!That bomb it weighs a ton or so;
Can kill a million at one go.The old folks and the kids at school;
They all repeat this golden rule.I asked my girl to marry me;
She said, Of course, if you’ll agree that bomb has got to goI had a dream the other night;
I dreamed the Tories saw the light.MacMillan spoke in Parliament;
Let’s stop this damned rearmament.Fall-out here and fall-out there;
And strontium 90 everywhere.This overcrowded world is small;
But it’s better than no world at all.Oh dropping bombs is all the rage;
But I’d rather live to a ripe old age.The Prince was born the other day;
The very first words I heard him sayAshes to ashes and dust to dust;
If the Friedman bomb doesn’t get you then the fall-out must..
“H-Bomb’s Thunder,” sung by Standpunkt (https://youtu.be/bZroIA–wxc) was written by John Brunner (1958) and was “an anthem for protestors of nuclear testing.” (Friedman, p. 102.)
Don’t you hear the H-bomb’s thunder
Echo like the crack of doom?
While they rend the skies asunder
Fall-out makes the earth a tomb
Do you want your homes to tumble
Rise in smoke towards the sky?
Will you let your cities crumble
Will you see your children die?Chorus:
Men and women, stand together
Do not heed the men of war
Make your minds up now or never
Ban the bomb for evermoreTell the leaders of the nations
Make the whole wide world take heed
Poison from the radiations
Strikes at every race and creed
Must you put mankind in danger
Murder folk in distant lands?
Will you bring death to a stranger
Have his blood upon your hands?Shall we lay the world in ruin?
Only you can make the choice
Stop and think of what you’re doing
Join the march and raise your voice
Time is short; we must be speedy
We can see the hungry filled
House the homeless, help the needy
Shall we blast, or shall we build?
A somewhat perverse, comical look at the atomic bomb, “Crawl Out through the Fallout,” was written and sung Sheldon Allman. Perhaps this is a reflection of the public lack of sophistication relating to the issue. (https://youtu.be/8XPzICHxXoQ)
Crawl out through the fallout, baby
when they drop that bomb
Crawl out through the fallout
With the greatest of aplomb
When your white count’s getting higher
Hurry don’t delay
I’ll hold you close and kiss those
Radiation burns awayCrawl out through the fallout, baby
To my loving arms
Through the rain of Strontium 90
Think about your hero
When you’re at Ground Zero
And crawl out through the fallout back to meCrawl out through the fallout, baby,
You know what I mean
Crawl out through the fallout
‘Cause they said this bomb was clean
If you cannot find the way
Just listen for my song
I’ll love you all your life
Although that may not be too longCrawl out through the fallout, baby
To my loving arms
While those ICBMs keep us free
When you hear me call out
Baby, kick the wall out
And crawl out the fallout back to meCause you’ll be the only girl in the world for me
Why don’t you crawl out through the fallout back to me
Why don’t you crawl out through the fallout back to me
Why don’t you crawl out through the fallout back to me
On the more serious side, “Morning Dew,” written and sung by Bonnie Dobson (1961), is a description of human issues affecting life after a nuclear holocaust. The song depicted a conversation between the last man and woman post apocalypse, one trying to comfort the other knowing that there is nothing left. (Routledge History, Cline-Werner essaay, p. 101.)
(https://youtu.be/aawu-kPl5p8)
Take me for a walk in the morning dew, my honey.
Take me for a walk me in the morning dew, my love.
You can’t go walking in the morning dew today.
You can’t go walking in the morning dew today.But listen! I hear a man moaning, “Lord.”
I know I hear a man moaning, “Lord.”
You didn’t hear a man moan at all.
You didn’t hear a man moan at all.But I know I hear my baby crying, “Mama!”
Yes, I know I hear my baby crying, Mama!”
You’ll never hear your baby cry again.
You’ll never hear your baby cry again.
Oh, where have all the people gone?
Won’t you tell me where have all the people gone?
Don’t you worry about the people anymore.
Don’t you worry about the people anymore.Take me for a walk in the morning dew, my honey.
Take me for a walk me in the morning dew, my love.
You can’t go walking in the morning dew today.
You can’t go walking in the morning dew today.
You can’t go walking in the morning dew today.
“Come Away Melinda,” written by Fred Hellerman and Fran Minkoff (1963), tells about “…. a conversation between mother and daughter in which the mother answers [her child’s questions with the] refrain, “the answer lies in yesterday, before we had the war.” (Routledge History, Cline-Werner essay, p. 101.) It’s performed by Judy Collins here: https://youtu.be/Its_iH1pkUU.
“Mommy, mommy, come and look and see what I have found
A little way away from here while digging in the ground.”
“Come away, Melinda. Come in and close the door.
It’s nothing but a picture book they had before the war.”“Mommy, mommy, come and see. Oh, mommy, come and look.
There’s four or five Melinda girls inside this picture book.”
“Come away, Melinda. Come in and close the door.
There were lots of little girls like you before they had the war.”“Mommy, mommy, come and see. Oh, mommy, hurry do.
There’s someone grown up and tall who doesn’t look like you.”
“Come away, Melinda. Come in and close the door.
Your father was a man like that before they had the war.”“Mommy, mommy, come and see. Such things I’ve never seen.
There’s happy faces all around and all the ground is green.”
“Come away, Melinda. Come in and close the door.
That’s just the way it used to be before they had the war.”“Mommy, mommy come and see and tell me if you can,
Why can’t it be the way it was before the war began?”
“Come away, Melinda. Come in and close the door.
The answer lies in yesterday before they had the war.”
“What Have They Done to the Rain?”, a song about the environmental impact of nuclear fallout, was written and performed by Malvina Reynolds (1962). (https://youtu.be/DramVG4AL2c) It was also performed by Joan Baez at https://youtu.be/PhbjrPrBGe4 . Ms. Baez called it the “gentlest protest song I know. It does not protest gently, but it sounds gentle.”
Just a little boy standing in the rain
The gentle rain that falls for years
And the grass is gone, the boy disappears
And rain keeps falling like helpless tears
And what have they done to the rainJust a little breeze out of the sky
The leaves (nod their heads/ pat their hands) as the breeze blows by
Just a little breeze with some smoke in its eye
What have they done to the rainJust a little boy standing in the rain
The gentle rain that falls for years
And the grass is gone, the boy disappears
And rain keeps falling like helpless tears
And what have they done to the rain
What have they done to the rain
In “Talking World War III Blues,” written and sung by Bob Dylan (1963) (https://youtu.be/wgXfvCNb6VQ), Dylan imagines the world after the next world war, a nuclear exchange.
Some time ago a crazy dream came to me
I dreamt I was walkin’ into World War Three
I went to the doctor the very next day
To see what kinda words he could say
He said it was a bad dream
I wouldn’t worry ’bout it none, though
They were my own dreams and they’re only in my headI said, “Hold it, Doc, a World War passed through my brain”
He said, “Nurse, get your pad, this boy’s insane”
He grabbed my arm, I said, “Ouch!”
As I landed on the psychiatric couch
He said, “Tell me about it”Well, the whole thing started at 3 o’clock fast
It was all over by quarter past
I was down in the sewer with some little lover
When I peeked out from a manhole cover
Wondering who turned the lights on usWell, I got up and walked around
And up and down the lonesome town
I stood a-wondering which way to go
I lit a cigarette on a parking meter and walked on down the road
It was a normal dayWell, I rung the fallout shelter bell
And I leaned my head and I gave a yell
“Give me a string bean, I’m a hungry man”
A shotgun fired and away I ran
I don’t blame them too much though, he didn’t know meDown at the corner by a hot-dog stand
I seen a man
I said, “Howdy friend, I guess there’s just us two”
He screamed a bit and away he flew
Thought I was a CommunistWell, I spied a girl and before she could leave
“Let’s go and play Adam and Eve”
I took her by the hand and my heart it was thumpin’
When she said, “Hey man, you crazy or sumpin’
You see what happened last time they started”Well, I seen a Cadillac window uptown
And there was nobody aroun’
I got into the driver’s seat
And I drove down 42nd Street
In my Cadillac. Good car to drive after a warWell, I remember seein’ some ad
So I turned on my CONELRAD [civil defense radio station]
But I didn’t pay my Con Ed bill
So the radio didn’t work so well
Turned on my record player—
It was Rock-a-day Johnny singin’, “Tell Your Ma, Tell Your Pa
Our Love’s A-gonna Grow Ooh-wah, Ooh-wah”I was feelin’ kinda lonesome and blue
I needed somebody to talk to
So I called up the operator of time
Just to hear a voice of some kind
“When you hear the beep it will be three o’clock”
She said that for over an hour
And I hung upWell, the doctor interrupted me just about then
Sayin’, “Hey I’ve been havin’ the same old dreams
But mine was a little different you see
I dreamt that the only person left after the war was me
I didn’t see you around”Well, now time passed and now it seems
Everybody’s having them dreams
Everybody sees themselves
Walkin’ around with no one else
Half of the people can be part right all of the time
Some of the people can be all right part of the time
But all of the people can’t be all right all of the time
I think Abraham Lincoln said that
“I’ll let you be in my dream if I can be in yours”
I said that