Politics & Aggression
Politics involve strong words and often invoke feelings of patriotism and bravado and camaraderie as a call-to-arms, name calling and insults are also not uncommon. Politics also polarise the populace, inspiring people to write songs about things they strongly feel for, be it with or against their government, or even against other artists in a sort of musical debate, or even just to make fun of events to perhaps spark some joy. From fervent support, disappointment and distrust to advice and recommendations, songs are sung.
An interesting trend can be seen, how in the early age of atomic weapons (1950s-1960s) there’s alot of support and bravado from various artists, but later on, probably due to fatigue from the various wars (korean, vietnam, cold wars) the rise of protest songs that talk about total annihilation and and persuasion against the use of atomic weapons.
Advice to Joe
Sang by Roy Acuff, “Advice to Joe” comes right around the start of the stalemate of the Korean War in 1951, with both sides digging in along the 38th parallel and going nowhere and truce talks beginning (Boose, 2000). This date also marks the rise in public awareness of the possibility of nuclear war. The US government, anticipating a potential war with the USSR, published and distributed many informative pamphlets educating the public on nuclear weapons, and how they should prepare themselves for an attack.(P. Scott et al. 2014)
The song is written as a sort of “hate mail” to “Joe” Stalin. It first mentions how the communists wish to destroy “us all” using “atomic ammunition” and enslave everyone as part of communism, echoing a common thought among americans during the cold war era of communists being the evil enemy. It goes on to threaten total annihilation of Moscow in a mass nuclear strike by the US, and taunts stalin, asking if he has a place to hide when the (nuclear) boms start falling.
Triumphantly it states that “Uncle Sam”, the US, will survive whatever atomic war occurs, and that Stalin would be sent to hell along with all his loved ones, before going to on berate Stalin on how even though the US helped the USSR when they were losing the battle against Germany and Italy, possibly in reference to the soviet lend-lease program (U.S. Mission Russia, 2020), the USSR now seeks to destroy the USA.
Advice to Joe
Roy Acuff
Stalin Kicked the Bucket
Ray Anderson
Stalin Kicked the Bucket
Released during the year Joseph Stalin died of a stroke and hemorrhage in the brain in 1953 (U.S.S.R. COUNCIL OF MINISTERS 1953), this song gloats over his death, apparently happy that Stalin, the then leader of the Soviet Union and USA “Public Enemy” number one, will no-longer worry them. It calls Stalin the fireman of the devil’s train, effectively a replacement of the devil, such that the devil can now retire when he reaches hell.
Get That Communist Joe
Published the same year the Communist Control Act of 1954 was signed by President Dwight Eisenhower (Eisenhower 1954), this song parodies a jealous man tattling out another man who has eyes on the girl he loves by reporting him as a communist to the authorities. The song was made as a parody of Joseph Mc Carthy and a satire of the distrust and suspicion of the general public of each other during the Second Red Scare(University of Virginia 2020).
Get That Communist Joe
The Kavaliers
Political Science
Written in 1972, “Political Science” is a satire song taking a comedic outlook on US foreign policy, in the song, the perspective is taken of that of the USA embodied as the person singing the song, and how every problem faced by the USA is resolved by an atomic bomb refereed to as “the big one”.
Repeatedly and rampantly “let’s drop the big one” is used as the solution to any issue, referring to the knee-jerk quick response to any problem being the nuclear option, and how the US looks to destroy anything they dont agree with. Even allies are not spared, with London and Paris getting nuked, until every city in the world is “an american one”, an apparent satire of the supremacist thinking of the US, how America sees it’s own self and policies as the correct and ultimate solution to freedom and peace. As a comedic point, only Australia is spared from nuclear destruction as they “don't want to hurt no kangaroo”.
Political Science
Randy Newman
Dawn of Correction
The Spokesmen
Dawn of Correction
Also written in 1965, “Dawn of Correction” is a response song released by The Spokemen rebutting the points made by Barry Mcguire in his song “Eve of Destruction”. Their counterpoints are that conscription ensures the safety and democracy of america, and that the country would be destroyed otherwise. It assures that the nuclear option, the “buttons to push in two mighty nations” are there to encourage negotiation rather than destruction, and would in fact dissuade conventional war, and that nobody would be crazy enough to risk annihilation. It also remarks against Barry’s cynicism, that the marches were indeed effective and increased voter registration as well highlight that such radical protest would not be possible in the USSR. It chides Barry, telling him to give constructive feedback rather than complaining and condemning while highlighting the progress the USA has made, vaccinations, agriculture reforms, the united nations and the Peace Corps. It counterstates that instead of the eve of destruction, the US is entering a new enlightened age, the dawn of correction.
Eve of Destruction
Written in 1965, “Eve of Destruction” is a protest song against the government and people of the US, focusing on the domestic problems that existed in the USA and how the US should focus on these issues rather than the issues abroad. It highlights the rage and distrust of the government the singer Barry McGuire feels, especially in face of the Vietnam war conscripting and how the draftees are too young to even vote (the draft age being 18, and the minimum voting age being 21), thus having no say in politics yet being sent off to die for their country. (Michael 2003)
The song also makes note of how ready to go to war the USA is, despite the government stance condemning it. Touching on the singer’s fears of the massive destruction a nuclear war would cause,how there’d be no escaping it is highlighted in the sentence. "If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away."
Most of all it condemns the general public of the USA, of how hypocritical they are criticising the hatred in communist countries even though there’s rampant racism in the US, referring to the futility of the Selma to Montgomery marches (The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute, 2018), how even with the success of the Gemini 4 space mission sending men into space for four days, the astronauts would return to the same racist america that they left.
The song reached #1 on the us Billboard Hot 100 chart during 1965 (Whitburn 1990), possibly reflecting the popularity of this sentiment among the populace at the time.
Eve of Destruction
Barry Mcguire
I Won't Let the Sun Go Down On Me
Nik Kershaw
I Won't Let the Sun Go Down On Me
“I won’t let the sun go down on me” is a song of protest against nuclear weapons and nuclear war in general, it first highlights that people have a need to have an enemy, such that it is “our favourite hobby, searching for an enemy”. It also voices a distrust of politicians describing them as ‘Old men in stripy trousers rule the world with plastic smiles’. The fear of the world ending is highlighted, how mother nature which has been “in existence for 300 million years” will be gone in a minute after nuclear war, “gone forever, no more tears”, and how the possibility of it happening is in the hands of both the US and the Soviets rather than just the soviets as is commonly viewed in the US then, “Forefinger on the button, is he blue, or is he red?”
It ends off encouraging people to rise up and speak and voice out their opinions before it’s too late and the “sun goes down for good”, explaining that he himself is now voicing out, because he does not want to see the end of the world, and “won't let the sun go down on me”.
Love with the Republic (共和国之恋)
Alternative name: 生死相依我苦恋着你
Composed in 1998, it was the theme song of the TV drama of the same name, which tells the story of the scientists, including nuclear scientists, in the early stages of the republic of China. The drama showed how the scientist contributed to the young republic selflessly despite the hard conditions at that time period. The song has fully revealed the deep love of the scientists to their home country, and the hard but touching story when China was developing from a weak country under the threat of superpowers owning modern army and nuclear weapons.
The song has been a regular program for ceremonies of Chinese Academy of Sciences
By supporting the song, China is also reminding people of the spirit of the scientists, hence encourage young people to contribute and build the country.
共和国之恋
Liu Weiguang(刘为光)
Russians
“Russians” by Sting comes during 1985, commonly seen as the turning point of the war when Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet Union. “Russians” is the fourth single in Sting’s album “The Dream of the Blue Turtles” that became part of the Hit top 20 in several countries including the US, Britain, France and Australia. It was originally inspired by the singer Sting seeing “sesame Street” on a russian TV satellite signal his friend managed to hijack. He was impressed by the care and attention russians gave to their children’s programs and figured that there was some humanity in the soviets, that they can’t be much different from him, if they cared so much for their children.
Based on the theme made by a russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, it mentions the reflaring up iof the cold war scare in the start of the 1980s, describing a hysteria where everyone is conditioned to respond hostilely to threats.
He disagrees with what both the soviet and american leaders are preaching, remarking Ronald Regan’s promise of protecting the people and the war being winnable as lies, as well as the societ speeches of Nikita Khrushchev saying he will bury his enemies to be rhetorical and ignorant.
Sting asks people to hace some common sense, and humanises the soviets, that despite being on the opposite side of the political fence, or conflicting ideologies, soviets are humans to, having the same biology. He remarks that the only thing that might save everyone is if the Russians also share the same fears as they(the americans) do, the fear of nuclear annihilation, and that they love their children too and will not risk total destruction. He alludes to this being true, that it was only logical
The song ends off with the ticking of a clock, as a metaphor of a sense of urgency, to hopefully encourage the need to de-escalate the rising nuclear tensions.
Russians
Sting
Chinese Navy Nuclear Submarines
(中国海军核潜艇)
This is the military song of China’s nuclear submarine army. It expresses the soldiers’ great determination of defending their home country, and fighting to protect world’s peace. In the song, there are analogies like “we are the shield of peace” and “we are born with iron bodies”. The lyric implies that the army is willing to maintain world peace by defending against threats from some countries, and their strong sense of patriotism. They are willing to fight for their home country fearlessly as if they were unbreakable like iron.
The song reveals China’s standpoint on nuclear issues: never be fearful about enemies, and always protect world peace.
中国海军核潜艇
Song and Dance Ensemble of the PLA General Political Department