History in Music: Cold War
Start preparing your interdisciplinary unit study about music from the Cold War and World War 2 with 13 different songs from R.E.M. to Rush – and a whole lot in betweent.
Fought between 1939 to 1945, WWII involved 70 nations and resulted in around 100 million death. Only 14 countries remained neutral as the rest of the world engaged in a battle of good versus evil.
Soon after WWII ended, the Cold War began. While there were military skirmishes, the Cold War was marked by threats of annihilation as the United States, the Soviet Union, and other countries raced to create military weapons of mass destruction.
Not surprisingly, musical artists from a wide range of genres produced songs that explored the haunting war memories, as well as the hopes and fears for the future.
If you’re new to listening to music with a purpose and analyzing song lyrics, I encourage you to google “WHAT IS [song title] about” to find loads of easy-to-read reference articles that will help you explore music about the Cold War and WWII.
Looking for more History in Music? Take a look at our other curated lists:
1. Iron Maiden: Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
Read the lyrics to Brighter Than a Thousand Suns
A song of moral reckoning regarding The Manhattan Project and the people who build the atomic bombs.
2. Rush: Manhattan Project
Read the lyrics to Manhattan Project by Rush
A very different song about the Manhattan Project.
3. Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark: Enola Gay
Read the lyrics to Enola Gay by OMD
In 1945, the B-29 Enola Gay bomber dropped the first ever atomic bomb on Hiroshima Japan.
4. Slayer: Angel of Death
A thrash metal retelling about Nazi physician Josef Mengele and his horrific human experiments in the concentration camps.
5. Iron Maiden: The Longest Day
Read the lyrics to The Longest Day by Iron Maiden
A long song about June 6, 1944 and the Allied invasion of Normandy.
6. Disturbed: Never Again
Read the lyrics to Never Again by Disturbed
7. Pink Floyd: Waiting for the Worms
Read the lyrics to Waiting for the Worms by Pink Floyd
As you read through the lyrics keep in mind this song is part of the rock opera movie The Wall. Still, the song mostly deals with Nazi deathcamps.
1. REM: Exhuming McCarthy
Read the lyrics to Exhuming McCarthy by REM
You may need to do a little reading up on the Red Scare and Senator Joe McCarthy’s Congressional communist hearings for this song to make sense, but it’s all there.
2. Nena: 99 Red Balloons
Read the lyrics to 99 Red Balloons by Nena
Musings of what would have happened if balloons had been mistaken for a nuclear attack during the Cold War.
3. Ozzy Osbourne: Crazy Train
Read the lyrics to Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne
I will admit that I never realized this song was actually about the fear of living during the Cold War. Give it a listen. You may hear new depths to the lyrics.
4. Men At Work: It’s a Mistake
Read the lyrics to It’s a Mistake by Men At Work
Sung from the perspective of a junior military officer, the sung ponders the fears of heading to war during the Cold War era.
5. Scorpions: Wind of Change
Read the lyrics to Wind of Change by the Scorpions
A celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the imminent end of the Cold War.
6. Pink Floyd: Great Day for Freedom
Read the lyrics to Great Day for Freedom by Pink Floyd
Another musical retelling about the fall of the Berlin Wall.
