3 Mainstream Songs From the 80s About War That Everyone Should Hear

Throughout history, countless genres have paid homage to the tradition of protesting through song. Here are a few mainstream songs from the 80s that prove that making a statement can be chic and also lead to musical success.

“Everybody Wants To Rule The World” by Tears For Fears

This one might feel like an obvious addition to the list, but it’s important to mention all the same. Tears For Fears‘ “Everybody Wants To Rule The World” was actually going to be called “Everybody Wants To Go To War” at first. The song is all about power hungry people using war as an excuse to gain more power and prestige, so, I guess both titles make sense.

“Dancing With Tears In My Eyes” by Ultravox

Midge Ure, the lead singer of Ultravox, wrote this one about a scenario presented in the Nevil Shute book On the Beach. Basically, there’s this group of people in Australia who have to deal with nuclear radiation from a certain war. In the 80s, nuclear war was an ever-present conflict, especially with the rise of the Reagan Administration. This song presents the dark realities of nuclear war for people who are on the receiving end of something like that.

“They knew it was the end, but they had time to think about how they wanted to choose their final moments”, Ure told Glide Magazine, “And that’s what ‘Dancing With Tears In My Eyes’ was about.”

“Breathing” by Kate Bush

This one also sings about nuclear war, but from a voice rarely explored in song. Bush looks at this kind of event through the eyes of an unborn child, still in his or her mother’s womb. It really paints a picture of the unseen consequences that can manifest during war.

“‘Breathing’ is about human beings killing themselves,” Bush explained in an old interview from 1985, according to Songfacts. “I think that people smoking is one of those tiny things that says a lot about human beings. I mean, I smoke and enjoy it, but we smoke, and we know it’s dangerous. Maybe there’s some kind of strange subconscious desire to damage ourselves. It would seem so if you looked back through history, wouldn’t it?”

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