From American Songwriter · Kat Caudill · · 40s
Cold War Songs That History Lovers Will Love
Three Cold War songs capture nuclear anxiety and cultural tension.
In brief
Three Cold War songs capture nuclear anxiety and cultural tension. Depeche Mode's 'Two Minute Warning' and The Fixx's 'Stand Or Fall' address Cold War fears, while Billy Joel's 'Leningrad' shows cross-cultural bonds. Originally reported by American Songwriter.
Two Minute Warning by Depeche Mode
Alan Wilder wrote this song about nuclear war threats with a bouncy tune.
“It’s almost surreal, the possibility of a nuclear holocaust is so terrifying, but to actually turn it round and try to make it beautiful, and the tune is very light and bouncy, is more of a challenge than making it doomy”
Stand Or Fall by The Fixx
Cy Curnin co-wrote this song after the UK's nuclear decisions impacted young people's life expectations.
“All of a sudden, young kids weren’t thinking about what they would be doing in their sixties. They’d be thinking about what they were going to do with the last six months of their lives”
Leningrad by Billy Joel
Billy Joel wrote this song about meeting a Russian citizen named Viktor Razinov, a circus clown.
“And so my child and I came to this place / To meet him eye to eye and face to face / He made my daughter laugh, then we embraced / We never knew what friends we had until we came to Leningrad”
In short
Depeche Mode's 'Two Minute Warning' and The Fixx's 'Stand Or Fall' address Cold War fears, while Billy Joel's 'Leningrad' shows cross-cultural bonds.
