Songs about dystopia

The Rolling Stones recorded 'Gimme Shelter' in 1969, and performed it live at the disastrous Altamont festival on December 6th 1969. The song was appropriate. It was literally like an official ending to the era of peace and love. There was a murder at Altamont, at least three accidental deaths, and a lot of property damage. Gimme Shelter has a spooky vibe, with lyrics about a gathering storm, and war, rape, and murder.

The hippies kept the flower power alive somewhat, but while still in grade school, my buddies and I abandoned it for the intense, angry power of bands like Black Sabbath. In the fall of 1970, Sabbath released 'Paranoid', that featured the lyrics:
Make a joke and I will sigh and you will laugh and I will cry. Happiness I cannot feel and love to me is so unreal.
And so as you hear these words telling you now of my state. I tell you to enjoy life I wish I could but it's too late

Over the years, there have been some really dark songs about bleakness and dystopia. Sometimes you just get in that mood, eh? Here's a few favorites. Post some of yours.

'Transmission', by Joy Division

We could go on as though nothing was wrong
And hide from the days, to remain all alone
Staying in the same place, staring all the time
Touching from a distance, further all the time



'That's When I Reach For My Revolver', by Catherine Wheel
(originally by Mission of Burma. The Catherine Wheel cover is fantastic)

Once I had my heroes, once I had my dreams
But all of that is changed now, it gets twisted inside out
The truth is not that comfortable, no




'Wasteland', by The Jam

And when or if the sun shines, lighting our once beautiful features
We'll smile, but only for seconds
For to be caught smiling is to acknowledge life
A brave but useless show of compassion
And that is forbidden in this drab and colorless world

RUSH - "Red Barchetta"

Lyrics

My uncle has a country place
No one knows about
He says it used to be a farm
Before the "Motor Law"
And on Sundays I elude the eyes
And hop the turbine freight
To far outside the wire
Where my white-haired uncle waits
Jump to the ground
As the turbo slows to cross the borderline
Run like the wind
As excitement shivers up and down my spine
Down in his barn
My uncle preserved for me an old machine
For 50 odd years
To keep it as new has been his dearest dream
I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car
A brilliant red Barchetta
From a better vanished time
We fire up the willing engine
Responding with a roar
Tires spitting gravel
I commit my weekly crime
Wind in my hair
Shifting and drifting
Mechanical music
Adrenaline surge
Well-weathered leather
Hot metal and oil
The scented country air
Sunlight on chrome
The blur of the landscape
Every nerve aware
Suddenly ahead of me
Across the mountainside
A gleaming alloy air car
Shoots towards me, two lanes wide
I spin around with shrieking tires
To run the deadly race
Go screaming through the valley
As another joins the chase
Drive like the wind
Straining the limits of machine and man
Laughing out loud with fear and hope
I've got a desperate plan
At the one-lane bridge
I leave the giants stranded at the riverside
Race back to the farm
To dream with my uncle at the fireside

a reply to: ColeYounger

During a time of Peace and Love, The Doors remained a dark counter to a lot of these themes.

One of my favorite songs came out in 1967, When The Music's Over



Could be very powerful live, especially in their early days.

End Bit

What have they done to the earth?
What have they done to our fair sister?
Ravaged and plundered and ripped her and bit her
Stuck her with knives in the side of the dawn
And tied her with fences and dragged her down

I hear a very gentle sound
With your ear down to the ground
We want the world and we want it
We want the world and we want it
Now
Now?
Now!

Persian night babe
See the light, babe
Save us
Jesus
Save us

a reply to: ColeYounger

I was at that concert at Altamont. Spent the night outside the fence, it was quite a party. The next morning the crowd was so large that half an hour before the gate was to open, the pressure of the crowd pushed it down and the mob surged in. The crowd was so tightly packed there was no choice but to just move with it.

Unlike most around us who rushed forward to get down close to the stage, a few of us took note of what was going on around us and hung back, on the fringe as approx. 300,000 people streamed past us. We knew this was not going to be good.

The Flower Power scene continued to be promoted by the media well into the 70s, though many of those who had frequented the Haight from the mid sixties on, knew it was all just a new form of pop culture being pushed on youth from across the nation.

My first ''doom'' song was of course ''Eve of Destrution'' by Barry McGuire, but I guess my sense of dystopia was and still is best summed up by The Alan Parson's Project in 1982 with ''Children of the Moon''



Pay no attention to the writing on the wall
The words seem empty, 'cause there's nothing there at all
We let the wise men beat the drums too soon
We were just children of the moon
No one to turn to
Nowhere to run to even if we could
Too late to save us, but try to understand
The seas were empty, there was hunger in the land
We let the blind man lead the way too long
Easy to see where we went wrong
Nothing to live for
Nothing to die for
We're lost in the middle of a hopeless world
Lost in the middle of a hopeless world
Children, children of the moon
Watch the world go by
Children, children of the moon
Are hiding from the sun and the sky
Children, children of the moon
Watch it all go by
Children, children of the moon
Are blinded by the light in their eyes
No one to turn to
Nowhere to run to even if we could
Follow the pilgrim to the temple of the dawn
The altar's empty and the sacrifice is gone
We let the madmen write the golden rules
We were no more than mortal fools
Nothing to live for
Nothing to die for
We're lost in the middle of a hopeless world
Lost in the middle of a hopeless world
Children, children of the moon
Watch the world go by
Children, children of the moon
Hiding from the sky

So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish...

Shinedown - Sound Of Madness

Megadeth - Lying In State

There are many but there is something about silence for some reason. I will text you on this neon box about it.

Humanity's a failed experiment
walking the path to extinction
spinning its wheels endlessly
grease them with oil
and uranium

Humanitiy's a failed experiment
walking the path to extinction

The earth will shake and the waters will rise
the elements reclaim what was taken
what was taken

The skyline is set ablaze
with regret
ashes cover a falling
silhouette
The city will reap what it's sewn
and ignite
watching as the city burns
(tonight)

Blindly consuming mass manufactured faith
mankind is a festering parasite

Blindly consuming mass manufactured faith
mankind is a festering parasite
relentlessly draining its host dry
nailing belief to a cross of genocide

The elements reclaim what was taken
what was taken

The skyline is set ablaze
with regret
ashes cover a falling
silhouette
The city will reap what its sewn
and ignite
watching as the city burns
Tonight

Only after the last tree's cut
and the last river poisoned
only after the last fish is caught
will you find that money cannot be eaten

When everything becomes irrelevant
When the sky tears open
fire rains down, fire rains down
the 4th world comes to an end
push the button, light the match
feel the fault lines detach
crosshairs in the evening light
I sit and watch the city burn
Tonight

The city burns tonight

Uniform printout reads end of line
Protect code intact leaves little time
Erratic surveys, free thinking not allowed
My hands shake, my push buttons silence
The outside crowd
One world government has outlawed war among nations
Now social control requires population termination
Have we come too far
To turn around
Does emotion hold the key
Is logic just a synonym for
This savagery, disguised in
Forgotten lost memory
Microchip logic
Have we no more thought
"Is this wrong" I enter
Answers sought
Punch, punch, punch, transfer this data
Into code. Wide eyes watch my
Number 156 is shown
Created from past life to perform
Illicit function, I fail this conscious
Madness I man/machine imperfection
Have we come too far
To turn around
Does emotion hold the key
Is logic just a synonym for
This savagery, disguised in
Forgotten lost memory
End of line

My chains are paper thin, and they're welded with ink
Sealed inside a legal trap, so tight blood don't leak
A contract with the devil for a life of disdain
See me in the limelight, an indentured slave

I blame myself

God, help me pour this gas on me
I need to drown in flames to be free
Help me pour this gas on me
Help me pour this gas on me

God help me pour this gas on me [x4]

Choke another product for the mass to consume
The flocks of mindless sheep that have been corporately groomed
Ignorance through apathy like drones in the hive
A slave on the prayer wheel in conformed disguise

I blame myself

God, help me pour this gas on me
I need to drown in flames to be free
Help me pour this gas on me
Help me pour this gas on me

I sold my soul [x11]

God, help me pour this gas on me
I need to drown in flames to be free
Help me pour this gas on me
Help me pour, this gas on me

God help me pour this gas on me [x4]

There are so many dystopian songs in heavy music, I loved this band, only 1 album, whole album was dystopian

Damn The Machine..song The Mission.

Through these halls, a brand new invention calls
The reviews rave, the people we'll save, what a
weapon
We'll sell them fast now, we'll push them fast by
We'll bribe the E.P.A.
The owners sip to it, what a weapon

They'll breathe from my bottles, I put a patent on time
I'm blind to the world's decline

Freedom is paved
Freedom enjoy
Freedom is paved
We found a way

You got yours and you got mine
I'll fight you till the end of time
What did we mean to learn?
A page we should have never turned

Sad how science leads the way
Takes us to a darker age
Invention can't be done
This mission can be won

Science won't defeat my final word, my word

Through these halls, a brand new invention calls
The reviews rave, the people we'll save, what a
weapon
We'll sell them fast now, we'll push them fast by
We'll bribe the E.P.A.
The owners sip to it, what a weapon

Freedom is paved
Freedom enjoy
Freedom is paved
We found a way

One of us will join the line
Takes us to a finer time
Invention can't be done
This mission can be won

Sad how science leads the way
Takes us to a darker age
Invention can't be done
This mission can be won

Wait, science won't defeat my final word



Song..Lonesome God

Media paints a perfect view
Media sends their filtered truth
From far below the chosen parallel
Safely tucked away

Warfare to defend his empire
Defend murder for hire
Camera sighs, perverted eyes to the wall

I'm amazed at history's page
Writes me hollow, writes me off
Say save the people, freedom is choice
And call onto force

This is my only world
I can't let you bring me down
Yours is a lonely world
I can't let you beat me down

They'll follow the lonesome god
Leads them astray
They'll follow the mirrored world
The call of fame

Media paints a perfect view
Media sends their filtered truth
Camera sighs, perverted eyes, to crawl onto board

This is my only world
I can't let you bring me down
Yours is a lonely world
I can't let you beat me down

They'll follow the lonesome god
Leads them astray
They'll follow the mirrored world
The call of fame
They'll follow the lonesome god
Leads them astray...

a reply to: ColeYounger





This town (town) is coming like a ghost town
All the clubs have been closed down
This place (town) is coming like a ghost town
Bands won't play no more
Too much fighting on the dance floor
Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?
We danced and sang, and the music played in a de boomtown
This town (town) is coming like a ghost town
Why must the youth fight against themselves?
Government leaving the youth on the shelf
This place (town) is coming like a ghost town
No job to be found in this country
Can't go on no more
The people getting angry
This town is coming like a ghost town
This town is coming like a ghost town
This town is coming like a ghost town
This town is coming like a ghost town

I didn't have a clue that the song by Modern English called I melt with you was about two lovers when the city was nuked.. I was actually about 3-4 days younger than I am now when I found out.

Two dystopian albums are Operation Mindcrime by Queensryche, and I always thought side one of 2112 by Rush was a dystopian theme, and considering that the Overture was based on the writing of Ayn Rand, I think that was pretty accurate. The priests control everything that the people do. They repress anything that would be considered frivolous or insurrectionist.

I know there's a difference between dystopian and nuclear war songs, but the hard/heavy bands have the edge in telling the stories of both, in my opinion. It's out there, no innuendo, just how awful the whole thing would be in reality.

I admit it. I'm very interested in Nuclear war fiction, artwork, videogames, etc. I don't know if it's because I was growing up while there was an incredibly large chance that the world might blow bup at any given moment, because of all of the d**k swinging, nuclear capable country leaders, or what. I'd still hate for it to happen. I like cobras too, but I don't want to have one for a pet, or be close to one unless it's behind three feet of glass.

As a guy who had a career in computers/internet/security, I'm absolutely terrified of some idiot loosing AI on us. I think that's for another conversation though..

The Doors/Morrison had some of the best lyrics and deep, yes dark vibe of the 60s band. Would have liked to see what Morrison would have done with a Bob Dylan long career. a reply to: AnnihilateThis

This is a great thread introducing me to some new songs, thanks. a reply to: ColeYounger

a reply to: metallion

I didn't have a clue that the song by Modern English called I melt with you was about two lovers when the city was nuked.. I was actually about 3-4 days younger than I am now when I found out.

That reminds me of Ultravox, Dancing With Tears In My Eye..the video was definitely about nuclear war, the end

Dancing with tears in my eyes
Weeping for the memory of a life gone by
Dancing with tears in my eyes
Living out a memory of a love that died
It's five and I'm driving home again
It's hard to believe that it's my last time
The man on the wireless cries again
It's over, it's over
Dancing with tears in my eyes
Weeping for the memory of a life gone by
Dancing with tears in my eyes
Living out a memory of a love that died
It's late and I'm with my love alone
We drink to forget the coming storm
We love to the sound of our favourite song
Over and over
Dancing with tears in my eyes
Living out a memory of a love that died
It's time and we're in each other's arms
It's time but I don't think we really care
Dancing with tears in my eyes
Weeping for the memory of a life gone by
Dancing with tears in my eyes
Weeping for the memory of a life gone by
Dancing with tears in my eyes