The history and politics of the English protest song

1954

The Hydrogen Bomb

Tune: Original
Lyrics: Mighty Terror
Composer: Mighty Terror

The threat of nuclear war was the inspiration for many protest songs, but it was rare to hear one set to a calypso beat. Its protest is directed, first, at the very idea of war: ‘I would like to know what they are fighting for’; and then at devasting effect of the H bomb: ‘it will wipe the whole world out.’

Cause: Anti-militarist
Theme: War and Peace
Addressed to: The People
Target of Protest: War
Proposal/Solution: Disarmament