Zombie: The Cranberries Wailing Cry to a Torn Nation

The Ukraine-Russia war reminds us of past horror stories from fractured geographies

Growing up Irish Catholic in America, in the 1970s, meant trying to sort out the middle ground of the conflict in British Northern Ireland, the Irish Republican Army (I.R.A.) and the senselessness of indiscriminate bombing campaigns.

As sympathetic, but really clueless, observers, American Irish (exclusive of Boston and New York) were too distant from the homelands to fully understand the dilemma. Despite our cultural and family surname (i.e. Maguire) ties, we kept the problem more on our radar than in our hearts.

After decades of bombings, killings, retaliation and crackdowns, in truth, there never was any middle ground. Hatred is historical and lasts a lifetime.

In 1982, the Irish rock group U2, lead by Bono, launched their War album. This album set a more political tone with hit records such as Sunday, Bloody Sunday and New Year’s Day. As the band gained further popularity in America, through the 1990s, they climbed the charts with more evocative soundtracks and European themes. Global stardom seemed to pull U2 away from The Troubles back home.

Back in Ireland, the Cranberries debuted their alternative rock sound in 1990, lead by the charismatic voice of Dolores O’Riordan. If you are unfamiliar with the band, check out one of their first two hits: Dreams and Linger.

In 1994, the Cranberries exploded with a protest primal scream. They released the album No Need to Argue with the uncharacteristic hit single Zombie, which brought critical attention to a new mass audience about the atrocities in Northern Ireland.

The Horrors of Neighbor on Neighbor Warfare

The fighting among Irish ethnonationalists and British-aligned Unionist paramilitary groups lasted nearly 30 years. As a Catholic kid, the news of this conflict was never out of mind. It was a fixture in my worldview.

Over 3,500 people died from over 10,000 bomb attacks in Ireland and England. A sobering death toll from decades of anger, anguish and vengeance.

In London, a child was killed by a bomb placed in a rubbish bin near a shopping area. The Cranberries were on a tour bus in the city during this tragedy. The violence left a mark on Delores O’Riordan, who was saddened by the collateral damage of innocent children.

Zombie pulls no punches. It hits hard. It is anthemic. It sears a scar on your psyche. It leaves you drained. Though the song is specific to Northern Ireland, its powerful universal message extends to every cruel conflict on the globe.

Diving deeper into the lyrics helps you to understand why Zombie is both easy to feel and empathize with:

Another head hangs lowly … Child is slowly taken … And the violence, caused such silence … Who are we mistaken?

Senseless killings, especially the tortured death of children, cause you to question your belief system and your cultural and tribal norms. There is nothing in war to reconcile the abuse of children caught in the fervor and manipulation of adult hostilities.

But you see, it’s not me … It’s not my family … In your head, in your head … They are fighting

Historical hatred is a cancer manifested in future generations. Submission and silence to the bigotry of the past leaves no space for peaceful resolutions and coexistence. When your mind is full of reinforced prejudices, it is easier to tilt your emotions towards war.

Coda

Protest songs are history lessons and forewarnings. Zombie certainly fits that description. It is a clarifying call to stop barbarous human suffering.

Today, we are watching Ukraine fall apart due to ethnic conflict and foreign interference. Hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians are dead. Six to eight million others are classified as refugees fleeing their homeland. An entire generation of young men and women are decimated to feed the ideology of warmongers and empire builders.

Sixty years ago, the United States involvement in Vietnam lead to over 58,000 deaths, in ten years, of promising, young American lives. The death toll in Ukraine is already a multiple of that fatal figure, in less than two years.

Ukraine is now a zombie nation. It remains to be seen how long the hatred will linger.

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