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

The article highlights three mainstream songs from the 1980s that address war and its consequences, showing how protest themes could reach a broad audience. It presents the songs as reflections on power, nuclear fear and the human costs of conflict.

Tears for Fears’ “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” was initially conceived under the title “Everybody Wants to Go to War” and criticises the pursuit of power through conflict. Midge Ure wrote Ultravox’s “Dancing with Tears in My Eyes” with the nuclear aftermath depicted in Nevil Shute’s *On the Beach* in mind. Kate Bush’s “Breathing” considers nuclear war from the perspective of an unborn child, while Bush also described it as a reflection on humanity’s self-destructive behaviour.