Ever see Threads?
It was a film scripted by Barry Hines (of A Kestrel For A Knave/Kes) fame, about a nuclear bomb being dropped on Sheffield.
It was very good, seriously bloody scary and hugely influential on me. I saw it at school -and when I was teaching and used it I found it had lost none of its’ power on me, or those I was teaching. ‘How could anyone think nuclear weapons were a good idea?’ said the stunned students. I was actually asked not to use the film after a while, my head of department was getting nervous…
This song ‘Final Day’ is only ninety seconds long, even shorter than ‘Velocity Girl,’ but if you got any of the fear of living through the cold war, I guess you realsied you were not going to have long to reflect on nuclear annihilation:
“When the rich die last
Like the rabbits
Running from a lucky past
Full of shadow cunning
And the world lights up
For the final day
We will all be poor
Having had our say
Put a blanket up on the window pane
When the baby cries lullaby again
As the light goes out on the final day
For the people who never had a say
There is so much noise
There is too much heat
And the living floor
throws you off your feet
As the final day falls into the night
There is peace outside
in the narrow light”
Welsh band Young Marble Giants were a short-lived but awesome band and this song was covered a few years back by belle & Sebastian:
Young Marble Giants -‘Final Day.’ mp3
Belle and sebastian -‘Final Day.’ mp3
Update: Just reminded by the editor of Is This Music? of this classic: