Barry McGuire — Eve of Destruction
Album: Eve of DestructionAvg rating:
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Total ratings: 64
Length: 3:30
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The eastern world it is exploding
Violence flarin', bullets loadin'
You're old enough to kill but not for votin'
You don't believe in war but whats that gun you're totin'?
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin'
But you tell me
Over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction
Don't you understand what I'm tryin' to say
Can't you feel the fears I'm feelin' today?
If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away
There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave
Take a look around you boy, it's bound to scare you boy
And you tell me
Over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction
Yeah my blood's so mad feels like coagulating
I'm sitting here just contemplatin'
I can't twist the truth it knows no regulation
Handful of senators don't pass legislation
And marches alone can't bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin'
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin'
And you tell me
Over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction
Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
You may leave here for four days in space
But when you return it's the same old place
The pounding of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead but don't leave a trace
Hate your next door neighbor but don't forget to say grace
And tell me
Over and over and over and over again my friend
You don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction
Mmm, no, no, you don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction
Violence flarin', bullets loadin'
You're old enough to kill but not for votin'
You don't believe in war but whats that gun you're totin'?
And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin'
But you tell me
Over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction
Don't you understand what I'm tryin' to say
Can't you feel the fears I'm feelin' today?
If the button is pushed, there's no runnin' away
There'll be no one to save with the world in a grave
Take a look around you boy, it's bound to scare you boy
And you tell me
Over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction
Yeah my blood's so mad feels like coagulating
I'm sitting here just contemplatin'
I can't twist the truth it knows no regulation
Handful of senators don't pass legislation
And marches alone can't bring integration
When human respect is disintegratin'
This whole crazy world is just too frustratin'
And you tell me
Over and over and over again my friend
Ah, you don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction
Think of all the hate there is in Red China
Then take a look around to Selma, Alabama
You may leave here for four days in space
But when you return it's the same old place
The pounding of the drums, the pride and disgrace
You can bury your dead but don't leave a trace
Hate your next door neighbor but don't forget to say grace
And tell me
Over and over and over and over again my friend
You don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction
Mmm, no, no, you don't believe
We're on the eve of destruction
Comments (26)add comment
One of my early socially conscious enlightened angry man songs. I heard it for the first times when I was 10 or 11, it was a blast of real life. It became an early Vietnam era antiwar rage staple.
And it's the first time I've heard it here on RP. Bravo. It's a classic.
And it's the first time I've heard it here on RP. Bravo. It's a classic.
This needs to be played. October 2023
Mideast war that is spreading.
The Ukraine.
Mideast war that is spreading.
The Ukraine.
CaptTofu wrote:
The name you give yourself tells us all we need to know about you, Captain Tofu, the clown.
When will the 1960s be over with? When will we stop viewing life through the 1960s spectacles? Come on baby boomers, time to move on.
The name you give yourself tells us all we need to know about you, Captain Tofu, the clown.
westslope wrote:
Somehow, I don't think this silly tune will change that, but it's a fun bit of nostalgia.
Bill: This would be a good time to dust this old tune off.
There are still enough nuclear weapons around to blow the planet up multiple times over.
There are still enough nuclear weapons around to blow the planet up multiple times over.
Somehow, I don't think this silly tune will change that, but it's a fun bit of nostalgia.
yes it is johnnywave! cool song
Powerful and thought provoking. A classic song
Bill: This would be a good time to dust this old tune off.
There are still enough nuclear weapons around to blow the planet up multiple times over.
There are still enough nuclear weapons around to blow the planet up multiple times over.
CaptTofu wrote:
When will the 1960s be over with? When will we stop viewing life through the 1960s spectacles? Come on baby boomers, time to move on.
Plus the further discussions below.
The 60's? This war started in 1914 and never stopped. That's why the segue from Cale/Clapton is so correct.
Didn't you know that even now, in the year 2007, we have nuclear destructive power equivalent to 6,000 WW2's ?
You ask what's the answer? The answer is as old as time. Read what Jesus says in the Bible. Many people were persecuted, tortured and put to death for their neutral stand in WW2 and other wars. And I'm not just talking about Hitler's Germany.. read a bit of US or UK or Canadian or Japanese or Australian, etc etc, history on this point. We are experiencing the "galloping" of the Red Horseman of the Apocalypse, with the results as prophesied by Jesus in Matthew ch.24 and 25. Enjoy the read. Thank God, literally, the the White Horseman (Jesus) has the situation under control.
Gave it a nine,some weeks ago I,m saving up on tens,since there is NO eleven!This recording should be listen to on a Jukebox from the original 45,then his voice would not sound so harsh.
Anyone thinking War is a good thing,must have some stocks missplaced.Anyone fighting a war over his religion,must have his mind missplaced!
This song is great and all, I definitely appreciate it and it's message and passion...
...but his voice is too rough and kinda grates on me.
Still resonates.
I got to meet him about 20 years ago, after he did a concert at a (yes, it's true) Baptist church. He had apparently become a Christian, and as I recall he had still had plenty of incisive remarks about war. Imagine that! A follower of Christ who epoused peace! He did also perform this song for the finale.
You had to have been there, this song still rings true. Semper Fi Nam 69
CaptTofu wrote:
Not necessarily.
You didn't answer my last two questions. (?)
At what point do you not fight, and what point do you? Do you always submit to a stronger power in order to be peaceful, even if it means you no longer have any freedoms? Say, if you are a Thai Buddhist and Jihadists in the south keep killing your people, beheading your monks, do you just keep trying to be peaceful (which has been being done) with the Jihadists? Why do you think there are no longer any Buddhists in Afghanistan, Hindus in Pakistan, or Zoroastrians in Persia, or why Dalai Lama has to live in Nepal?
I'm not asking this because I agree or disagree with any particular war in recent years, which there are many needless wars.
I agree that consciousness has to change, but what if a stronger force disagrees and subjects you to submit to their will? Are you advocating just do as they say, make you pay jizya and accept dhimmitude and for women, accept status of half that of a man?
Not everyone in this world thinks like western 'progressives' nor will they ever. My main question is what do you do? Maintain nonviolence to the point where you could possibly end up non-existent? I'm not asking this in a negative way. I just want to know these answers from people who make blanket statements that war is wrong.
I WANT SOME DONUTS!
I think I voted against this when it made the rounds on the LRC.... overplayed on classic rock radio in the Bay Area.
Then Bill comes on with an amazing segue from JJ Cale and Eric Clapton, and I'm all like, awesome, bring it.
Shesdifferent wrote:
If everyone shared your viewpoint, we would forever be on the eve of destruction, war, and bloodshed. A new consciousness is what's really needed, not justice.
Not necessarily.
You didn't answer my last two questions. (?)
At what point do you not fight, and what point do you? Do you always submit to a stronger power in order to be peaceful, even if it means you no longer have any freedoms? Say, if you are a Thai Buddhist and Jihadists in the south keep killing your people, beheading your monks, do you just keep trying to be peaceful (which has been being done) with the Jihadists? Why do you think there are no longer any Buddhists in Afghanistan, Hindus in Pakistan, or Zoroastrians in Persia, or why Dalai Lama has to live in Nepal?
I'm not asking this because I agree or disagree with any particular war in recent years, which there are many needless wars.
I agree that consciousness has to change, but what if a stronger force disagrees and subjects you to submit to their will? Are you advocating just do as they say, make you pay jizya and accept dhimmitude and for women, accept status of half that of a man?
Not everyone in this world thinks like western 'progressives' nor will they ever. My main question is what do you do? Maintain nonviolence to the point where you could possibly end up non-existent? I'm not asking this in a negative way. I just want to know these answers from people who make blanket statements that war is wrong.
CaptTofu wrote:
Peace is meaningless without justice.
If everyone shared your viewpoint, we would forever be on the eve of destruction, war, and bloodshed. A new conscientiousness is what's really needed, not justice.
Shesdifferent wrote:
Yeah! Who care how old this song is!! WAR IS WRONG ....still rings true today.
And you may leave for four days in space but when you return its the same old place...hate your next door neighbor but don't forget to say grace.
So, curious... what should we have done about Hitler? And should we have let the confederates secede from the union, maintaining the institution of slavery?
Peace is meaningless without justice.
CaptTofu wrote:
When will the 1960s be over with? When will we stop viewing life through the 1960s spectacles? Come on baby boomers, time to move on.
To what? And please be specific.
The 60's are over, but the need for peace is timeless.
Weird. Not one rating or comment.
When will the 1960s be over with? When will we stop viewing life through the 1960s spectacles? Come on baby boomers, time to move on.
Hearing this puts a chill down my spine.
Haven't learned a g-d thing since Viet Nam.
TJOpootertoot wrote:
It's great in it's way. A bit overwrought but points for kitch value.
Reminds me of a time when we all really cared. How's that for 'kitch'?
It's great in it's way. A bit overwrought but points for kitch value.
Yeah! Who care how old this song is!! WAR IS WRONG
When will the 1960s be over with? When will we stop viewing life through the 1960s spectacles? Come on baby boomers, time to move on.
"Come on baby boomers, time to move on," you say.
OK, is it me, or is the urgency of moving on (to better behavior and civilization) one of the very points of the whole f'ing song?
It's such exhortations to move on, and not learn some of the lessons of those years (or the '30s, or the '40s, or the '50s, or the....gee all of them), that keeps everyone stuck.
Peace and love, brother. Ringo Starr is certainly from the '60s, and is now in his 80s, but he says peace and love to people every day. Is he stuck in the 1960s? Should he move on?
Thought not.