Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction” Lyrics Meaning
BY
AMANDA LONDON · PUBLISHED NOVEMBER 11, 2021 · UPDATED NOVEMBER 11, 2021
“Eve of Destruction” is what
we tend to generally categorize as a social commentary song. Moreover, it came out during the 1960s, the era in which such output via the American music industry was perhaps at its peak. And we already know, based on previous research, is that such was a more puritan time, when for instance songs with perceived drug or sexual references could be promptly be banned from the airwaves.
But“Eve of Destruction”, which is more politically minded, also holds the distinction of having been censored. So it must be some serious lyrics that Barry McGuire is kickin’, which we’re here to analyze today.
Now again, keep in mind that 1960s was a more sensitive time in the mainstream media, with reason that goes beyond moralistic concerns. That is to say that during that decade, the United States was perhaps under more of an internal ideological attack than at any other previous juncture in its history.
For instance, it isn’t that common to come across stories of Americans being opposed to World War II. But contrarily we know that many people, perhaps even some of our own parents, have spoken out against the
Vietnam War.
Lyrics of “Eve of Destruction”
The aforementioned sentiment is how McGuire sets this song off, by criticizing said conflict.
But he is not only doing so in terms of massive violence being waged therein. He also points out the hypocrisy, if you will, of at the time Americans being drafted into that hellish conflict at a younger age than they were allowed to legally vote.
Or put differently, perhaps you could be a young man who is against the war yet unable to vote for a politician who shares similar views. Yet you may still find yourself on the front lines, risking or even losing your life.
So yes, this definitely reads like a direct criticism of the American government, likely contributing to aforementioned banning of “Eve of Destruction”.
But on a more macrocosmic level, the vocalist is alluding to the notion of the world being in a warlike state in general,
which was definitely true as far as the 20th century is concerned. So that is why, at the end of the first verse, he also namedrops the Jordan River. Said waterbody runs through the State of Israel, i.e. one of the most volatile regions of contemporary history.
Indeed if Barry had gone about just namedropping the Middle East in general, when most of us hear mention of that locality one of the first things that pops in many of our minds is incessant violence anyway. And that was even true back in the 1960s. But it has been concluded that he was is referring to a particular battle that was going at that time of this song’s issuance, between the Arabs and Israelis of course, called The War over Water.
Song’s Title (“Eve of Destruction”)
In the chorus that follows the first verse, the vocalist reveals the meaning of the title. And it is symbolic of his belief that our “destruction” is imminent. And it does not necessarily read as if he believes in the prophesied end of the world per se.
Rather, delving into the subsequent second verse, his fears are a lot of more earth-based. Actually he is more concerned with the prospect of nuclear war for instance and how such could theoretically be so easy to initiate. And keep in mind that this song came out just two short decades after World War II, i.e. history’s only usage of atomic bombs, via the United States of America, in combat.
Civil Rights Issues
But Barry’s concern for mankind isn’t only in terms of the possibility of instant mass destruction.
With this once again being the 1960s, he also expresses anxiety over matters such as civil rights. And the way he sees it, lack of respect amongst different groups of people is yet another sign of the times. Or put differently, the frustration he’s feeling is further buttressed not only by war between nations but also discontent amongst individuals.
Or stated alternatively yet again, he’s not confident that politicians can solve the problem of lack of love between fellow men.
The Escalation of Hatred
In the fourth verse, the vocalist further drives the point home that at the core of his gripe with mankind is a proliferation of hate. Under his estimation, the same human rights’ atrocities that are transpiring in “Red China” are akin to those being perpetrated in “Selma, Alabama”.
As far as China is concerned, this was around the time they entered Mao Tse Tung’s Cultural Revolution of which possibly 20,000,000 human beings lost their lives. And the shoutout to Selma is another reference to the Civil Rights Movement that was transpiring concurrently stateside.
Another way the 1960s stand out as a decade is that this was also around the time space exploration commenced. NASA’s Gemini 4 managed to stay in spaceflight for “four days”. But the vocalist is stating that being up there doesn’t change what’s going on down here.
And whereas that may sound like stating the obvious, there is an important message that McGuire is trying to send across. What McGuire is trying to get at is he does not perceive there being any forthcoming change in the less-than-favorable state of the world as mentioned above.
And even though the lyrics generally read macrocosmic, there is also ample wording dedicated to his impression that we as individuals are also the problem.Or as implied at the end of the fourth verse, people tend to be hypocritical in terms of idealizing peace yet practicing hate.
The Chorus of “Eve of Destruction”
Now one thing we didn’t reveal about the nature of the chorus earlier is that, as inferred, this song is meant to be an argument.That is to say that the addressee would be someone who is not convinced that we are on the “eve of destruction”.
So that would be why the vocalist goes about noting what has been delineated above. And at the end of the day, what it’s really about isn’t really focusing on any one country but the perceived hateful state of the world at large.
Conclusion
The above aside, it can be said that since McGuire is himself an American, that would be why his focus in primarily on what’s going on in and with the United States. But for all we know, when you take into consideration the present state of international economics politics, perhaps this song’s censorship was partially due to the fact that he disses the communist Chinese government also.
Read more at:
https://www.songmeaningsandfacts.com/barry-mcguires-eve-of-destruction-lyrics-meaning/
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