Michael Appel

ENG 1201

Professor Freeland

4 October 2020

Visual Analysis on “Zombie”

On March 20, 1993 a bomb planted by the Irish Republican Army exploded and killed 12

year old Tim Parry and 3 year old Jonathan Ball. Lead Singer of The Cranberries, Dolores

O’Riordan was tired of all the fighting and wrote the song “Zombie” to get her message out to

the world (Johnston). Almost three decades later Bad Wolves did a cover of the song and

Dolores O’Riordan was supposed to sing that version as well, but sadly she passed away the

day the recording was planned. The original version of the song “Zombie” by The Cranberries

was written as a plea to stop fighting with one another and had a strong message that war is not

solving any problems. The cover by Bad wolves embraced the same message in a slightly

different tone along with honoring the life of The Cranberries lead singer, Dolores O’Riordan.

The Cranberries are a band from Ireland and from 1968-1998, a time period known as

The Troubles, there was major conflict between those that wanted Northern Ireland to remain

with the United Kingdom and those that wanted Northern Ireland to join the republic of Ireland.

The Cranberries were on tour in the United Kingdom when the bombs went off that killed two

kids and after that happened lead singer Dolores O’Riordan started to work on writing “Zombie”

all by herself during her alone time (Johnston). The lyrics to the song are very deep and it is not

an upbeat song. The song was not meant to make people smile but instead make them realize

that all this violence must come to an end.

The instrumentals behind the Cranberries version of the song give it a very dark and

angry tone, and the voice of Dolores O’Riordan is so pure you can feel the pain that she is going

through and the anger she feels towards the situation. The cover by Bad Wolves uses the same

set of lyrics and the instrumentals are very similar, giving the song the same dark and angry
feel. This version is a bit more metal than the original which gives the lyrics a slightly different

tone as well. The anger in the lyrics is much more present, but there is not as much sadness. It

feels almost as if the anger and sadness is more for the loss of Dolores than the issues the

song is talking about.

Throughout both versions of the song the use of pathos is very prominent. In the original

video there is real footage of kids during The Troubles running around in abandoned houses all

dirty playing with fake guns and swords. There is also real footage of soldiers patrolling those

same areas the kids are playing in. As the viewer, when the kids look into the camera you can

feel their pain and suffering and you feel bad for them knowing that is the situation they are

living in. There are also parts of the video where it shows Dolores painted gold in front of a

cross and there are little boys painted gold around her, these scenes are very symbolic and are

the only scenes in the video where there is color. The scenes with Dolores painted gold are a

reference to the martyrdom of Saint Sebestian, a senior officer in the Roman army that was

extremely close to Christianity and as a punishment he was tied to a tree and shot with

hundreds of arrows. These symbolic scenes force the viewer to feel the need to almost sacrifice

themselves to stop this fighting and save countless lives. The scenes give off strong emotional

appeals to be brave and demand change.

In the Cover version by Bad Wolves the use of pathos is geared more toward

remembering Dolores. In the video the band is performing in an empty black room and there is a

woman painted gold on the opposite side of a glass wall as a reference to the original music

video to honor Dolores. When the woman first walks up to the glass wall, her and the singer,

Tommy Vext, put their hands together on the glass as a symbol for the bond they have.

Throughout the video the woman spreads the gold paint all over the glass and at one point

writes 1-15-18 on the glass which was the date that Dolores O’Riordan passed away. The

viewer feels such strong emotions for the loss of Dolores, such as sorrow and pain. They can
also feel the passion that Bad Wolves has for her lyrics and they can sense that she truly meant

something to the band.

The audiences for each version of the song are slightly different. The Cranberries

version is for more for those that were going through the Troubles. It is not meant for children as

the song and video are pretty dark and the overall message just isn’t one for young kids. It is

more for teenagers and adults that want to put an end to all the fighting. The Bad Wolves

version is also meant for teenagers and adults that are fans of alternate rock and metal. This

version is also for those that want war and fighting to stop as it still holds the same message as

the original version.

Although both versions of the song use the same set of lyrics with only minor changes in

the cover by Bad Wolves, there are slight differences that set each version apart from one

another. Whether that be Dolores O’Riordan’s pure voice and passion for the lyrics she’s

singing or the heavy metal pain for the loss of Dolores in the cover. These small differences set

the songs apart, but their message remains the same, the fighting has to stop.

Works Cited

The Cranberries. “Zombie.” Silver Collection 2, Island Records, 2009. Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts

Bad Wolves. “Zombie.” Disobey, Better Noise Music, 2018. Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XaS93WMRQQ

Johnston, Emma. “The Story Behind The Song: The Cranberries - Zombie.” Classic Rock

Magazine, Louder, 2 Nov. 2017, www.loudersound.com/features/the-story-behind-the-

song-the-cranberries-zombie.