Zachary Pleiman

English Composition 2
2/21/2021
Analysing Visual texts

Lyrics like “In your head, in your head, they are fightin'.'' shows us why “Zombie” is still
so impactful today. This anti-terroist song that addresses what mental state terrorists and violent
extremists must have to defend what they do. The Cranberries' famous song ”Zombie'' touched
on many issues Ireland was facing at the time with striking visuals and lyrics. The cover by Bad
Wolves honored both the original song and the recently departed Dolores O’Riordan while
connecting to the original audience and making new fans.

In 1994, at the time the song came out, Ireland had a lot of terrorist activity since 1969.
This period of time was called The Troubles. The IRA (Irish Republican Army) wanted to take
control of Northern Ireland away from the British. Uniting both Irelands while protecting the
cathelic Irish from the protestent British. The IRA was responsible for 1705 deaths (Sutton)
during The Troubles. The IRA claimed Ireland was at war with the British. Yet without the
support of the citizens or the government of Ireland the IRA was, as the British stated, terrorists
and violent extremists. One event during The Troubles inspired the song. When the IRA used
bombs in an unprovoked attack that ended up killing two children (Police release pictures of
Warrington bomb suspects) and injuring many others. The lead singer Dolores O’Riordan was on
tour at the time of the attack (Rosenthal). Seeing those children that were killed, she wanted to
create a song dedicated to them, condemning the violence that got them killed. Using an acoustic
guitar and creating the now iconic lyrics on their tour bus, The Cranberries created one of the
most influential rock songs to the Irish populus.

That influence had staying power as the song still connected to the Irish people and to
events that had nothing to do with Ireland. That outward reach of “Zombie” was the reason
American heavy metal band Bad Wolves wanted to do a cover of the classic rock song. When
Dolores O’Riordan was given the cover to listen to, she then offered to sing the Bad Wolves
heavy metal rendition of “Zombie” (Ristić). Yet before both groups got a chance to work
together O’Riordan passed away on January fifteenth, 2018. Bad Wolves wanted to scrap their
cover of “Zombie” after they got the news (Ristić). They know O’Riordan liked their version ao
it was decided that they would turn it into a tribute to O’Riordan where any profit would go to
her children.

The original music video by The Cranberries aimed to provide discomfort as the events
did to O’Riordan. Dirty children in what looks like a warzone combined with the black and white
film and heavily militarized zones completely sells the look. These aren’t just actors, they are
real kids playing where they live. The cranberries also use silver paint to cover child actors and
give them bows and flower crowns making them look like cherubs in Renaissance paintings or
sculptures. The lead singer Dolores O’Riordan is painted gold and stands in front of a cross
while surrounded by the child angels. This, with red lighting on the trees in the background,
creates a surreal image. These images aim to use pathos to connect to the audience that these kids
shouldn’t live like this. They shouldn’t be in danger from their own neighbors. The music video
only uses pathos to get their point across. In fact, without knowing the background or knowing
the history of The Troubling the song is confusing. It doesn’t give any facts or context through
the lyrics or the visuals.

As the cover isn’t trying to replicate the original they choose a simple emotional style.
The video is filmed in a dark room where you can only see the band and their instruments. They
also use a glass panel and an actress that looks a lot like Dolores O’Riordan in the original video,
painted gold. There are no militarized zones or silver cherubs. Just the bad, the grief and the
passion for O’Riordan’s work. The Bad Wolves also use primarily pathos in their tribute. Yet,
they also have some logos during the beginning of the video. They give some context to why
O'Riordan wasn’t in their cover like she was supposed to. They also explained why, after she
passed, they were still releasing the cover.

The two videos may have mostly the same lyrics, but they tell completely different
stories. The original having a broader story about a made up war the IRA uses to justify
terrorism. While the cover shows a story about death and seeing the impact one has even after
passing away. The scene with the golden woman painting the glass wall, that wall representing
the veil between life, Bad Wolves, and death, O’Riordan. The cover was going to be a tribute to
a wonderfly impactful song. That Original Song has many layers to it.

These two versions of “Zombie” share mostly the same audience. The audience for the
first music video is diverse. Since it is an activist song, the band wanted it to reach as many
people as they could. Yet, certain factors about the setting for “Zombie” limits the potential
audience. “Zombie” talks about issues in Ireland and the UK. The Cranberries are also a irish
rock band. The song wouldn’t connect to the world outside the british isles or those who didn’t
know about the events in Ireland. For the cover the audience is those that were a fan of “Zombie”
in the past or those who became fans over time. Unfortunately the cover also had a huge boost in
the potential audience because of O’Riordan’s death. Both songs connect to her during the short
time after her passing. The cover reached many because they wanted to celebrate O’Riordan and
her life.

There rarely is such a violent history in a semi modern westernized nation like what The
Troubling was. When there is death and destruction, especially to those who are innocent, you
can always count on artists and musicians to be there to create something scathing about the
violence. That's exactly what the cranberries did. They touched on many issues Ireland faced
with striking visuals and lyrics. The cover honored both the original song and O’Riordan while
connecting to the original audience and making new fans.
 Works Cited

“Police Release Pictures of Warrington Bomb Suspects.” UPI, UPI, 10 Sept. 1993,
www.upi.com/Archives/1993/09/10/Police-release-pictures-of-Warrington-bomb-
suspects/6708747633600/.

Ristić, Marko. “Interview: Tommy Vext, BAD WOLVES.” Hardwired Magazine, 12 Feb.
2018, www.hardwiredmagazine.com/tommy-vext-bad-wolves-interview/?lang=en.

Rosenthal, Nicole. “The Hidden Meaning Of The Cranberries' Zombie.” Grunge.com,

Grunge, 20 July 2020, www.grunge.com/228186/the-hidden-meaning-of-the-cranberries-
zombie/.

Sutton, Malcolm. Sutton Index of Deaths.

cain.ulster.ac.uk/sutton/tables/Organisation_Responsible.html.