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Drew Bloomfield

Professor Leonard

English 1201

18 February 2022

Zombie

The song “Zombie” was originally released by the Cranberries in 1994, and it was

rereleased by the Bad Wolves in 2018. In the Cranberries version of the song the story is about

the conflict in Northern Ireland. In the Bad Wolves version, the song is a tribute to O’Riordan,

the original Cranberries singer, who passed away prior to the song being rereleased. The Bad

Wolves video shows someone dressed as O’Riordan stuck behind a glass wall to show that her

message in 1994 did not get through since violence and war still persist today. Both videos’

main claim is a call for peace, and an end to violence and war. The original “Zombie” by The

Cranberries was a protest of violence and senseless killing, especially of children, during war.

However, the Bad Wolves remake of the song paid tribute to O’Riordan to show that very little

has changed and the pain of war continues to plague the world.

The song “Zombie,” written by alternative rock band, The Cranberries, was about the

conflict in Northern Ireland. When filming, they claimed to be making a documentary on British

peacekeeping efforts, but in reality they were using live footage of a war-torn Ireland for their

music video. They wanted to show the damage done from the conflict between the IRA and the

British Government. Over two decades later Bad Wolves, a heavy metal band, remade the song

to show the horrors of war are still relevant today.

The Cranberries’ music video for “Zombie” depicts a dark and depressing setting.

O’Riordan is the main character in the video. She is wearing gold makeup, a gold dress, and a
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gold headpiece, while standing in front of a gold cross. She is surrounded by children wearing

silver make-up, and holding bows and arrows. These children represent the children killed in

war, that are now angels. The video contains authentic footage of armed soldiers on patrol, and

children playing war games with guns and toy swords. All this footage is in black and white, to

solidify the dark mood. There is one reoccurring character, a little boy with a hood covering

much of his face. His face is also very dirty, and he looks sad even while the other kids play

around him. This is significant because it helps portray the dark setting and the seriousness of

the suffering caused by unnecessary conflict.

The Bad Wolves remake of the song “Zombie” has a dark tone just like the original. The

characters in their video include the band dressed in all black, in a black room, playing black

instruments. There is a woman dressed in gold makeup, a gold dress, and a gold headdress that

is meant to be O’Riordan who had died earlier that year. The video starts with a short tribute to

her. The setting is the music studio where the band plays and the woman (O’Riordan) is stuck

behind a piece of glass, and can’t reach the musicians. The woman smears gold paint on the

glass between her and the band. This is significant because as hard as O’Riordan tried, she was

not able to get the anti-war message across to enough people to make a difference.

The Bad Wolves kept many of the original lyrics, however they changed a few key

words to make the song relevant today. The original Cranberries version says, “With their tanks,

and their bombs, and their bombs, and their guns.” While the Bad Wolves version says, “With

their tanks, and their bombs, and their bombs, and their drones.” By adding the word “drones” to

the song it helps to make it relevant today, especially when it comes to children dying in war, as

drone strikes are easily the biggest contributor of civilian loss today. In the original version from

1994, the Cranberries sing, “It’s the same old theme- Since nineteen-sixteen.” 1916 is when the
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IRA insurrection against the British government took place, known as the Easter uprising. The

Bad Wolves version says, “It’s the same old theme- in two-thousand-eighteen,” which is

implying that war is still a problem today, therefore they need to repeat O’Riordan’s message.

While O’Riordan focused on the specific IRA/British conflict, the Bad Wolves were expanding

the focus to the rest of the world. This is significant because in repeating the message they are

hoping to reach a wider audience to get the significance across. Both bands were trying to

appeal to everyone: the people, the government, the media, anyone who can help bring about

change.

Both the original and the remade video of “Zombie” have great emotional impact. The

rhetorical appeal, pathos, is used throughout both videos to draw people towards understanding

the message. The live footage of the war-torn Ireland paired with the lyrics, “Child is slowly

taken,” brings forth great emotion in anyone who watches the video. In addition, “Another

mother’s breaking- heart is takin’ over,” describes the pain of the mothers, or family in general,

of children or loved ones killed in the crossfire. The use of emotion here is significant because it

draws the listener to the song, and helps them recognize the pain that is brought upon innocent

people as a consequence of conflict between governments.

The Cranberries 1994 release of the song “Zombie” was a call for peace, and an end to

the violence of war. The remake was a tribute to the original singer, and it also called for peace

since nothing had changed in the year 2018. Both videos show the pain, devastation and loss

that comes as a consequence of petty conflict and war. The emotional impact of this song helps

to facilitate change and bring awareness to these issues.

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Works Cited

“Bad Wolves – Zombie (official video).” You Tube, uploaded by Better Noise Music, 10 Feb.

2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XaS93WMRQQ

“The Cranberries – Zombie (Alt. Version).” You Tube, uploaded by TheCranberriesTV, 10

Feb. 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=95HqlWRFrAk