Moreland 1

JulieAnne Moreland

Caroline Reynolds

ENG 1201-515

20 February 2022

It’s the Same Old Theme Since Nineteen-Sixteen

The song “Zombie” by The Cranberries is considered by some to be a masterpiece in the

alternative rock world. Released in 1994, the song references the conflict between those who

wanted Ireland to unite with Northern Ireland, which was then part of the United Kingdom, and

those who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK. A year before the song’s release,

two children named Tim Parry, 12, and Johnathan Ball, 3, were tragically killed by a bomb

detonation in England (History of the Northern Ireland Conflict). In response to this, Delores

O’Riordan, an Ireland native, wrote “Zombie.” About twenty-five years later, a cover of the song

was performed by a rock band named Bad Wolves. “Zombie” by The Cranberries conveys the

idea that children are innocent victims claimed by war and violence while the version performed

by Bad Wolves aims to memorialize the life of the original singer of “Zombie”. This cover

reiterates the intended purpose of the song while celebrating Delores O’Riordan’s legacy.

The Cranberries “Zombie” uses the rhetorical appeal of pathos to facilitate an empathetic

response from their audience. Their music video opens with a sequence in black and white of

kids playing in a partially destroyed building, an armed soldier walking alone, and clips of the

band playing, then it fades to black. Lights reveal the lead singer covered in gold paint and

wearing a golden dress, children covered in silver paint with crowns of dried flowers and bows

and arrows in front of her, a wooden cross behind her, and intensely red and barren trees in the

background. The video cycles through these types of shots repeatedly, giving the viewer a sense
 Moreland 2

of a cycle and repetition as well as making the video interesting to watch. The cyclical nature of

these shots may speak to the message of the song that the conflicts are repetitive and have never

stopped. The video shows children in an innocent and playful light while giving the soldiers a

near menacing intention about them. The children are shown playing while the soldiers’ faces are

often not in frame, giving a sense of objectification as a human weapon. In addition to showing

the children in an innocent and playful way, the shots of the children covered in silver are

ominous, desperate, and sorrowful through their sunken body language. These decisions to

convey the children and soldiers in these ways are to appeal to their audience’s emotions, or

pathos. The children in silver symbolize those young victims claimed by war and conflict. They

seem that they would be lost without O’Riordan, the woman in gold behind them, to take care of

them in their afterlife. This aligns with O’Riordan’s message of protecting children from

violence.

While The Cranberries use both imagery and lyrics to appeal to pathos and convey their

message about children impacted by conflicts, Bad Wolves’ music video also appeals to their

audience’s emotions but in a different manner. The group’s music video opens with text

explaining the purpose of their video. It explains that on January 15, 2018, Delores O’Riordan

was scheduled to record vocals to feature on their cover of “Zombie”. She passed away the same

day she was meant to sing. Their release of this song without her feature is to remember her, and

the money made from it will be given to her children. Then, the screen fades to the band and the

front man begins singing. Between shots of the band performing the song, there are sequences of

gold paint flowing on skin, a direct reference to Delores O’Riordan in the original music video.

Later, a woman covered in gold paint wearing a gold dress is shown in various shots. This

woman represents O’Riordan. She is shown trying to approach the band but is separated from
 Moreland 3

them by a glass pane. Over multiple sequences, she spreads paint over it with her hands until it is

opaque. This may represent how O’Riordan was taken without warning, appealing to the

audience’s emotions. These visuals speak to the loss of Delores O’Riordan while the lyrics

continue to echo her message of violence impacting children.

Lyrically, both songs are nearly identical. The version by Bad Wolves uses a slight

adaptation to the pre-chorus that further demonstrates the message of the song. The pre-chorus is

as follows, “It's the same old theme / In two thousand eighteen / In your head, in your head,

they're still fighting / With their tanks, and their bombs / And their guns, and their drones / In

your head, in your head, they are dying” (Bad Wolves). The changing of “nineteen-sixteen” to

“two thousand eighteen” strengthens the message that nothing has changed in regard to war and

violence in decades. In the original song, O’Riordan sings “With their tanks, and their bombs /

And their bombs, and their guns” (O’Riordan) while Bad Wolves changed this slightly. This

change echoes current weapons technology by referencing drones in this list, once more adding

to their message that nothing has been done to prevent violence in current years.

The versions performed by The Cranberries and Bad Wolves share some overlap in

regard to their audiences. The original song performed by O’Riordan targets a mature audience

who may have some kind of way to participate in politics. The video may be encouraging to

some to vote for policies to help children like those in the video be free from violence.

Therefore, it may cater more towards those living in the United Kingdom and Ireland. However,

the song became popular globally. The audience spans farther than Ireland and the UK as

O’Riordan is raising awareness of this issue to the entire world. Additionally, those who have

memories or experiences of conflict may further empathize with the message being conveyed

through the imagery and the lyrics. Similarly, Bad Wolves’ version of the song is still raising
 Moreland 4

awareness of the same issue but with surrounding context of events from 2018, the year of the

song’s release. The singer reiterates that harmful things are still happening in 2018, decades after

the original song was written. This version is appealing to listeners throughout the world and to

the fans of The Cranberries who wish to memorialize O’Riordan who unfortunately passed away

that year.

It is evident that Delores O’Riordan’s message impacted the global music sphere by the

way her song was received. Reaching number one in multiple weekly singles charts around the

world such as Denmark, Belgium, Germany France, Iceland, and Australia (The Cranberries

“Zombie” Reaches over A Billion Views), her message was heard by many. Not only does the

version of “Zombie” performed by Bad Wolves celebrate her musical prowess and her life, but it

also encourages the fans of Bad Wolves and others to listen to her music and memorialize her in

doing so. Additionally, their production of a cover shows that the message Delores O’Riordan in-

tended to convey is still relevant today. The original song “Zombie” by The Cranberries and the

cover by Bad Wolves both strive to make light of the conflicts and dire situations many face as a

result of violence, especially children. However, Bad Wolves’ version simultaneously remem-

bers O’Riordan through the use of their imagery in their music video.
 Moreland 5

Works Cited

“Bad Wolves - Zombie (Official Video).” YouTube, uploaded by Better Noise Music, 22

February 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XaS93WMRQQ. Accessed 13

February 2022.

History of the Northern Ireland Conflict. Sky HISTORY TV Channel,

https://www.history.co.uk/history-of-the-northern-ireland-conflict. Accessed. 20

February 2022.

“The Cranberries - Zombie (Official Music Video).” YoutTube, uploaded by TheCranberriesTV,

16 June 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejga4kJUts. Accessed 13 February

2022.

The Cranberries “Zombie” Reaches over A Billion Views on Youtube. Post-Punk.com, 18 April

2020, https://post-punk.com/the-cranberries-zombie-reaches-over-a-billion-views-on-

youtube/. Accessed 20 February 2022.