Minutes to Midnight (song)
Encyclopedia
Minutes to Midnight is the fourth track on the 1984
album Red Sails in the Sunset
by Australia
n music group Midnight Oil
. The song was written by band members Peter Garrett
and Jim Moginie
.
The title and lyrics of the song allude to the Doomsday Clock
, the Cold War
-era symbolic clockface maintained by the Board of Directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
, serving as a barometer for the likelihood of nuclear war
(or more generally "catastrophic destruction"). The threat of a nuclear confrontation was a pertinent subject at the time the song was written, and the "three minutes" to midnight to which the lyrics allude was the real-life setting in 1984, the closest to midnight the clock had been set since 1953, and a setting which has since never been surpassed.
The lyrics warn of escalation in the arms race between the United States
and the Soviet Union
("ICBMs, SS-20s / they lie so dormant, they got so many"), and allude to both H.G. Wells and heralded Australian racehorse Phar Lap
.
1984 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984.-Janury-March:*January 21 – "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood reaches number one in the UK singles chart, despite being banned by the BBC; it spends a total of forty-two weeks in the Top 40.*January 27 – Michael Jackson's...
album Red Sails in the Sunset
Red Sails in the Sunset (album)
Red Sails in the Sunset is an album by Midnight Oil that was released in 1984 under the Columbia Records label. This album was recorded and produced in Tokyo, Japan and is significant for becoming their first No. 1 album in Australia...
by Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n music group Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil
Midnight Oil , were an Australian rock band from Sydney originally performing as Farm from 1972 with drummer Rob Hirst, bass guitarist Andrew James and keyboard player/lead guitarist Jim Moginie...
. The song was written by band members Peter Garrett
Peter Garrett
Peter Robert Garrett, AM, MP , is an Australian musician, environmentalist, activist and politician.Garrett was lead singer of the Australian rock band Midnight Oil from 1973 until its disbanding in 2002...
and Jim Moginie
Jim Moginie
James "Jim" Moginie is an Australian musician. He is best known for his work with Midnight Oil, of which he was a founding member, guitarist, keyboardist and leading songwriter...
.
The title and lyrics of the song allude to the Doomsday Clock
Doomsday Clock
The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock face, maintained since 1947 by the board of directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists at the University of Chicago. The closer the clock is to midnight, the closer the world is estimated to be to global disaster. , the Doomsday Clock now stands at six...
, the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
-era symbolic clockface maintained by the Board of Directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists is a nontechnical online magazine that covers global security and public policy issues, especially related to the dangers posed by nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction...
, serving as a barometer for the likelihood of nuclear war
Nuclear warfare
Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...
(or more generally "catastrophic destruction"). The threat of a nuclear confrontation was a pertinent subject at the time the song was written, and the "three minutes" to midnight to which the lyrics allude was the real-life setting in 1984, the closest to midnight the clock had been set since 1953, and a setting which has since never been surpassed.
The lyrics warn of escalation in the arms race between the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
("ICBMs, SS-20s / they lie so dormant, they got so many"), and allude to both H.G. Wells and heralded Australian racehorse Phar Lap
Phar Lap
Phar Lap was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse whose achievements captured the public's imagination during the early years of the Great Depression. Foaled in New Zealand, he was trained and raced in Australia. Phar Lap dominated Australian racing during a distinguished career, winning a Melbourne...
.