The Cold War: "Forever Young"

Introduction & Context

For my last blog post, I decided to go with another '80s song - the 1984 hit "Forever Young," by Alphaville. I love this song, probably mostly because of the '80s feel. And no, I do not like this song because it was on Napolean Dynamite; actually, I first remembering hearing it on "Lizzie McGuire." ;)

Anyway, this song was written in the midst of the Cold War and its nuclear "issues." Before I listened to it in regard to this blog and actually paid attention to the lyrics, I really had no idea what Alphaville was saying beyond the familiar refrain, "Forever young; I want to be forever young. Do you really want to live forever, and ever, and ever?" Imagine my surprise when I saw it on the list of songs about war, and read a line pointed out by songfacts as referring to the Cold War: "Hoping for the best but expecting the worst - are you gonna drop the bomb or not?"

With that in mind, here's the video.... it's very strange and.... '80s-looking. ;) I don't really talk about it in my commentary, so feel free to leave a comment about it if you want!

Commentary

Songfacts.com explains, "On the surface, this is a hopeful song celebrating the virtues of youth, but a closer listen reveals a fear of aging and death." I definitely agree. The singer seems to think that being old is pointless ("It's so hard to get old without a cause"), but that being young is really living. I get the impression that he doesn't want to die at all, but if he can't always live as a young person, he would rather die before he gets old: "Let us die young or let us live forever." It also seems like he feels that if he can just stay young, he won't ever die: "Youth's like diamonds in the sun, and diamonds are forever."

I also think that this fear of death is certainly connected to the arms race. Take the very first stanza - "Heaven can wait, we're only watching the skies." You can imagine someone looking anxiously out his window every day, wondering if a nuclear missile is going to end his life in that very moment. Then, take this stanza:

"Can you imagine when this race is won?
Turn our golden faces into the sun,
Praising our leaders, we're getting in tune.
The music's played by the madman."

The "race" obviously (in my opinion, at least) refers to the arms race. The singer pictures the nuclear problems ending and the populace celebrating the country's leaders who ended them. He says that by doing this, "we're getting in tune." But then he adds, "The music's played by the madman." I believe that these chilling words speak of the leader as a madman, as someone who put them through the arms race in the first place, putting the fear of death into their hearts for so many years - and probably putting an end to the lives of so many, as I assume that he "won" the race by destroying others.

The thing that really gets me, though, is that very familiar line: "Do you really want to live forever, and ever, and ever?" That's a long time, as the repetition emphasizes, and the singer seems to be second-guessing himself. For all his fears, he asks (and I believe he is asking himself), "Do you really want this?"

I'm forever grateful that because of Jesus I don't have to fear death, and one day I will live eternally with Him in Heaven - whether I die because of a bomb or because of old age. :)

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_anti-war_songs
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=9021
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t1TcDHrkQYg