Songs of Protest: How The Cranberries Defied Irish Violence with “Zombie”

Following an IRA attack that resulted in the death of two children, The Cranberries wrote ‘Zombie’ to speak out against violence and pose one question to extremists: “What’s in your head?”

Music is one of society’s best teachers. In Songs of Protest, writers analyze some of music’s greatest hits, using their findings to make sense of the world around them.

Written by Miranda Garza

Photo courtesy of Andy Earl

While the 1990s was an era of musical innovation, for Ireland it was also a time of political unrest. At the time, the Irish music scene was led by punk and rock bands whose songs reflected the country’s rage and uncertainty with their government, and at the forefront of this movement was The Cranberries. The female-fronted band built its sound on dreamscape melodies and the wavering trademark vocals of lead singer Dolores O'Riordan. In 1994, the band members showcased an angstier side demonstrating their anger towards Ireland's political conflict in their 1994 single “Zombie.”

The group wrote “Zombie'' in the wake of The Troubles, a 30-year conflict between Protestant unionists and Roman Catholic nationalists regarding the United Kingdom’s involvement in the Irish government. At the time, The Irish Republican Army (IRA) was a prominent militia group that had an ongoing campaign of violent attacks to pressure the U.K. to withdraw from its country’s government. One of these attacks was the 1993 Warrington bombings, which resulted in the death of two young boys.With neither Ireland or the U.K willing to negotiate or take responsibility for their actions, the conflict was seemingly caught in an endless cycle of denial. When the bombings occurred, The Cranberries were touring in the U.K., and the harrowing tragedy inspired lead singer Dolores O'Riordan to write what would become the group’s biggest hit.

Ambiguity lies within the song’s opening line: “Another head hangs lowly / Child is slowly taken.” It is unclear if the low-hanging head belongs to a shameful extremist or a grieving mourner. Menacing instrumentals stir as O'Riordan questions the effectiveness of the IRA’s violence: “And the violence caused such silence/ Who are we mistaken?”

Defensive and armed with her words, O'Riordan uses the following lines to deflect assumptions that she supports the IRA solely because of her Irish heritage. “The IRA are not me. I’m not the IRA. The Cranberries are not the IRA,” O’ Riordan told Vox. She reveals that the issue is not with Ireland as a whole, but with the few people that are stuck in the past and willing to go to extreme measures to spread their beliefs. In the song, her voice grows louder as she sings, “But you see, it’s not me, it’s not my family / In your head, in your head, they are fightin’.”

Simmering with aggravation, the chorus is bombarded with heavy instrumentals. O’ Riordan's usual lush vocals shift to aching growls and wails, fueled by the loss and sorrow of Ireland’s conflict. The chorus poses the question for both sides of The Troubles, asking what could’ve prompted such violent, unflinching actions. O’ Riodan’s voice keens as she refers to the extremists as zombies, who beyond being brain-eating monsters, are completely devoid of compassion and rationality: “What’s in your head, in your head? / Zombie, zombie.”

Although The Troubles gained traction in the 1960s, the conflict between Ireland and the U.K is rooted deeply within Europe’s history. The song references Easter Rising, an insurrection led by Irish republican groups against British troops in 1916. After seizing multiple locations throughout Dublin, the Irish declared their country an independent republic and appointed a provisional government. This was quickly met with opposition from British troops, and fighting broke out, resulting in the death of over 400 civilians. The lyrics compare the historical revolt to the IRA’s bombing, with both events resulting in carnage:

It’s the same old theme, since 1916

In your head, in your head, they’re still fighting

With their tanks and their bombs and their bombs and their guns

In your head, in your head, they are dyin’ 

The angst of the lyrics are brought to life through the song’s music video, which ventures between two scenes: O'Riordan covered in gold paint as she stands in front of a crucifix surrounded by silver-painted children and black-and-white footage of Ireland amidst the country’s political turmoil. Filmed by Samuel Bayer, the footage shows real Irish soldiers, children, and murals, all noticeably affected by the state of the country. Shots of children playing war games with plastic guns flicker between the footage of soldiers walking with their rifles in hand. At the climax of the song, the silver, cherub-like children lock hands around the cross as they wince in pain and the unsettling realization slowly sets in that among them is the same young boy that was playing outside in the previous shot. The video implies that the painted children are no longer alive, and the anguish visible on their frail faces hints that their deaths were a result of brutality. Even though the BBC banned it for “violent images,” the video has surpassed one billion views on Youtube, giving each viewer the same lasting impression that the song did when it first aired.

The single was an astronomical success. In 1998, The Cranberries were invited to perform at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony among the political leaders that brought peaceful resolution to Ireland’s conflict. The Troubles came to an end earlier that year, but the song’s legacy lives on as a protest against violence. Even today, the song’s message remains relevant as police brutality and abuse of power come at the expense of young lives. Generation X shares the song’s defiant attitude and eagerness to break free from old practices in their fight for social justice through the Black Lives Matter movement.

Following the lead singer’s death in 2018, “Zombie” became a pivotal part of O'Riordan's legacy. Colin Parry, father of the eldest Warrington bomb victim, called the song majestic and powerful. The same words fittingly describe O’Riordan, whose strife and humanity will reign in music history endlessly.