Lunatic Fringe

"Lunatic Fringe" is an old political slang expression for what today we would call "militant wingnut activist groups". Originally it referred to the far left, and was used against anarchist, socialist, and communist activists who went around blowing things up (mines, factories, etc) in the early decades of the 20th century. But it could just as easily be used against militant activists of the far right.

"The twilight's last gleaming" is obviously a reference to "The Star Spangled Banner". So he's talking about America, not Germany.

On careful reading I don't see any clear indication that Cochrane is either right-wing or left-wing, and it's easy to read the song both ways. Which is clever ;-)

In its original literal sense, opposing the "lunatic fringe" would mean holding a position against the (militant) left. But the phrase "final solution" is a definite reference to the Holocaust, and this seems to indicate holding a position against the (militant) right (fascism, totalitarianism). So effectively the song is pro-centrist, and anti-radical.

The song is about the Holocaust and the rise of anti-semitism (and particulary Neo-Naziism) in the 70's and 80's. It is dedidcated to the memory of Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat credited with saving the lives of over 10,000 Jews, Poles, and others from Nazi concentration camps.

This song appears to be a generic message to those hate groups on the fringe of society. The ones with a message blaming minorities or foreigners for all of the problems in the world or the ones that just want to blow someone up because they don't fit the religious/ political profile of what these "lunatics" feel is right.

It's saying: We know you are out there and we know what you are trying to do....but we won't let you get away with it. Your going down.

From Wiki the song meaning to Lunatic Fringe "Lunatic Fringe" is a song by the Canadian rock band Red Rider from their 1981 album, As Far as Siam. Guitarist Tom Cochrane wrote the song after becoming concerned about a resurgence of anti-Semitism in the 1970s, and was also inspired after reading a book about Raoul Wallenberg, who rescued Jews from The Holocaust during World War II.[1] Some sources have incorrectly cited the murder of John Lennon as the song's primary inspiration; in fact, Cochrane had already written the song before Lennon was killed, but recorded the song's first demo the evening of the murder. He has stated that his feelings about the event, and how it echoed the theme of his song, galvanized him to release the song as a single despite advice from the record label that the song wasn't commercial enough.[2]

The song starts with a sinister, low keyboard tone, punctuated by a "double tap" of two medium-pitched short notes. The song then progresses with its main theme, ending dramatically with ambulance sirens and final guitar riffs. Throughout the body of the song is a low, powerful bassline.

The song is a radio favorite, and has received regular airplay in the United States and Canada. It reached #11 on the Rock Radio Airplay Chart in Billboard in September 1981,[3] and was awarded a SOCAN Classic award in 2009 by the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada for reaching the 100,000-airplay mark on (Canadian) domestic radio.[4]

In 1997, Tom Cochrane re-recorded the track for his album, Songs of a Circling Spirit, which charted on the RPM Top 100 Singles chart for four weeks, peaking at #70.[5][6]

The song was such a big influence on Cincinnati's legendary rock station WEBN that it began using the slogan "The Lunatic Fringe Of American FM" in 1984.

To me it sounds like a song about the holocaust.

Lunatic Fringe- On the edge of being insane

I know you're out there You're in hiding And you hold your meetings -Nazis holding their rallies and such

We know what you're after We're wise to you this time We won't let you kill the laughter -They know what's going on by this time and won't let it continue

In the twilight's last gleaming -Nearing the end of the war

This is open season But you won't get too far -At the end of WWII Hitler tried to kill as many Jews as possible knowing he had little time, but it didn't last long

We know you've got to blame someone For your own confusion -After WWI Germany was in shame and disgrace over their lose, and Hitler took advantage of that by telling them it wasn't their fault, then he just needed someone else to blame: the Jews.

But we're on guard this time Against your final solution -The Holocaust was refered to by Hitler as the 'Final Solution'

But in these new dark ages There will still be light -Even in the most terrible of times, things can be put right, or as right as they will be.

An eye for an eye Well, before you go under Can you feel the resistance Can you feel the...thunder -The quick and severe punishment of the Nazi party

I dedicate this song to ISIS

"We can hear you coming No you're not gonna win this time"

awesome trippy song

Yes, this is a great song, but does anyone really know what it means? I mean, the first time I heard I thought he was saying "Lunatic Fridge", and was even more confused.

I got this from wkipedia- "...is about what composer Tom Cochrane saw as an alarming rise of anti-Semitism in the 1970s, and was inspired by a book he read about Raoul Wallenberg."

I saw him live and he said "This song is about standing up for what you believe in" never was really sure how that worked

If the song were more current (last couple years), I would say, based on the lyrics, that it is about the Tea Party. "You're in hiding ... holding your meetings", "Cause you gotta blame someone ... for your own confusion". Yeah, definitely could be about the Tea Party movement.