"Zombie" is about the ethno-political conflict in Ireland. This is obvious if you know anything of the singer (Dolores O'Riordan)'s Irish heritage and understood the "1916" Easter Rising reference.
"Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken
-
Another mother's breaking
Heart is taking over"
Laments the Warrington bomb attacks in which two children were fatally injured on March 23rd, 1993. Twelve year old Tim Parry was taken off life support with permission from his mother after five days in the hospital, virtually braindead.
"But you see it's not me
It's not my family"
References how people who are not directly involved with the violence feel about it. They are "zombies" without sympathy who refuse to take action while others suffer.
Eighties, I'm living in the eighties
Eighties, I have to push, I have to struggle
Eighties, get out of my way, I'm not for sale no more
Eighties, let's kamikaze 'til we get there
And we sang
You do it this way
Eighties, by day we run by night we dance, we do
Eighties, I'm in love with the coming race
Eighties, I've got the best, I'll take all I can get
Eighties, I'm living for the eighties
Eighties, I'm living in the eighties, I push
Eighties, I'm living
Eighties, I'm living in the eighties, I struggle
Eighties, I'm living
Eighties, I'm living
Eighties, I'm living in the eighties
Eighties, I'm living in the eighties, I push
Eighties, push, push, struggle
Eighties, I'm living
Eighties, eighties, I'm living
Eighties, I'm living in the eighties, I push
Eighties, I have to push, I have to struggle
Eighties, get out of my way, I'm not for sale no more
Eighties, let's kamikaze 'til we get there
And we sang
You do it this way
Eighties, by day we run by night we dance, we do
Eighties, I'm in love with the coming race
Eighties, I've got the best, I'll take all I can get
Eighties, I'm living for the eighties
Eighties, I'm living in the eighties, I push
Eighties, I'm living
Eighties, I'm living in the eighties, I struggle
Eighties, I'm living
Eighties, I'm living
Eighties, I'm living in the eighties
Eighties, I'm living in the eighties, I push
Eighties, push, push, struggle
Eighties, I'm living
Eighties, eighties, I'm living
Eighties, I'm living in the eighties, I push
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Yes, Thatcher brought in a brutal end to an engineered crisis.
I always hear, when I feel the political foment rise, and listen to the record: "I'm in love with the coming mallaise". Which is French for sickness ... but in political talk it would mean, ... well, just exactly what we always have ... discord, disbelief & disenfranchisement.
'The coming Mallaise.'