I agree that boredom is certainly a central theme of this song, but I think that we're not fully recognizing the nuclear undertones. Bear in mind that this was written and released during the time of Margaret Thatcher as Britan's PM, and before the fall of the Soviet Union. Thatcher's heavily militaristic policies coupled with the still-present threat of nuclear war may have been the driving force behind these lyrics.
My interpretation (and I am not comitted to it) is that this isn't about boredom as much as it is about the aftermath of a nuclear war. The quiet boredom that accompanies a sleepy town on a sunday could also be that of a deserted town after a nuclear war. The story (in my opinion) is that of two lovers who have survived the war, but probably not for much longer. Note the lyrics don't just refer to wanting a nuclear bomb to come, but that they're in a town that "they forgot to bomb." This strikes me as a reference to the fact that the town that they're in was spared nuclear destruction, only to face a more prolonged one, and that the earlier mention of wishing for nuclear bombs is so that their suffering can be ended.
The last lines of the song, which note the falling of a "a strange dust" probably refers to that of the ash that follows a nuclear detonation and the fires that follow. Again, I'm not convinced that I'm right, but this has always been my interpretation.
I agree that boredom is certainly a central theme of this song, but I think that we're not fully recognizing the nuclear undertones. Bear in mind that this was written and released during the time of Margaret Thatcher as Britan's PM, and before the fall of the Soviet Union. Thatcher's heavily militaristic policies coupled with the still-present threat of nuclear war may have been the driving force behind these lyrics.
My interpretation (and I am not comitted to it) is that this isn't about boredom as much as it is about the aftermath of a nuclear war. The quiet boredom that accompanies a sleepy town on a sunday could also be that of a deserted town after a nuclear war. The story (in my opinion) is that of two lovers who have survived the war, but probably not for much longer. Note the lyrics don't just refer to wanting a nuclear bomb to come, but that they're in a town that "they forgot to bomb." This strikes me as a reference to the fact that the town that they're in was spared nuclear destruction, only to face a more prolonged one, and that the earlier mention of wishing for nuclear bombs is so that their suffering can be ended.
The last lines of the song, which note the falling of a "a strange dust" probably refers to that of the ash that follows a nuclear detonation and the fires that follow. Again, I'm not convinced that I'm right, but this has always been my interpretation.