As Massapequa correctly says, the song is named for the Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station at Fylingdales Moor in Yorkshire, and may have been inspired by reports of spurious warnings generated by the early warning system throughout the cold war. The song urges caution ("Sit back; relax ... keep your hands off that red telephone") in the face of computer glitches, given that the consequences of reacting prematurely would be so devastating.
The line about "one last quick game of bowls" probably refers to the famous but possibly apocryphal story in which Sir Francis Drake, a British naval commander, insisted on finishing a game of bowls before responding to reports of the approach of a Spanish invasion fleet, the Armada. The implication is that not responding impulsively to threats is a particularly British virtue.
As Massapequa correctly says, the song is named for the Ballistic Missile Early Warning Station at Fylingdales Moor in Yorkshire, and may have been inspired by reports of spurious warnings generated by the early warning system throughout the cold war. The song urges caution ("Sit back; relax ... keep your hands off that red telephone") in the face of computer glitches, given that the consequences of reacting prematurely would be so devastating.
The line about "one last quick game of bowls" probably refers to the famous but possibly apocryphal story in which Sir Francis Drake, a British naval commander, insisted on finishing a game of bowls before responding to reports of the approach of a Spanish invasion fleet, the Armada. The implication is that not responding impulsively to threats is a particularly British virtue.