Christmas at Ground Zero
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| “Christmas At Ground Zero” | |||||
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| Single by "Weird Al" Yankovic from the album Polka Party! |
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| B-side | "One of Those Days" | ||||
| Released | November 1986 | ||||
| Format | 7" / 12" | ||||
| Recorded | April 23, 1986 | ||||
| Genre | Comedy | ||||
| Length | 3:08 | ||||
| Label | Rock 'n' Roll/ Scotti Brothers | ||||
| Producer | "Weird Al" Yankovic | ||||
| "Weird Al" Yankovic singles chronology | |||||
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| Polka Party! track listing | |||||
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Christmas At Ground Zero is an original song by "Weird Al" Yankovic. It is done in the style of a Christmas carol, with bells and a saxophone section, but is one of Yankovic's darker songs.
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[edit] Track listing
The following tracks are on the single:
- "Christmas At Ground Zero" – 3:08
- "One Of Those Days" – 3:15
The promo single only contains "Christmas At Ground Zero".
[edit] Lyrics
Although the song strongly resembles a Christmas carol, the lyrics describe a situation where a nuclear war is breaking out and humanity is about to end.
The song contains numerous references familiar to those who were children during the early atomic age (Oh, it's Christmas at Ground Zero / And if the radiation level's okay / I'll go out with you and see the all new / Mutations on New Year's Day" and "I'll duck and cover / With my Yuletide lover / Underneath the 'missile'-toe").
The expression "ground zero" was largely connected with nuclear explosions at the time this song was written. After September 11, 2001, the term was co-opted by the media in reference to the World Trade Center attacks.
[edit] Music video
The music video was Yankovic's directing debut. The video is a montage of old film, television, and news footage, capped off with a live-action scene of Yankovic and some carolers wearing gas masks, singing with rubble around them. It was edited with Yankovic by Darren Bramen with final edits and effects by John Peterson. The video seems to be set in the 1950s during the Cold War, using quite a bit of recycled footage circa-1940s government issued videos that instructed people to "duck and cover" during the threat of a nuclear attack.
- The video montage is a mixture of various film clippings, some of which depicts Christmas cheer whereas others show a nuclear attack. Notably, several clips are taken from the propaganda film Duck and Cover.
- The video features a clip of pre-president Ronald Reagan, due to the Cold War theme.
- The live action finale was filmed in the Bronx, New York, in an area that looked like a bomb recently went off.
[edit] Notes
- The title parodies 1985's "Party At Ground Zero" by Fishbone.
- The orchestration of the song was inspired in part by Phil Spector. The instrumental introduction sounds much like the introduction to The Ronettes' version of "Sleigh Ride", complete with the clip-clop and whinnying of a horse, until it is interrupted by the overmodulated sound of a bomb blast. The intro also contains elements of the intro to the New Christy Minstrels' recording of "We Need a Little Christmas".
- The meter of some of the song's verses may compare to the old Christmas novelty song "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas" by Yogi Yorgesson. Some of the other verses and melody sound similar to portions of Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" and Burl Ives's "A Holly Jolly Christmas".
- During the instrumental interlude, the rise and fall of the air-raid siren's pitch is interwoven with the instrumentation.
[edit] See also
- We Will All Go Together When We Go - a song by Tom Lehrer of similar topic and attitude
- List of singles by "Weird Al" Yankovic
- List of songs by "Weird Al" Yankovic
