Day 2 - "When They Drop the Atomic Bomb" by Jackie Doll and His Pickled Peppers (1951)

There'll be fire, dust and metal flying all around/ And the radioactivity will burn them to the ground/ If there's any Commies left they'll be all on the run/ If General MacArthur drops an atomic bomb…

Today marks the  start of the church's season of advent - a time traditionally associated with peace, love and good will to all men. At first glance, Jackie Doll’s “When they Drop the Atomic Bomb” appears to embody preciously none of these values - longing, instead, for the total destruction of America's communistic enemies in a storm of fire and radiation.The liturgy reading for Advent Sunday, however, is Luke 21:25-36, an apocalyptic passage in which Christ warns of signs in the stars, men "fainting with the fear" and the coming of the Son in judgement. All things, I'm sure, that Doll would heartily approve of.

As a last hurrah of early Cold War bullishness, it’s hard to find a song that does its job better than  “When they Drop the Atomic Bomb”. Part of a country music movement that was actively involved in championing General Douglas MacArthur’s command of the UN mission in the Korean peninsula, to describe the song as fierce would be a little bit like saying that nuclear weapons tended to “get a bit hot”. Doll and his “peppers” imagine a nuclear fantasy in which Communists are entirely destroyed as the US strikes first. Just in case we were in danger of mistaking Doll’s anger as being directed only towards the North Koreans, he makes sure that he gets in a dig at Joseph Stalin at the same time (“Old hard headed Joe will be feelin’ mighty blue…”).  

The use of the bomb was considered a serious strategy at the time. One plan supposedly involved using a series of nuclear bombs along the North Korean border to create a permanently radioactive barrier against Communist forces (although MacArthur claimed never to have seriously considered such a plan himself). In 1951, MacArthur was relieved of his command, a move which was deeply unpopular in some sections of the American population and generated a new wave of country protest songs in his favour. 

Doll was not among the recording artists laying these tracks down, however. He appears to have vanished from the music scene shortly after this song was released, one of only six he recorded for Mercury in a short career in the public eye. Perhaps he went off to fight Communists in career, or worked as a mole for McCarthy? The romantic in my like to imagine him being dropped behind Russian lines as an American agent, spreading the Capitalist gospel in small Russian villages through the medium of country music (if anyone out there would be interested in developing this concept for the big screen, please do get in touch).  Regardless of his ultimate fate, Doll left us all in no doubt as to what he thought about Communism… 

When they Drop the Atomic Bomb (Doll)

There will soon be an end to this cold and wicked war
When those hard headed Communists get what they're lookin' for
Only one thing that will stop them and their atrocious bunch
If General MacArthur drops an atomic bomb

Now over in Korea our boys have fought and fell
But they died just like heroes amid the many shot and killed
They had their hands tied behind them and were murdered by the score
By those dirty minded Communists who started this sad war

There'll be fire, dust and metal flying all around
And the radioactivity will burn them to the ground
If there's any Commies left they'll be all on the run
If General MacArthur drops an atomic bomb

Old hard headed Joe will be feelin' mighty blue
When he finds out he's bitten off more than he can chew
For his aggression will be ended and the job will be well done
If General MacArthur drops an atomic bomb

Old MacArthur has the power to stop those murderin' thieves
And he’ll make them sorry for their underhanded schemes
Just leave it to the general for he really has the nerve
To give no good Communists just what they deserve

There'll be fire, dust and metal flying all around
And the radioactivity will burn their playhouse down
If there's any Commies left they'll be all on the run
If General MacArthur drops an atomic bomb

Listen on Spotify: Apopalypse: Apocalyptic Advent Calendar

Listen on YouTube:

Buy: http://www.amazon.co.uk/When-They-Dropped-Atomic-Bomb/dp/B001P9YJHU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1354389767&sr=8-1