What was enola gay song about
How I wrote ‘Enola Gay’ by OMD’s Andy McCluskey
How the electro-pop classic, with one of the catchiest synth melodies, was inspired by the dropping of the atomic bomb
With 25 million singles and 15 million albums sold worldwide, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) have guaranteed their place in the annals of music history. Formed in 1978 by school friends Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphreys, who had already played together in other Merseyside bands, OMD became the flawless home for their Kraftwerk-inspired synth-pop. Though a thriving albums band, McClusky, Humphreys and co. also had the knack for writing chart-bothering and catchy singles, none more so than Enola Gay.
With its title, and inspiration, taken from the name of the aeroplane which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in August 1945, the song is most remarkable for its catchy synth hook – somewhat at odds with the sombre subject matter. Such is Enola Gay’s instant appeal, it has gone on to sell more than five million copies. That’s not to say the track was welcomed by everyone. In fact, it was banned from organism played on the BBC children’s programme Swap Shop – not because of the event 'Enola Gay' is the iconic single from Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark’s debut album 'Organisation'. Widely regarded as the band’s signature song, this synth-pop classic stands out not only for its distinctive sound but also for the profound historical context embedded in its lyrics. The song is named after the B-29 Superfortress aircraft Enola Gay, which was the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb, Little Boy, on Hiroshima, Japan, on August 6, 1945. The plane’s name was chosen by its pilot, Colonel Paul Tibbets, after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets. The bomb, Little Boy, was a uranium-235 weapon, and it was the first atomic bomb ever used in warfare, marking a pivotal moment in Society War II and in world history. The lyrics of 'Enola Gay' reflect on the moral and ethical questions surrounding the operate of the atomic bomb. The song asks whether the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were truly necessary. With lines love "It shouldn't ever hold to end this way," OMD touches on the human cost and the devastating consequences of nuclear warfare. The lyrics evoke a sense of dispute, 74 years ago today, the Japanese city of Hiroshima was destroyed by an atomic bomb, ‘Little Boy’, carried by the USAAF B-29 Superfortress bomber, named Enola Gay. It caused the death of around 140,000 civilians. It wasn’t the first time that the allied forces turned to killing large amounts of civilians as the Dresden bombing already showed earlier that same year when four raids – carried out between 13 and 15 February 1945 – destroyed the metropolis of Dresden killing an estimated 22,700 to 25,000 people. Were these bombings war-crimes or a necessary corrupt thereby preventing casualties that an invasion of Japan would have involved (estimated at one million casualties)? Those who oppose the bombings believe that atomic bombing is fundamentally immoral, that the bombings counted as war crimes, and that they constituted declare terrorism. Also OMD’s anti-war tune “Enola Gay” reflects on the decision to operate the bomb and request the listener to contemplate whether the bombings were necessary (“It shouldn’t ever have to end this way”). The phrase, “Is mother proud of Small Boy today?”, is an allusion to both the nicknam Lightened by disgorging its deadly cargo, the B-29 bomber rose suddenly in the air, banked steeply and flew away at full throttle. Beneath the studded cockpit windows, the aircraft bore the call of the pilot's mother: Enola Gay. Under the clarify skies of the satisfactory summer morning, Shinji Mikamo had finished his breakfast of millet and grass porridge, and climbed onto the roof of his house to remove clay tiles. He wiped sweat from his brow as he admired the view of the city below. "It's 8:15…" In disbelief, Mikamo saw a titanic fireball brighter than the sun racing towards him. Then he heard a blast like the sound of the universe exploding. In an instant, his entire body was consumed by searing pain, as if he had been doused in boiling water; the skin hung off his burnt body fancy ragged clothes. "…and that's the time that it's always been." Inside the rubble of his flattened residence, he would later spot his father's scorched pocket watch; little remained apart from a ghostly impression of the hands seared onto its face, forever marking the moment the bomb exploded. "We got your message on the radio, conditions normal and you're coming home." Th .
It’s 8:15 and That’s the Time It’s Always Been: An Analysis of OMD's 'Enola Gay'
Enola Gay
The Story Behind The Song