The Cranberries describe the violence in “The Troubles,” the decades-long conflict in Northern Ireland between nationalists (mainly self-identified as Irish or Roman Catholic) and unionists (mainly self-identified as British or Protestant).
Dolores O'Riordan wrote the song during the band’s English tour in 1993 in memory of two young boys, Tim Parry and Johnathan Ball, who were killed in an IRA bombing in Warrington, England.
“This song is our cry against man’s inhumanity to man, inhumanity to child,” she said.
During a performance of “Zombie” in January 1994 at The Astoria in London, Dolores O'Riordan said:
This song is our cry against the violence in London, against the war in the north of Ireland. And we want it to stop.
"Zombie"
Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken
But you see it's not me
It's not my family
In your head, in your head
They are fighting
With their tanks and their bombs
And their bombs and their guns
In your head, in your head
They are cryin'
In your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie, hey, hey
What's in your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie, hey, hey, hey, oh
Peace -
DC 🎶
