Barry McGuire’s “Eve of Destruction” Lyrics Meaning

“Eve of Destruction” is what we tend to generally categorize as a social commentary song. Moreover, it came out during the 1960s, the era in which such output via the American music industry was perhaps at its peak. And we already know, based on previous research, is that such was a more puritan time, when for instance songs with perceived drug or sexual references could be promptly be banned from the airwaves. 

But “Eve of Destruction”, which is more politically minded, also holds the distinction of having been censored. So it must be some serious lyrics that Barry McGuire is kickin’, which we’re here to analyze today.

Now again, keep in mind that 1960s was a more sensitive time in the mainstream media, with reason that goes beyond moralistic concerns. That is to say that during that decade, the United States was perhaps under more of an internal ideological attack than at any other previous juncture in its history. 

For instance, it isn’t that common to come across stories of Americans being opposed to World War II. But contrarily we know that many people, perhaps even some of our own parents, have spoken out against the Vietnam War. 

Lyrics of “Eve of Destruction”

The aforementioned sentiment is how McGuire sets this song off, by criticizing said conflict.

But he is not only doing so in terms of massive violence being waged therein. He also points out the hypocrisy, if you will, of at the time Americans being drafted into that hellish conflict at a younger age than they were allowed to legally vote. 

Or put differently, perhaps you could be a young man who is against the war yet unable to vote for a politician who shares similar views. Yet you may still find yourself on the front lines, risking or even losing your life. 

So yes, this definitely reads like a direct criticism of the American government, likely contributing to aforementioned banning of “Eve of Destruction”.

But on a more macrocosmic level, the vocalist is alluding to the notion of the world being in a warlike state in general, which was definitely true as far as the 20^th century is concerned. So that is why, at the end of the first verse, he also namedrops the Jordan River. Said waterbody runs through the State of Israel, i.e. one of the most volatile regions of contemporary history. 

Indeed if Barry had gone about just namedropping the Middle East in general, when most of us hear mention of that locality one of the first things that pops in many of our minds is incessant violence anyway. And that was even true back in the 1960s. But it has been concluded that he was is referring to a particular battle that was going at that time of this song’s issuance, between the Arabs and Israelis of course, called The War over Water.

Song’s Title (“Eve of Destruction”)

In the chorus that follows the first verse, the vocalist reveals the meaning of the title. And it is symbolic of his belief that our “destruction” is imminent. And it does not necessarily read as if he believes in the prophesied end of the world per se. 

Rather, delving into the subsequent second verse, his fears are a lot of more earth-based. Actually he is more concerned with the prospect of nuclear war for instance and how such could theoretically be so easy to initiate. And keep in mind that this song came out just two short decades after World War II, i.e. history’s only usage of atomic bombs, via the United States of America, in combat.

Civil Rights Issues

But Barry’s concern for mankind isn’t only in terms of the possibility of instant mass destruction. 

With this once again being the 1960s, he also expresses anxiety over matters such as civil rights. And the way he sees it, lack of respect amongst different groups of people is yet another sign of the times. Or put differently, the frustration he’s feeling is further buttressed not only by war between nations but also discontent amongst individuals. 

Or stated alternatively yet again, he’s not confident that politicians can solve the problem of lack of love between fellow men.

The Escalation of Hatred

In the fourth verse, the vocalist further drives the point home that at the core of his gripe with mankind is a proliferation of hate. Under his estimation, the same human rights’ atrocities that are transpiring in “Red China” are akin to those being perpetrated in “Selma, Alabama”. 

As far as China is concerned, this was around the time they entered Mao Tse Tung’s Cultural Revolution of which possibly 20,000,000 human beings lost their lives. And the shoutout to Selma is another reference to the Civil Rights Movement that was transpiring concurrently stateside.

Another way the 1960s stand out as a decade is that this was also around the time space exploration commenced. NASA’s Gemini 4 managed to stay in spaceflight for “four days”. But the vocalist is stating that being up there doesn’t change what’s going on down here. 

And whereas that may sound like stating the obvious, there is an important message that McGuire is trying to send across. What McGuire is trying to get at is he does not perceive there being any forthcoming change in the less-than-favorable state of the world as mentioned above. 

And even though the lyrics generally read macrocosmic, there is also ample wording dedicated to his impression that we as individuals are also the problem. Or as implied at the end of the fourth verse, people tend to be hypocritical in terms of idealizing peace yet practicing hate.

The Chorus of “Eve of Destruction”

Now one thing we didn’t reveal about the nature of the chorus earlier is that, as inferred, this song is meant to be an argument. That is to say that the addressee would be someone who is not convinced that we are on the “eve of destruction”. 

So that would be why the vocalist goes about noting what has been delineated above. And at the end of the day, what it’s really about isn’t really focusing on any one country but the perceived hateful state of the world at large.

Conclusion

The above aside, it can be said that since McGuire is himself an American, that would be why his focus in primarily on what’s going on in and with the United States. But for all we know, when you take into consideration the present state of international economics politics, perhaps this song’s censorship was partially due to the fact that he disses the communist Chinese government also. 

That theory probably isn’t likely, but the point is that the vocalist comes off more like a prophet, with the entirety of mankind in his scope, than a political commentator.

Barry McGuire

Barry McGuire actually has a pretty lengthy discography, being most musically active throughout the last three decades of the 20^th century. But actually being born in the 1930s, his heyday was around the mid-1960s. That is to say that McGuire’s signature song and only noteworthy hit is “Eve of Destruction”. And the song is the title track to an LP he put out in the 1965. 

This is his only album, out of many, that has been deemed worthy enough to get its own Wikipedia page. But as an interesting side note he was the first artist to record the 1965 classic “California Dreamin’“, that was subsequently made famous via The Mamas and the Papas. In fact The Mamas and the Papas originally served as backup vocalists on McGuire’s recording of the tune.

The Vietnam War, the Inspiration behind “Eve of Destruction”

The Vietnam War was statutorily a conflict waged between two bordering countries, North Vietnam and South Vietnam, that existed at the time. The latter was supported by the West, most notably the United States. The U.S. was also directly involved in the battle for a good 20 years, i.e. since the official cessation of World War II. Meanwhile the Vietnam War itself officially lasted for 20 years, from 1955 to 1975, and in the process resulted in, at max, an estimated 3,500,000 deaths.

Facts about “Eve of Destruction”

“Eve of Destruction” was written by one P. F. Sloan (1945-2015) who, as far as being involved in hit songs is concerned, has a more notable discography than McGuire. And the same can definitely be said for the track’s producer, Lou Adler. Lou ended up being honored with an induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Also, it should be relayed what when P.F. Sloan wrote this piece, he was only 19 years of age. In fact according to the L.A. Times, he was akin to a songwriting genius. He reportedly penned four other pieces on the same night he put together “Eve of Destruction”. “Eve of Destruction” proved to be his breakthrough song. It also ended up as Sloan’s own signature work.

To note, McGuire is not the only vocalist to have come out with a version of this classic. The Byrds were the first act to release a rendition of this tune. And also during 1965, a forgotten musical duo called Jan and Dean dropped their own rendition. 

Since then a number of other artists, including hip-hop legends Public Enemy in 2007, have also covered this song. 

But it is McGuire’s outing that stands as the most successful out of the lot. 

McGuire’s Version

For instance, his interpretation topped the Billboard Hot 100 and its counterpart of that day, the US Cash Box Top 100. It also enjoyed a similar success on Canada’s Top Singles. 

Additionally it peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart. Interestingly, despite whatever censorship or criticism it may have endured, it proved to be one of the biggest hits of 1965.

And another interesting fact behind this track is that McGuire recorded it in just a single take. He is believed to have done so as sort of a throwaway song during one of his studio sessions.

This being Barry McGuire’s signature piece and all, he has been compelled to keep performing it throughout the decades. In fact he dropped a re-recorded version of the tune on his 1974 album “Lighten Up”. But to note, by that time he had switched over from mainstream to Christian contemporary music. McGuire spent the rest of his career specializing in this genre.

Below are the countries in which this classic became a top-10 hit for McGuire:

• United States (#1)
• United Kingdom (#3)
• Norway (#1)
• Netherlands (#3)
• Ireland (#2)
• Germany (#6)
• Canada (#1)

It was also a hit single in Belgium and Italy.

More Interesting Facts

It has been put forth that “Eve of Destruction” is the quintessential protest song of the 1960s. And why is that so? Because it was instrumental in helping to establish the middle part of that decade in particular as a noteworthy era in American history. 

Furthermore, as implied by the Santa Cruz Sentinel, it was also the first of such tracks to really blow up. In other words, this song was a trendsetter.