Commentary: I'm as big a fan of chipper doomsaying as they next fellow—after all, I'm an ardent fan of Reel Big Fish—but "Happy Birthday" indulges in the type of Cold War doom & gloom that was so in vogue in 1983, as if President Reagan was attempting to spark "World War III" while the valiant New Soviet Men were trying to save us from ourselves. I confess that I have the benefit of hindsight, but even accounting for this I find the self-hating paranoia of the early '80s "peace movement" particularly irksome in its baselessness. I know, one should never take "Weird Al" this seriously. I like "Happy Birthday," otherwise it would not be the R.B.D.S.O.T.D.
"Well, what's the matter, little thing, you think this party is the pits?This same Zeitgeist is on appropriate display in the new German spy-thriller television series Deutschland 83, which I invite you to watch on SundanceTV, if you are able.
Enjoy it while you can, we'll soon be blown to bits!
The monkeys in the Pentagon are gonna cook our goose,
Their finger's on the button, all they need is an excuse!
Doesn't take a military genius to see
We'll all be crispy critters after World War III!
There's nowhere you can run to, nowhere you can hide,
When they drop the Big One we all get fried!…"
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