Analysis Of Eve Of Destruction By P. F Slogan

It is easy to believe that attaining peace in this world where violence and wars are so apparent is getting much harder. Perhaps to the point in which it is verging on the impossible. ‘Eve of Destruction’ expresses a strong but heartfelt warning towards how our hypocrisy as a society is edging us closer to our own demise . The writer, P.F Slogan, addresses both the solider and society singing about being on the ‘eve of destruction’. He wrote, “You’re old enough to kill but not for voting”, “you don’t believe in war, then what’s that gun your totin.” During the 1960s young men were drafted at 18 when the voting age was 21. When said bluntly, it carries a strong message, making you think about why the government would send a child to give …show more content…
Juxtaposition plays a huge part in the song as it places 2 completely opposite opinions side by side. P.F Slogan, using this feature, helps create a clear point of view in the listener’s head, showing how ridiculous certain decisions were. In the first verse he juxtaposes, “You’re old enough to kill” with “but not for voting” and ‘you don’t believe in war” with “then what’s that gun your totin.” Another example of juxtaposition in the song is “Hate you next door neighbour” with “but don’t forget to say grace” (4th Verse/Bridge). Metaphors such as “the world in a grave” (2nd verse) and “even the Jordan River has bodies floatin” (1st verse) causes the listener consider the implications this song was trying to display, a strong but balanced sense of fear, courage and indifference .
Eve of destruction is a folk song from the 1960s . It reminisces the time using only a guitar, drums, bass, Harmonica and a strong vocalist. The vocalist’s voice style is folk like with a soft drawl and emphasises varies parts of the song. This together creates a sad but meaningful atmosphere around the listener. The tempo sits at 120BPM (metronome) giving it a moderate tempo although the energy and dynamics of the song increases every