20 Pop Songs That Contain Little-Known Historical References

Boney M.’s song “Rasputin” dates back to the final years of Imperial Russia, when Grigori Rasputin became involved with the court of Nicholas II and Alexandra. By the time of his assassination in 1916, Rasputin had already become a symbol of the decline of the Romanov court, giving the song a historical backdrop far stranger than its disco beat might suggest.

U2 wrote “Pride” following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., who was killed on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel on April 4, 1968. King was in the city to support striking sanitation workers; the song therefore refers more broadly to the struggle for civil rights and workers’ rights that marked his final days.

Don McLean begins his famous song by referring to the 1959 plane crash that claimed the lives of Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, and the Big Bopper. The rest of the song chronicles the 1960s, and although many of the later references are still a matter of debate, the overall historical atmosphere is quite clear: a decade marked by loss, turmoil, and cultural upheaval.

The song “Waterloo” by ABBA was inspired by Napoleon’s final defeat at Waterloo, Belgium, on June 18, 1815. That battle brought an end to his brief return to power and helped bring a long period of war across Europe to a close.

This song refers to “Bloody Sunday,” which took place in Derry on January 30, 1972, when British paratroopers opened fire on a civil rights march, killing 13 people. This event sparked outrage throughout Northern Ireland and exacerbated a long-standing conflict.

Bastille’s song "Pompeii" takes its name from the Roman city destroyed by Mount Vesuvius in 79 A.D. The concept imagines voices recorded after the eruption, which gives the song its dark and historical feel.

Billy Joel’s song traces the history of the postwar era, from Harry Truman to the wars, scandals, celebrities, and crises that marked the period from the late 1940s to the late 1980s. It reads almost like a condensed chronology of the Cold War era.

Randy Newman’s song “Louisiana 1927” recounts the Great Mississippi Flood, which submerged vast swaths of the lower Mississippi Valley and forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee their homes. It also expresses the bitterness stemming from the inhumane treatment inflicted on poor residents and Black communities during that disaster.

Peter Gabriel’s song "Biko" is linked to the 1977 death of South African activist Steve Biko. Biko died from injuries sustained while in police custody, after becoming one of the leading figures of the Black Consciousness Movement.

Dolores O’Riordan wrote “Zombie” after the 1993 IRA bombing in Warrington, England, which claimed the lives of three-year-old Johnathan Ball and 12-year-old Tim Parry.

Iron Maiden’s song “Run to the Hills” deals with the violent seizure of Indigenous lands during European colonization in North America. The lyrics describe the massacres, forced displacements, and widespread destruction that accompanied westward expansion.

Nena released “99 Luftballons” in 1983 in West Germany, where the anxiety surrounding the Cold War was a constant presence in everyday life. The song imagines the outbreak of a war resulting from military paranoia and an overreaction, accurately reflecting a divided Germany living under the threat of an escalation between the superpowers.

Sting’s song "Russians" was released in 1985, at a time when fears related to the Cold War were on the rise. The lyrics refer to Khrushchev, Reagan, Soviet speeches, and the constant fear of mutual destruction that weighed heavily on ordinary people.

Johnny Horton’s success dates back to January 8, 1815, when American forces defeated the British on the outskirts of New Orleans in the last major battle of the War of 1812. What is most surprising is that the Treaty of Ghent had already been signed in December 1814, but the news had not reached the front in time to bring the fighting to an end.

Dion’s song, released in 1968, brings together Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy, and Robert F. Kennedy in a shared spirit of national mourning. Released the year that both King and Robert Kennedy were assassinated, it was not the product of reflection carried out from a distance, in comfort. It spoke to grief that was still fresh.

Neil Young wrote “Ohio” as a direct response to the Kent State shooting on May 4, 1970, during which the Ohio National Guard killed four students and wounded nine others during an anti-war demonstration.

OMD named this song “Enola Gay” in reference to the B-29 bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Once you know this history, it’s hard to take the song’s lighthearted sound at face value, as the name evokes one of the darkest moments of the 20th century.

The song “Wheat Kings” by The Tragically Hip tells the story of David Milgaard, who was convicted in 1969 of the assault and murder of Gail Miller in Saskatoon and spent 23 years in prison before being exonerated. It is one of the saddest historical references in all of rock music, as this injustice was both very real and entirely preventable.

The band set this song toward the end of the Civil War and wrote it from the perspective of Virgil Caine, a poor Southern man caught up in the collapse of the Confederacy. References to the fall of Richmond, Stoneman’s cavalry, famine, and destroyed railroads clearly anchor the story in 1865 and focus it on material losses rather than nostalgia.

This one is much more upbeat than the others on this list, but that doesn’t change the story it tells. The song is inspired by the city’s official international name, which became “Istanbul” in 1930, after the fall of the Ottoman Empire and the founding of modern Turkey.