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About this song
Talking Atom is a track by Pete Seeger, taken from the album “If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope and Struggle”, released May 19, 1998 on Smithsonian Folkways Recordings. It runs 2:29. Use the Play button above when a verified stream is available, or choose a listening service from the other options.
Within the album sequence, this recording sits alongside If I Had a Hammer (1), Banks of Marble, Which Side are You On?. Open the album page to compare the full running order and the listening options available for each song.
Song details
- Song
- Talking Atom
- Artist
- Pete Seeger
- Release
- If I Had a Hammer: Songs of Hope and Struggle
- Format
- Album
- Duration
- 2:29
- Release date
- May 19, 1998
- Record label
- Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
- Content notice
- Standard
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Lyrics
Find another songWell, I'm gonna preach you a sermon 'bout Old Man Atom
I don't mean the Adam in the Bible datum
I don't mean the Adam that Mother Eve mated
I mean that thing that science liberated
Einstein says he's scared
And when Einstein's scared, I'm scared
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Alamogordo, Bikini...
Here's my moral, plain as day
Old Man Atom is here to stay
He's gonna hang around, it's plain to see
But, ah, my dearly beloved, are we?
We hold these truths to be self-evident
All men may be cremated equal
Hiroshima, Nagasaki -- here's my text
Hiroshima, Nagasaki -- Lordy, who'll be next
The science guys, from every clime
They all pitched in with overtime
Before they knew it, the job was done;
They'd hitched up the power of the gosh-darn sun
They put a harness on Old Sol
Splittin' atoms, while the diplomats was splittin' hairs . .
Hiroshima, Nagasaki -- what'll we do?
Hiroshima, Nagasaki -- they both went up the blue
Then the cartel crowd put on a show
To turn back the clock on the UNO
To get a corner on atoms and maybe extinguish
Every darned atom that can't speak English
Down with foreign-born atoms!
Yes, Sir!
Hiroshima, Nagasaki...
But the atom's international, in spite of hysteria
Flourishes in Utah, also Siberia
And whether you're white, black, red or brown
The question is this, when you boil it down:
To be or not to be!
That is the question. .
Atoms to atoms, and dust to dust
If the world makes A-bombs, something's bound to bust
Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Alamogordo, Bikini...
No, the answer to it all isn't milit
Lyrics supplied by lyrics.ovh.
Like Talking Atom? These songs are for you
- 01 If I Had a Hammer (1) 1:56
- 02 Banks of Marble 3:17
- 03 Which Side are You On? 2:09
- 04 Casey Jones (The Union Scab) 1:58
- 05 Talking Union 3:05
- 06 Joe Hill 2:32
- 07 Union Maid 2:16
- 08 Step by Step 1:37
- 09 Solidarity Forever 2:54
- 10 Where Have All the Flowers Gone? 2:05
- 11 Crow on the Cradle 2:25
- 12 Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream 2:30