“Gods of War” samples speeches from Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher during the coda. The song also features “Solidarność” chants during the intro and coda.
What kind of “protest song” samples chants from a CIA front organization? I recorded a clip of the song at around 6:03, where I heard chanting (I’m hearing impaired so I can barely hear them). I haven’t found any other source crediting this sample besides Wikipedia, and neither of the cited references mentions Solidarity.
References cited by Wikipedia:
- This is as close to a protest song as you’re going to hear from Def Leppard. Inspired by what he saw on the news, lead singer Joe Elliott takes on world leaders and their penchant for starting wars that others will have to fight. It’s the only track from Hysteria with any political overtones, and it drew scoffs from some critics who dismissed it as silly coming from the band that gave us “Pour Some Sugar On Me.” Elliott articulated his frustration in a 1988 interview with Q, where he said: “I can write ‘Gods Of War’ – ‘Oh yeah, another Heavy metal holocaust song’! People won’t look past the ends of their noses; they think we’re all Spinal Tap or Bad News. Nobody will pick up the details of ‘Gods Of War’ like they do a Morrissey song.”
- Towards the end of this song, you hear recordings of US President Ronald Reagan addressing terrorists, telling them that they can run but can’t hide.
My Sunday Song – “Gods of War” by Def Leppard
Additional references:
Ronald Reagan: “Message to terrorists everywhere: You can run, but you can’t hide.”
Margaret Thatcher: “We’re determined to stand together… and we’re determined to take action.”
Ronald Reagan: “We’re not going to tolerate these attacks from outlaw states.”
“We will not cave in.”
“Today, we have done what we had to do.”
“He counted on America to be pacifists… He counted wrong.”
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 