This is an apocalyptic song, detailing the many ways the world could end, including the coming of the ice age, starvation, and war. It was the song that best defined The Clash, who were known for lashing out against injustice and rebelling against the establishment, which is pretty much what Punk Rock was all about. Joe Strummer explained in 1988 to Melody Maker: "I read about ten news reports in one day calling down all variety of plagues on us." Singer Joe Strummer was a news junkie, and many of the images of doom in the lyrics came from news reports he read. The initial inspiration came in a conversation Strummer had with his then-fiancee Gaby Salter in a taxi ride home to their flat in World's End (appropriately). "There was a lot of Cold War nonsense going on, and we knew that London was susceptible to flooding. She told me to write something about that," noted Strummer in an interview with Uncut magazine. The title came from the BBC World Service's radio station identification: "This is London calling..." The BBC used it during World War II. The line "London is drowning and I live by the river" came from a saying in England that if the Thames river ever flooded, all of London would be underwater. Joe Strummer was living in a high-rise apartment, so he would have been OK. The line about the "Nuclear Error" was inspired by the Three Mile Island nuclear reactor meltdown in March, 1979. This incident is also referred to in the lyrics to "Clampdown" from the same album. The Clash recorded this album after returning to England from a short US tour. The band was intrigued by American music as well as its rock'n'roll mythology, so much so that the album cover was a tribute to Elvis Presley's first album.
Now war is declared, and battle come down
London calling to the underworld
Come out of the cupboard, you boys and girls
London calling, now don't look to us
Phoney Beatlemania has bitten the dust
London calling, see we ain't got no swing
'Cept for the ring of that truncheon thing
[Chorus 1:]
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in
Meltdown expected, the wheat is growing thin
Engines stop running, but I have no fear
'Cause London is drowning, and I live by the river
London calling to the imitation zone
Forget it, brother, you can go it alone
London calling to the zombies of death
Quit holding out, and draw another breath
London calling, and I don't wanna shout
But while we were talking, I saw you nodding out
London calling, see we ain't got no high
Except for that one with the yellowy eyes
[Chorus 2: x2]
The ice age is coming, the sun's zooming in
Engines stop running, the wheat is growing thin
A nuclear error, but I have no fear
'Cause London is drowning, and I live by the river
Now get this
London calling, yes, I was there, too
An' you know what they said? Well, some of it was true!
London calling at the top of the dial
After all this, won't you give me a smile?
London calling
I never felt so much alike [fading] alike alike alike
Our solar system is littered with billions of pieces of debris, from the size of large boulders to objects hundreds of miles across. We know that from time to time these hit our Earth. Now, a Russian scientist has calculated that a mountain-sized asteroid - which crosses paths with the Earth every three years - could one day hit us with an explosion 1,000 times greater than the surprise 2013 impact of a bus-sized meteor in Russia.
This is not the only Doomsday scenario faced by our planet. Humanity may have already created its own nemesis, according to Professor Stephen Hawking. The Cambridge University physicist claimed that new developments in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) mean that within a few decades, computers thousands of times more powerful than in existence today may decide to usurp their creators and effectively end humanity’s 100,000-year dominance of Earth.
This ‘Terminator’ scenario is taken seriously by many scientists and technologists. Before Professor Hawking made his remarks, Elon Musk, the genius behind the Tesla electric car and PayPal, has stated that “with artificial intelligence, we are summoning the demon”, comparing it unfavourably with nuclear war as the most potent threat to humanity’s existence.
Aside from the rise of the machines, many potential threats have been identified to our species, our civilisation or even our planet itself.
There has been a run of recent films that show what the end of civilisation might look like. I Am Legend, The Book Of Eli, The Road, The Day After Tomorrow, War Of The Worlds that are trying to do what the Mad Max Films of the late 70's and 1980's were trying to do. The end of the world scenario has caused a number of national papers to predict what the world will end from. To keep you awake at night, here are seven of the most plausible. One thing to note when you read these scenarios is that for the most part they all in some way do not seem credible. They seem to be written by people who have no clue about what they are writing about. It does make interesting reading though.
Probability: Remote in our lifetime, but one day we will be hit.
Result: There has been no strike big enough to wipe out all life on Earth – an “extinction-level event” – for at least 3bn years. But a dino-killer would certainly be the end of our civilisation and possibly our species.
2. Artificial intelligence
Probability: Unknown – although computing power is doubling every 18 months. We do not know if machines can be conscious or “want” to do anything, and sceptics point out that the cleverest computers in existence are currently no brighter than cockroaches.
Result: If the Web wakes up and wants to sweep us aside, we may have a fight on our hands (perhaps even something similar to the man vs machines battle in the Terminator films). But it is unlikely that the machines will want to destroy the planet – they live here, too.
3. A genetically created plague
Probability: Someone will probably try it one day.
Result: Potentially catastrophic. “Ordinary” infectious diseases such as avian flu strains have the capability to wipe out hundreds of millions of people.
Result: Potentially catastrophic. “Ordinary” infectious diseases such as avian flu strains have the capability to wipe out hundreds of millions of people.
4. Nuclear war
Probability: High. Nine states have nuclear weapons, and more want to join the nuclear club. The nuclear wannabees are not paragons of democracy.
Result: It is unlikely that even a global nuclear war between Russia and Nato would wipe us all out, but it would kill billions and wreck the world economy for a century. A regional war, we now know, could have effects far beyond the borders of the conflict.
5. Particle accelerator disaster
Probability: Very low indeed.
Result: Potentially devastating, but don’t bother cancelling the house insurance just yet.
Probability: Very low indeed.
Result: Potentially devastating, but don’t bother cancelling the house insurance just yet.
6. 'God' reaches for the off-switch
Probability: According to Bostrom’s calculations, if certain assumptions are made then there is a greater than 50 per cent chance that our universe is not real. And the increasingly puzzling absence of any evidence of alien life may be indirect evidence that the Universe is not what it seems.
Result: Catastrophic – if the gamers turn against us. The only consolation is the knowledge that there is absolutely nothing we can do about it.
Result: Catastrophic – if the gamers turn against us. The only consolation is the knowledge that there is absolutely nothing we can do about it.
7. Climate catastrophe
Probability: It is now almost certain that CO2 levels will keep rising to 600 parts per million and beyond. And it is equally certain that the climate will respond accordingly.
Result: Catastrophic in some places, less so in others (including northern Europe, where temperature rises will be moderated by the Atlantic). The good news is that unlike most of the disasters here, we have a chance to do something about climate change now.
Result: Catastrophic in some places, less so in others (including northern Europe, where temperature rises will be moderated by the Atlantic). The good news is that unlike most of the disasters here, we have a chance to do something about climate change now.
Jesus himself was not shy to speak of the end of the end of the age. This from Matthews gospel is one examples of Jesus speaking out what the newspapers are theorising about and what the Clash was singing in "London's Calling". It may feel like that this is all rhetoric about a non event, but there are some whether rightly or wrongly that do take this very seriously indeed. It was important enough for Jesus to make comments in his day.
In Matthew 24 Jesus says "Therefore Keep watch......" He does not mean keep look to see how the world might end. Because it may be a red herring. The world may end like the scientists have predicted in the seven examples above or in the way that "London's Calling" suggests but that is not to be the focus of someone's life who is a follower of Jesus. The "watching" is watching our relationship with God and with each other.
End of the world scenario's are what drive some people. They at times could be guilty for taking over peoples live's and becoming the main thing. There are many doomsday cults that you could go to to see this very thing. This is not the life that is productive. There are good and productive ways to live life beyond looking for doom and gloom of the coming apocalypse. My own choice is to know God better, to follow Jesus more intentionally and to get to know my neighbours that I live around more. I for one don't want to waste time on things that waste time.
May you be committed to the things that are worth wasting time on today. May you not be pestered or focused on that which is beyond our control or thinking. May you be able today to give encouragement, to help someone in need, to spend time praying doing something that is really important to you. May you know the Spirit of God guiding you more today and may you be filled with more hope. May you be a "Watcher.........today
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