All You Zombies (song)

"All You Zombies" is a song by The Hooters on their second album Nervous Night released in 1985. The song reached the top 40 of the US charts in 1985. [1]

Meaning

The song stems from the stories of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments and Noah's Ark in the Old Testament of the Bible, and the fact that in both stories the people had rejected higher guidance. Some suggest that the song is a religious allegory on the unenlightened, warning them of what is to come if they do not accept the word of God, while others believe that the tune was written first and the lyrics only added because they fit. The song was written in one night by bandmembers Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian. [2] The song has the same title as a science fiction story by Robert A. Heinlein. Although a member of the group had read the story as a teenager, the connection appears to be essentially a coincidence. [3]

Recording history

The song originally appeared on the Amore album released independently in 1983. Hyman and Bazilian worked with Cyndi Lauper on the She's So Unusual album leading to Columbia Records offering the band a contract. They released All You Zombies with additional instrumental sections making the song almost six minutes long. [4]. It became a hit reaching the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and top 10 in Australia. The song was performed by the band at the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia, on July 13, 1985. The song has been covered by German singer Sandra Cretu on her 2007 album The Art Of Love, produced by Enigma co-producer Jens Gad. It has become popular in Poland, where it charted.

References

• Songfacts "All You Zombies"