Sinéad O’Connor

Released: November 4, 1987

Songwriter: Sinéad O’Connor

Producer: Kevin Moloney Sinéad O’Connor

Well, you tell us that we're wrong
And you tell us not to sing our song
Nothing we can say will make you see
You got a heart of stone
You can never feel

You say, "Oh, I'm not afraid
It can't happen to me
I've lived my life as a good man
Oh, no you're out of your mind
It won't happen to me
'Cause I've carried my weight
And I've been a strong man"

Listen to the man in the liquor store
Yelling, "Anybody want a drink before the war?"

And your parents paid you through
You got a nice big car
Nothing bothers you
Somebody cut out your eyes
You refuse to see
Somebody cut out your heart
You refuse to feel
And you live in a shell
You create your own hell
You live in the past
And talk about war
And you dig your own grave yeah
But it's a life you can save
So stop getting fussed
It's not gonna happen
And you'll cry
But you'll never fall
No, no, no
You're building a wall
Gotta break it down
Start again

No, no, no
It won't happen to us
We've lived our lives
Basically we've been good men
So stop talking of war
'Cause you know we've heard it all before
Why don't you go out there
And do something useful

Oh, listen to the man in the liquor store
He's yelling, "Anybody wanna drink before the war?"
"Anybody wanna drink before the war?"
"Anybody wanna drink before the war?"

Sinéad O'Connor (who goes by Shuhada' Sadaqat in her private life) is an Irish singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the late 80s with her album The Lion and the Cobra and achieved worldwide success with her cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares to You” in 1990.

O'Connor was discovered in 1985 when Nigel Grainge of Ensign Records saw her band Ton Ton Macoute perform. Although he was not fond of the band’s music, he was impressed by O'Connor’s ‘amazing voice’. Grainge had O'Connor record four songs with Karl Wallinger (World Party) and signed her to his label. O'Connor’s first single was the song “Heroine” which she co-wrote with U2’s guitarist The Edge for the film Captive.

Her debut album The Lion and the Cobra was a sensation when it was released in 1987, reaching gold record status and earning a Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy nomination. O'Connor’s debut single “Troy” charted in The Netherlands and Belgium, and “Mandinka”, released in late 1987, cracked the top 20 in the UK and top 30 in three other European countries, helping her album chart well in Europe. Spin Magazine described the album as a “remarkable, still-spine-tingling first record”.

more tracks from the album

The Lion and the Cobra

From the album

The Lion and the Cobra (1987)

Sinéad O’Connor popular songs

Drink Before the WarSinéad O’Connor

Sinéad O’Connor

The Lion and the Cobra