The Cranberries "Zombie" Vocal ANALYSIS by Opera Singer. You won't believe what I heard...

Oh no, everyone prepare to have this song stuck in your head, in your heaaad...

Irish person here - Dolores is blending a traditional Irish singing style called 'keening' which is often used around singing at funerals or to remember people who have passed. I remember my mum and her sister singing old songs with some of this style coming through their tears at their mothers/my granny's funeral.

She is as we say in Irish ag caoineadh (crying) or caoin. This was done by women in older times in Ireland at funerals to stir up peoples emotions and get people to cry. There were women who were known for their abilities to do this and came to funerals just to caoin (cry) it was an essential part of our mourning and grieving. Dolores embodies this style throughout this song

This song used to get played in clubs in Canada in the 'grunge' years. Drunk kids, with no idea, screamed out zombie. I was an immigrant and I shouted along. But with tears streaming.

To me, her voice conveys a searing anger beneath a valiant attempt to speak in a reasonable tone in order to be actually heard. Which is exactly what it was meant to be. Perfection.

Her voice technique here is from what in Ireland is called "keening"in Gaelic or "Sean-nós singing" in Irish. I absolutely love how she incorporates her cultural singing into this song.

The drums with a military 'rat-tat' beat and bullet shot echo. Genius!

She was so sweet. Miss you Dol!!!!!! Always. The Cranberries, their music, and Dolores' voice literally saved my life when I was a teenager. I will never forget that.

I grew up in an Irish Catholic neighborhood where the IRA held sway and turned my back on it, and this song has always held deep meaning for me. Dolores said at a concert in London "This song is our cry against the violence in London, and the war in Northern Ireland, and it must stop." It was the first song I learned when I picked up bass. Also, that yodel sound is called keening, and is a vocal technique in Ireland when grieving. Dolores does it very well. I so miss her voice, it left us too soon.

Dolores is one of those once in a lifetime voices that is terribly missed. 😢

Her keening throughout this song, never fails to cause me goosebumps and tears

They say analysing stuff takes the emotion out, but I am crying all the way through. I think what works particularly well is the way every part of the performance is another demonstration of how opposing pairs are connected, lyrically, visually and musically... High and Low, Loud and Quiet, Silence and Violence, Soldiers and Children. It takes incredible skill to join all those dots in multiple layers, and speak to something so profound with your words and the inflection of your voice. It also makes me realise the lyrics "in your head" and "zombie" are in conflict too; a zombie being unthinking and unfeeling, and yet the lines arround "in your head" describe an almost overwhelming heartfelt internal experience and recognition of the violence.

I have a pretty personal connection to this song, as a lot of people do. Jonathan Ball was one of the children killed in the Warrington bomb, I was in the same nursery group as him. His death, the effect it had on our community and the way it shaped me at a very young age has been....impactful. I find it profound that somebody like Dolores could see and the express the pain people in Warrington suffered, despite the fact she was from the "other side" of the conflict. That simple human act of sharing and understanding what our community was going through forever changed the way I thought about war and conflict. The people on both sides are human, the world would be a much better place if we could rememebr that more often. Its fine to disagree or even be disgusted by the actions of others, but never dehumanise them or we will all suffer.

Being Irish and living in Dublin when this song was released...... It instantly became an undisputed part of core Irish culture. This song means a LOT to Ireland. It accompanied the peace talks and the new hope that sprung from it beautifully. It also marked a subtle change in Irish opinions towards peace / Northern Ireland. Dolores was amazing, she was one of our greats. It's terrible to have lost her so young. And now we've lost Sinead O'Connor and Shane Mac Gowan also. Three people who absolutely embodied the Irish spirit and culture. To have lost three such amazing artists whose music was honest, raw, uncompromising...... it just sucks, man. Hurts my Irish soul.

It says bombs twice because she is calling out both sides of the war, the english faught with tanks and bombs, the IRA fought with bombs and guns. The second bar vocal is aimed at the IRA- "Oh no, its not me, it's not my family" later in song she calls out the british for the 1916 easter masacre that occurred in Belfast N.I. She was calling for an end to the killing

The way she swings from sorrow and despair to seething rage is truly amazing. I get goosebumps every time I hear this song.

Great example of the difference between hearing something and listening. Elizabeth heard the song before, but now she listened to it for the first time.

Dolores. ❤ “…seething energy underneath a soft, ethereal sound.” Beautifully articulated! Loved your reaction!

I was a teenager when the song came out. It was, I believe, the first I heard from them. I instantly fell in love with the band's music and especially with Dolores' voice. I still remember the first time I heard it. I couldn't leave my dad's car even after we arrived home until the radio finished playing the song. It's truly a masterpiece.

3:25 - you're absolutely right about the anger here. I've heard that Dolores was so angry after the bombing, so she wrote this song and when she met with the band she told the drummer "play as loud as you can". This song is a little bit of everything - demonstration of anger, appeal for empathy, accusation of being mindless (zombie) and it's also appeal to reason - reminding how long this has been going on and that violence has only proven completely pointless by now, and yet people still doing it mistakenly thinking that this is the way without giving it any actual consideration.