"Zombie" is a protest song released by Irish Rock groups The Cranberries in 1994 off the album No Need To Argue. The song is in protest to the 1993 IRA bombing in Warrington in memory of two young victims. The Cranberries claim they wrote the song as a call for peace among England and Ireland.
Island Records urged them not to release it and offered lead singer and songwriter Dolores O'Riordan $1 Million to work on another song. She ripped up the check and released the "politically urgent" song because she wanted the band to break to the rest of the world and this song was her ticket to doing so.
In the U.S. the song made it to #22 on the Radio Songs, #1 on the Alternative Songs, #32 on Mainstream Rock, and #18 on Mainstream Top 40 Charts. The song wasn't officially released as a single in the U.S., a tactic used to sell more albums, therefore, it wasn't eligible for the Hot 100. The song got significant airplay on the radio and the video on MTV.
The song was covered by Bad Wolves in 2018 and O'Riordan was scheduled to sing on the remake, but passed away just before. There was some discussion about shelving the song, but the band decided to record and release it and donate the proceeds to O'Riordan's children. The song ended up being a huge hit and this cover did make it onto the Hot 100.
The Cranberries "Zombie" 1994