"Lovers in a Dangerous Time" is a song by

Bruce Cockburn Bruce Douglas Cockburn ( ; born May 27, 1945) is a Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist. His song styles range from folk to jazz-influenced rock and his lyrics cover a broad range of topics including human rights, environmental issues, p ...

, originally released on his 1984 album '' Stealing Fire''. The song was a

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

hit for Cockburn, peaking at No. 25 on the Canadian charts the week of August 18, 1984.

Background

According to Cockburn, the song was inspired by seeing teenagers expressing romantic love in a schoolyard. In the song, he contrasts the hopefulness and joy of new love with the despair of a wider Cold War world where notions of the future often carried a sense of foreboding and doom. However, especially in light of Cockburn's next single "

If I Had a Rocket Launcher "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn, from his 1984 album '' Stealing Fire''. The song was inspired by Cockburn's visit, sponsored by Oxfam, to Guatemalan refugee camps in Mexico following the coun ...

", the song has also been interpreted by listeners and critics as referring to the same Guatemalan refugee crisis that inspired the later song, or to the then-emerging

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

crisis. Cockburn stated in later interviews that he was pleased by both of these alternate interpretations. In 2005, "Lovers" was named the 11th greatest Canadian song of all time on the

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of C ...

series '' 50 Tracks: The Canadian Version''. U2 alluded to "Lovers" in their 1988 single "

God Part II "God Part II" is a song by rock band U2, and the 14th track from their 1988 album ''Rattle and Hum''. Content It was written as an answer song to John Lennon's "God", having the same kind of lyrical structure. It also contains an attack on Ameri ...

", with the lyric "Heard a singer on the radio late last night/He says he's gonna kick the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight."

Covers

"Lovers in a Dangerous Time" was covered by

Dan Fogelberg Daniel Grayling Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American musician, songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is known for his 1970s and 1980s songs, including " Longer" (1979), " Same Old Lang Syne" (1980), and ...

on his album '' The Wild Places'', which was released in August 1990 by Epic Records. The song was subsequently covered by Barenaked Ladies on the 1991 Cockburn tribute album ''

Kick at the Darkness ''Kick at the Darkness'' is a tribute album to Canadian singer-songwriter Bruce Cockburn, released in 1991. The title comes from a line in the song " Lovers in a Dangerous Time": "gotta kick at the darkness 'til it bleeds daylight". The album w ...

''. Released as their debut single, it became their first top 40 hit on the Canadian charts, reaching No. 16 the week of February 15, 1992. It also appeared on their greatest hits compilation '' Disc One: All Their Greatest Hits (1991–2001)''. Additional covers have been recorded by Canadian singer

Frazey Ford Frazey Obadiah Ford is a Canadian singer-songwriter and actress. She was a founding member of The Be Good Tanyas. Her solo debut ''Obadiah'' was released on Nettwerk on July 20, 2010. Jenny Charlesworth of ''The Georgia Straight'' wrote that a ...

, Canadian duo the Royal Oui, and

Oysterband Oysterband (originally The Oyster Band) is a British folk rock and folk punk band formed in Canterbury around 1976. History Early history The band formed in parallel to Fiddler's Dram, and under the name "Oyster Ceilidh Band" played purely as ...

References

{{authority control 1984 songs 1984 singles 1992 debut singles Bruce Cockburn songs Barenaked Ladies songs Dan Fogelberg songs True North Records singles Songs written by Bruce Cockburn Works about the Cold War

Background

Covers

See also

References