50 Songs About the End of the World & The Apocalypse

Filed Under: Life Songs

This collection of apocalyptic songs will appeal to anyone who is morbidly fascinated by the concept of a dystopian future, concerned about the impact of climate change, or just going through a really intense breakup.

I. Pop songs about the apocalypse

Pop music somehow manages to sugarcoat the darkest of subjects, including the end of the world. So, if you’re looking for some more upbeat songs to listen to during the apocalypse, this genre has got you covered.

1) New Reality

This song has a decidedly futuristic quality to it. According to one of the band members, it represents the changes that will come about in the lives of human beings after the world has ended.

2) Critical (feat. Tim Williams)

3) 4 Minutes (feat. Justin Timberlake & Timbaland)

If you only had four minutes left to spend on Earth, how would you spend it? It’s not hard to guess what these guys and girls would get up to when it’s their last minutes on Earth.

4) The End of the World

This song is the definition of sugarcoating the apocalypse. It describes two lovers who are utterly oblivious to the destruction that’s taking place around them.

5) Song for a Future Generation

II. Old songs about the end of the world

People usually have differing opinions about classifying things like “old,” but we figure that half a century is long enough for these classics.

1) Bad Moon Rising

It might be hard to fathom that such an upbeat track has anything to do with the end of the world, but listening closely to the lyrics might just change your mind.

2) Wooden Ships (2005 Remaster)

This song is about the survivors of a nuclear war. Given the fact it was written during the Cold War, it might not have seemed like a far-off reality to some people at the time.

3) The End

4) Talkin’ World War III Blues

This satirical number by Bob Dylan essentially ridicules the fears that many people had at the time about the possibility of a third World War.

5) The End

III. Modern apocalyptic songs

These Apocalyptic songs are from the last few decades, but mostly the 2000’s.

1) 1999

This classic dance track from the 1980s was intended to encourage people to enjoy life and keep on celebrating despite all of the doomsday predictions that were going around.

2) 30000 Megatons

3) Abattoir Blues

4) Acts of Man

“Acts of Man” has to do with the destruction that humankind wreaks upon itself.

5) Ashes of Eden

One interpretation of this lovelorn ballad is that it represents a sci-fi version of the Creation story of Adam and Eve.

IV. Post-apocalyptic songs

These songs paint a picture of a world that has already met its end.

1) Safe & Sound (feat. Civil Wars)

Taylor Swift performed this song to film a series of books set in a dystopian future.

2) Dancin’ In the Ruins

3) Atlas

4) Radioactive

5) Robots

The lyrics to this song border on the ridiculous, but it also provides some much-needed comedic relief in a list of songs that represent a lot of death and destruction.

V. Sad songs about the end of the world

These songs are for when you feel the world is crumbling around you and you just want to be alone with your thoughts.

1) The End of The World

2) If the World Was Ending (feat. Julia Michaels)

There’s no better time to reflect on a failed relationship than during the end of the world.

3) No One Won the War

4) Runaway

5) No Hard Feelings

While this song is not necessarily about the apocalypse, it does bring across an important message: live your life to the fullest while you still can – no regrets.

VI. Love songs about the end of the world

The world may be falling apart around them, but the lovers in these songs are only focused on one thing: each other.

1) As the World Caves In

2) I Melt with You

Melting takes on a very literal meaning in this song that’s about a couple making love as the bombs are falling all around them.

3) Apocalyptic Love

4) Dancing with Tears In My Eyes

5) Acid Rain

In this apocalyptic love story, two lovers are cast out into space to escape the planetary collision that is about to occur on Earth.

VII. Country songs about the end of the world

While the country music genre is not particularly known for representing the end of the world, it does tend to produce songs that focus on the resilience of the human spirit. This quality would come in handy during the apocalypse.

1) Best of Times

2) End of Time

3) If Tomorrow Never Comes (feat. Garth Brooks)

This country hit may not be about the end of the world, but it is about making sure that your loved ones know how much you care about them if something happens to you.

4) The Man Comes Around

Johnny Cash composed the lyrics to this song by quoting mainly from the book of Revelation. Still, he also makes many other references to other well-known passages in the Bible that depict the second coming of Christ.

5) Blaze of Glory

VIII. Rap/Hip-hop songs about the end of the world

Apocalyptic themes do not appear to be hugely prevalent in rap/hip-hop music, as these two genres are typically more focused on representing themes of social injustice, substance abuse, and materialism, to name but a few.

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2) Handlebars

This song chronicles the life of a dictator. It fits into this playlist because dictators rarely care about the well-being of every person on Earth; there are usually some groups that end up oppressed. When this happens, it means the end of the world for those people.

3) Judgement Day

4) Turn It Up/Fire It Up (Remix)

5) Practice Lookin’ Hard

IX. Metal songs about the end of the world

Metal music has always been obsessed with themes of death and destruction, so it may come as no surprise that songs about the end of the world are common in this genre.

1) 777

2) Asteroid

There is no hope for the inhabitants of Earth in this doomsday track about an asteroid plummeting towards the planet.

3) Babylon’s Burning

4) Beyond Oblivion

This song compares the rise of artificial technology to the atomic bomb. Basically, it describes how these technological “creations” have led to the demise of humankind.

5) Fight Fire with Fire

X. Songs with the words end of the world in the lyrics

These are some more songs you can add to your playlist for the end of the world.

1) 2012 (It Ain’t the End) [feat. Nicki Minaj]

“2012” is a feel-good jam that mirrors Prince’s “1999”.

2) Until the Night Turns

3) The End of the World

Sometimes the end of a relationship feels like the end of the world. At least, this is how the woman in this country hit from the 70s describes it.

4) It’s the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

5) Apocalypse Please