Nostradamus in Popular Culture - Entertainment - Music

Music

British singer/songwriter Al Stewart's album Past, Present and Future was a concept album including a song about every decade of the 20th century. As Stewart wrote the album in 1973, events from the latter years of the century were covered by the song "Nostradamus", in which some of the prophecies are quoted. One of the prophecies appears to refer to the future fall of the Berlin Wall; an event which might have been considered predictable, even if the date was not.

1977 Moody Blues member Justin Hayward wrote a song on his album Songwriter (Justin Hayward album) called Nostrodamus

In 1984, Manfred Mann's Earth Band released the album Somewhere in Afrika, which contains a cover of the Al Stewart song, mistitled as "Eyes of Nostradamus".

Composer Robert Steadman has twice used Nostradamus' prophecies in pieces of music: in 1987, quatrains by Nostradamus were juxtaposed with the Latin Requiem Mass text and poems on environmental issues. And in 1999, he set what was thought by some to be Nostradamus's prediction of the end of the world for soprano and chamber ensemble in The Final Prophecy.

The 1993 album The Window of Life by Pendragon includes a song entitled "Nostradamus (Stargazing)".

Marilyn Manson said that his Antichrist Superstar cd, which came out in 1996, was an answer to the Nostrandamus prophecy in which he said that "The 3rd. Antichrist was going to come to the earth in the year 1996".

Haggard produced two albums dealing with the seer Michel de Notredame in the dark days of The Black Plague in Europe: And Thou Shalt Trust... the Seer in 1997 and Awaking the Centuries in 1998.

Darkane's Song "July 1999" from Rusted Angel, is all about the Nostradamus dated prophecy.

Rapper Nas refers to himself as Nastradamus and released an album titled Nastradamus along with its first single titled the same name in 1999.

Bulgarian guitarist Nikolo Kotzev released a rock opera called Nikolo Kotzev's Nostradamus in 2001, based on the life and times of Nostradamus. In 2005, Dutch band Kayak released a rock opera called Nostradamus - Fate of Man.

German power metal band Helloween's 1996 album The Time of the Oath is based on Nostradamus' supposed prophecy of a world war between 1994 and 2000.

In 1997, Finnish metal band Stratovarius recorded a concept album loosely based on the life and prophecies of Nostradamus. The album was called Visions.

In 2008, the British heavy metal band Judas Priest released a concept album based on the life of Nostradamus. Simply named Nostradamus, the album itself focuses on Nostradamus' life and his prophecies.

"Nostradamus said 'I predict that the world will end at half past six' / What he didn't say was exactly when," are the opening lyrics of "Tinderbox", penned by Bernie Taupin and sung by Elton John.

Modest Mouse vocalist Isaac Brock seems to take a stab at Nostradamus in a song called "Education" from the band's fifth studio album, We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank. The verse is as follows: "Good old Nostradamas / he knew the whole damn time / there would always be an east from west / and someone in there fighting".

In the bonus track of Dane Cook's "Harmful if Swallowed" he speaks of how a person would wake up and think he is late, then look at his clock to find out that he is in fact late. He would yell "I HATE it when I'm like Nostradamus and I predict that I'm late!"

Several songs by the Stranglers contain references to Nostradamus' prophecies: "Goodbye Toulouse" (1977), "Shah Shah a go go" (1979), "Four horsemen" (1980), "It's a small world" (1983).