The Peppy '80s Song "Vamos a la Playa" Was About Nuclear War

Even if you don't remember anything else from that Spanish class you took in high school, you do know how to say "Let's go to the beach." For that you can thank the smash hit song of 1983, "Vamos a la Playa" by the Italian duo Righeira. It still shows up in Spanish classes today, as it does on the lips of moms and dads happily packing up the sunscreen and towels for a day at the beach.

But not many of us ever bothered to learn anything beyond the title lyric, and as it turns out, the song is not as carefree as it seems: It's about the aftermath of a nuclear explosion, though the image of apocalyptic destruction it presents is about as cheerful a version as you can get. Here's what the song is saying:

Vamos a la playa, oh oh oh oh x 4 Vamos a la playa, la bomba estalló Las radiaciónes tuestan y matizan de azul

Translates to:

Let's go to the beach, oh oh oh oh x 4 Let's go to the beach, the bomb exploded The radiation toasts and tints everything with blue

And this passage:

Vamos a la playa, todos con sombrero. El viento radiactivo, despeina los cabellos.

Translates to:

Let's go to the beach, everyone in a sombrero. The radioactive wind, messes up the hair

And this passage:

Vamos a la playa, al fin el mar es limpio.No más peces hediondos, sino agua fluorescente.

Translates to:

Let's go to the beach, finally the sea is clean. No more smelly fish, just fluorescent water.

Keep it in mind as you strap on your own wrist phones and head to the playa this summer.