The song is named after the Enola Gay, the USAAF B-29 Superfortress bomber that carried “Little Boy”, the first atomic bomb to be used in an act of war, dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, killing more than 100,000 of its citizens.

The name of the bomber itself was chosen by its commanding pilot, (then) Col Paul Tibbets who named it after his mother, Enola Gay Tibbets (1893–1983), who herself had been named for the heroine of the novel Enola; or, Her fatal mistake. The name “Enola” is the word “alone” spelled backward.

Lyrics

Enola gay, you should have stayed at home yesterday
Aha words can’t describe the feeling and the way you lied

These games you play, they’re gonna end it more than tears someday
Aha enola gay, it shouldn’t ever have to end this way

It’s 8:15, and that’s the time that it’s always been
We got your message on the radio, conditions normal and you’re coming home

Enola gay, is mother proud of little boy today
Aha this kiss you give, it’s never ever gonna fade away

Enola gay, it shouldn’t ever have to end this way
Aha enola gay, it shouldn’t fade in our dreams away

It’s 8:15, and that’s the time that it’s always been
We got your message on the radio, conditions normal and you’re coming home

Enola gay, is mother proud of little boy today
Aha this kiss you give, it’s never ever gonna fade away

31 May 2013