Conservative American magazine National Review has compiled a list of the “top 50 conservative rock songs of all time,” the New York Times reportstoday. Number 41 on that list is The Cranberries’ “Icicle Melts” from No Need to Argue.

The magazine writes,

41. “The Icicle Melts,” by The Cranberries.
A prolife tune sung by Irish warbler Dolores O’Riordan: “I don’t know what’s happening to people today / When a child, he was taken away . . . ‘Cause nine months is too long.”

The article’s author, John J. Miller, made a request for song suggestions late last year on National Review’s website, and since then has received hundreds of suggestions.

“Any claim that rock is fundamentally revolutionary is just kind of silly,” Miller said. “It’s so mainstream that it puts [liberals] in the position of saying that at no time has there ever been a rock song that expressed a sentiment that conservatives can appreciate. And that’s just silly. In fact here are 50 of them.”

Miller said the songs on the list had to fill two criteria: first, it had to be good, and second, the song’s message had to support traditional values.

Despite Dolores’s pro-life stance, abortion was not the subject that inspired “The Icicle Melts.” In fact, it was the kidnapping and killing of Jamie Bulger(corrected) in 1993 that spurred this track, thus the lyric, “I should not have read the paper today / ‘cos a child, child, child, child, he was taken away.”

Having said that, “The Icicle Melts” can certainly be interpreted as a pro-life song, even if that was not the original intent. Dolores has been an outspoken pro-life supporter over the years, having famously told You! magazine:

“I am in no position to judge other women, you know. But I mean, why did she get pregnant? It’s not good for women to go through the procedure [abortion] and have something living sucked out of their bodies. It belittles women. Even though some women say, ‘Oh, I don’t mind to have one,’ every time a woman has an abortion, it just crushes her self–esteem smaller and smaller and smaller.”

Here is the full list of National Review’s Top 50 Conservative Rock Songs:

1. “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” by The Who.
2. “Taxman,” by The Beatles.
3. “Sympathy for the Devil,” by The Rolling Stones.
4. “Sweet Home Alabama,” by Lynyrd Skynyrd.
5. “Wouldn’t It Be Nice,” by The Beach Boys.
6. “Gloria,” by U2.
7. “Revolution,” by The Beatles.
8. “Bodies,” by The Sex Pistols.
9. “Don’t Tread on Me,” by Metallica.
10. “20th Century Man,” by The Kinks.
11. “The Trees,” by Rush.
12. “Neighborhood Bully,” by Bob Dylan.
13. “My City Was Gone,” by The Pretenders.
14. “Right Here, Right Now,” by Jesus Jones.
15. “I Fought the Law,” by The Crickets.
16. “Get Over It,” by The Eagles.
17. “Stay Together for the Kids,” by Blink 182.
18. “Cult of Personality,” by Living Colour.
19. “Kicks,” by Paul Revere and the Raiders.
20. “Rock the Casbah,” by The Clash.
21. “Heroes,” by David Bowie.
22. “Red Barchetta,” by Rush.
23. “Brick,” by Ben Folds Five.
24. “Der Kommissar,” by After the Fire.
25. “The Battle of Evermore,” by Led Zeppelin.
26. “Capitalism,” by Oingo Boingo.
27. “Obvious Song,” by Joe Jackson.
28. “Janie’s Got a Gun,” by Aerosmith.
29. “Rime of the Ancient Mariner,” by Iron Maiden.
30. “You Can’t Be Too Strong,” by Graham Parker.
31. “Small Town,” by John Mellencamp.
32. “Keep Your Hands to Yourself,” by The Georgia Satellites.
33. “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” by The Rolling Stones.
34. “Godzilla,” by Blue Oyster Cult.
35. “Who’ll Stop the Rain,” by Creedence Clearwater Revival.
36. “Government Cheese,” by The Rainmakers.
37. “The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down,” by The Band.
38. “I Can’t Drive 55,” by Sammy Hagar.
39. “Property Line,” by The Marshall Tucker Band.
40. “Wake Up Little Susie,” by The Everly Brothers.
41. “The Icicle Melts,” by The Cranberries.
42. “Everybody’s a Victim,” by The Proclaimers.
43. “Wonderful,” by Everclear.
44. “Two Sisters,” by The Kinks.
45. “Taxman, Mr. Thief,” by Cheap Trick.
46. “Wind of Change,” by The Scorpions.
47. “One,” by Creed.
48. “Why Don’t You Get a Job,” by The Offspring.
49. “Abortion,” by Kid Rock.
50. “Stand By Your Man,” by Tammy Wynette.

Source: New York Times