Three dots, three dashes, three dots was the original distress signal, built for wires, war, and worst-case scenarios. Morse code started as a practical way to send words through a telegraph line, but it didn’t stay in the 1840s. Soldiers used it when radios were young, POWs used it when speech was dangerous, and in at least one very modern case, it was smuggled into a pop song to whisper hope past armed guards in Colombia.
Also read: Why Johnny Cash was the first Westerner to learn Stalin was dead
Which brings us to the fun part: musicians have been sneaking dots and dashes into songs for decades, sometimes as a literal distress call, sometimes as an inside joke, and sometimes as a signal you’ll never notice unless you’ve spent time listening for beeps in the static. Here are seven tracks that hide Morse code in plain hearing.
1. RUSH: “YYZ”
The opening riff is the Morse code for “YYZ.”
Rush – YYZ (HQ)
2. ABBA: “S.O.S”
ABBA is allowed to be as literal as they want.
ABBA – SOS (Official Music Video)
3. Five Americans: “Western Union”
Play this one on repeat.
Five Americans – Western Union 45rpm
4. Cabaret Voltaire: “CODE”
Say what?
Cabaret Voltaire – CODE
5. Metallica: “One”
The debate continues as to whether Metallica did in fact use code in the song, but the kid in the “Johnny Got his Gun” scenes uses his body to transmit Morse code.
Metallica: One (Official Music Video)
6. The Clash: “London Calling”
Sampled Morse code at the end: V for victory during World War II.
The Clash – London Calling (Official Video)
7. Alan Parsons Project: “Lucifer”
Not sure what the message is and don’t wanna know.
The Alan Parsons Project Lucifer
Morse code is actually still being used by the military. The last code classes were taught by the Army at Fort Huachuca in 2015, but the Air Force is currently teaching this vital form of communication at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas.
