blue August 5th, 2008 04:11PM  
Since the album was called War, the song references the USSR, GDR, London, New York, Peking, the atomic bomb, and the "rise and...fall" (of nations?), and the album was released in '83, when there was still a realistic threat of nuclear war, I think it's safe to assume the song is about this fear of another war. It also talks about political "puppets," pushing the button (launching bombs) and I guess to "say goodbye" would mean dying.