The song stems from the stories of Moses receiving the Ten Commandments and Noah's Ark in the Old Testament of the Bible, and the fact that in both stories the people had rejected higher guidance. Some suggest that the song is a religious allegory on the unenlightened, warning them of what is to come if they do not accept the word of God, while others believe that the tune was written first and the lyrics only added because they fit.
The song was performed by the band at the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia, on July 13 1985.