Where Does The Phrase 'War Never Changes' Come From? The 'Fallout' Quote Explained

A quote from a number of Fallout games has made its way into the collective internet meme consciousness since the first game was released for PC back in 1997.

While the opening voice-over asserting that "War… war never changes" was in reference to the Fallout game's post-apocalyptic setting, the quote has been used time and time again to relate to warfare in the real world, from anxieties about World War 3 to the overflow of tensions from the various geopolitical conflicts unfolding at any given time in the 21st century.

The lasting influence of the gravelly voice asserting that War never changes, has led to the quote generating its own mythology, to the point where it has even been attributed to the late U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. Here's where the monologue originated, who voiced it, and a look into its influence on memes in the decades since it was first published.

Where Did The Quote 'War Never Changes' Come From?

The phrase "War, war never changes" is the opening line of a monologue that appears in several Fallout games, beginning with the first three. First heard in the original 1997 Fallout, the monologue about War was delivered via voice-over narration by Hollywood actor Ron Perlman after the game's opening cinematic sequence.

Fallout 1: War. War never changes.
The Romans waged war to gather slaves and wealth. Spain built an empire from its lust for gold and territory. Hitler shaped a battered Germany into an economic superpower.
But war never changes.

The monologue was repeated in Fallout 2 and 3, retaining the opening lines despite major edits in the game's sequels dated 1998 and 2008.

Fallout 2: War. War never changes.
The end of the world occurred pretty much as we had predicted. Too many humans, not enough space or resources to go around. The details are trivial and pointless, the reasons, as always, purely human ones.

Fallout 3: War. War never changes.
Since the dawn of human kind, when our ancestors first discovered the killing power of rock and bone, blood has been spilled in the name of everything: from God to justice to simple, psychotic rage.
In the year 2077, after millennia of armed conflict, the destructive nature of man could sustain itself no longer. The world was plunged into an abyss of nuclear fire and radiation.
But it was not, as some had predicted, the end of the world. Instead, the apocalypse was simply the prologue to another bloody chapter of human history. For man had succeeded in destroying the world – but war, war never changes.

How Did The 'Fallout' Monologue About War Become A Meme?

While the Fallout games have remained an immensely popular franchise since their release in the 1990s, notable memes about the War monologue can be traced to the year 2011, with YouTuber Fafner Normanko posting a Cupcake Dog video edit that showed the wide-eyed dog looking like he has PTSD from war while the monologue plays over the video.

The Fallout quote retained its position as one of the most "meaningful video game quotes of all time" in the 2010s, at least according to an article by video game news blog Destructoid. In July 2013, webcomic Dorkly uploaded a comic about the "War Never Changes" quote, joking about the possible meaning of the monologue.

What Does Ulysses Grant Have To Do With The 'War Never Changes' Quote?

The lasting impact of the Fallout "War Never Changes" monologues led to people expressing a curiosity about where the quote actually originated. This is a common theme for memorable catchphrases coined pre-internet; phrases get enshrouded into the collective consciousness in a manner that makes them appear timeless.

This effect sometimes leads to hilarious outcomes, as seen in a now-deleted 2015 post by Redditor /u/Menonow, who mashed a Fallout quote with a Game of Thrones reference to deliver the following phrase, misattributed to Ulysses S. Grant.

"I have never advocated war except as a means of peace, so seek peace, but prepare for war. Because war… War never changes. War is like winter and winter is coming."

But of course, the original Ulysses Grant quote was vastly different. According to StackExchange user DavPhD, the quote was likely a remixed version of a phrase lifted from the 1914 book The World's Work; Second War Manual; The Conduct of War, which includes the line;

"The great Napoleon won his victories because the Grand Army could outmarch the enemy. It is the same to-day. War never changes. Only weapons are new. Yet it is not always the weapons, but the men who handle them, who win victories."

For the full history of the quote "War Never Changes," be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.