Babyface_20
The Fly
I know that songs can have more than one meaning but Is "Numb" about sex? and is "The Ground Beneath her Feet" about death?
Please respond
Please respond
A Question about a couple of U2 songs...
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My interpretation is that numb is about conformity.
It's written from the point of view of a person who's fed up, because they feel restricted and don't have a voice anymore.
The zooropa era concentrated heavily on the media, so the lyrics are all about the mixed messages that are given out by the media and society as a whole.
It's written from the point of view of a person who's fed up, because they feel restricted and don't have a voice anymore.
The zooropa era concentrated heavily on the media, so the lyrics are all about the mixed messages that are given out by the media and society as a whole.
Soul Love
The Fly
The Ground Beneath her Feet is supposed to be about obsession....you know a musical interpretation of a book - One of Salman Rusdie's apparently
annie_vox
Refugee
^^ That's true... I always saw The Ground Beneath Her Feet as a song about "unheathy" love.
As for Numb, I think it's about sitting back and see the world before you without being able to do anything about what's happening. Or even *not wanting* to do anything about it.
As for Numb, I think it's about sitting back and see the world before you without being able to do anything about what's happening. Or even *not wanting* to do anything about it.
Achtung_Bebe
New Yorker
annie_vox said:
yeah, I think it has to do with becoming disillusioned with reality and becoming complacent.
Although I can see Ellay's interpretation on conformity as well.
U2DMfan
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Numb is about being desensitized.
"Too much is not enough", it's not enough because he is numb to it.
In 1993, this was a pretty incredible statement about what was to come. The internet, reality TV etc.
Desensitized by the sensationalism of mass media.
POP took it one step further to consumerism.
A pretty bold and incredible message at the time, not just the music.
"Too much is not enough", it's not enough because he is numb to it.
In 1993, this was a pretty incredible statement about what was to come. The internet, reality TV etc.
Desensitized by the sensationalism of mass media.
POP took it one step further to consumerism.
A pretty bold and incredible message at the time, not just the music.
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Babyface_20
The Fly
Thanx for the input! That helped
I thought Numb was about sex when Bono sang "Give me some more of that love; Give me some more;too much is not enough"
I though GBHF was about death because there were (i thought) references to death of a loved one:
"Go lightly down your darkened way
Go lightly underground
I’ll be down there in another day
I won’t rest until you’re found"
"Let me love you true, let me rescue you
Let me lead you to where two roads meet
O come back above
Where there’s only love"
I thought Numb was about sex when Bono sang "Give me some more of that love; Give me some more;too much is not enough"
I though GBHF was about death because there were (i thought) references to death of a loved one:
"Go lightly down your darkened way
Go lightly underground
I’ll be down there in another day
I won’t rest until you’re found"
"Let me love you true, let me rescue you
Let me lead you to where two roads meet
O come back above
Where there’s only love"
biff
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
TGBHF is the only U2 song that has lyrics written by someone outside of the band. They were written by Salman Rushdie in his book of the same name, and were presented as lyrics in the book. The novel's about a great rock musician and his life long love for a beautiful singer. There are obvious (and intentional) parallels between this story and the mythical story of Orpheus. Here's a bit about him:
"Orpheus was the son of Calliope and either Oeagrus or Apollo. He was the greatest musician and poet of Greek myth, whose songs could charm wild beasts and coax even rocks and trees into movement. He was one of the Argonauts, and when the Argo had to pass the island of the Sirens, it was Orpheus' music which prevented the crew from being lured to destruction.
When Orpheus' wife, Eurydice, was killed by the bite of a serpent, he went down to the underworld to bring her back. His songs were so beautiful that Hades finally agreed to allow Eurydice to return to the world of the living. However, Orpheus had to meet one condition: he must not look back as he was conducting her to the surface. Just before the pair reached the upper world, Orpheus looked back, and Eurydice slipped back into the netherworld once again."
The lyrics in Rushdie's novel are just some of several created for fictional songs "written" by the main character. The book, in proofs, was sent to Bono before publication as Rushdie was concerned that he get his portrayal of the life of a rock star accurate, and he wanted Bono's feedback. Bono was struck by those particular lyrics and decided to put them to music.
By the way, in the novel a massive earthquake occurs and the beautiful singer is swallowed up. So when the songwriter says that "what he worshipped stole his love away/It was the ground beneath her feet", he means it literally. It's a good example of Rushdie's rather quirky sense of humour.
Hope that helps.
"Orpheus was the son of Calliope and either Oeagrus or Apollo. He was the greatest musician and poet of Greek myth, whose songs could charm wild beasts and coax even rocks and trees into movement. He was one of the Argonauts, and when the Argo had to pass the island of the Sirens, it was Orpheus' music which prevented the crew from being lured to destruction.
When Orpheus' wife, Eurydice, was killed by the bite of a serpent, he went down to the underworld to bring her back. His songs were so beautiful that Hades finally agreed to allow Eurydice to return to the world of the living. However, Orpheus had to meet one condition: he must not look back as he was conducting her to the surface. Just before the pair reached the upper world, Orpheus looked back, and Eurydice slipped back into the netherworld once again."
The lyrics in Rushdie's novel are just some of several created for fictional songs "written" by the main character. The book, in proofs, was sent to Bono before publication as Rushdie was concerned that he get his portrayal of the life of a rock star accurate, and he wanted Bono's feedback. Bono was struck by those particular lyrics and decided to put them to music.
By the way, in the novel a massive earthquake occurs and the beautiful singer is swallowed up. So when the songwriter says that "what he worshipped stole his love away/It was the ground beneath her feet", he means it literally. It's a good example of Rushdie's rather quirky sense of humour.
Hope that helps.
chickadee
New Yorker
One way I look at Numb is as a reaction by Edge to his divorce and the way he gives all these monotonous orders. I'll need to think up a better way of putting it, haha.
Babyface_20
The Fly
I remember lemon_pop mentioning something about the Edge's divorce, but still every time I listen to it the song always translates to me as sex or sexual references-just another evidence to show double meanings in songs
U2DMfan
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
"Edge has just got a list of things there, one following the other," says Bono. "'Don't cry / Don't eat / Don't drink / Don't sleep.' It's kind of arcade music, but at base it's a dark energy we're tapping into, like a lot of stuff on Achtung Baby. And, here, I use my Fat Lady voice that I used on 'The Fly.' There's a big fat mama in all of us! But you need that high wail set against the bass voice because the song is about overload, all those forces that come at you from different angles and you have no way to respond. It's us trying to get inside somebody's head. So in that mix you hear a football crowd, a line of don'ts, kitsch, soul singing and Larry singing for the first time in that context. So what we're trying to do is recreate that feeling of sensory overload."
from Edge....
[Edge:] Yeah. Once we'd figured out that it was going to be television, a lot of connections started to happen. It was a very dark time with the Gulf War. I think it was the period when cable TV -- particularly CNN and Sky -- started to have a major impact. Because it was like you were watching history unfolding live on TV. But what we were aware of was how editorialised that coverage was. It was having the opposite effect to what you might have imagined. Instead of it drawing people closer to the issues and making people more aware -- and therefore more concerned -- about what was actually happening, and more motivated, it was actually desensitising people to what was going on.
..............and then this
And there's also "Numb," which you sang...
Well, that's the least emotional song (laughs).
Is that how you felt at the time? Numb?
I think it was definitely a comment on what we've just been talking about -- the TV news as entertainment syndrome. Just that sense that you were getting bombarded with so much that you actually were finding yourself shutting down and unable to respond because there was so much imagery and information being thrown at you. So that was really where that lyric came from.
from Edge....
[Edge:] Yeah. Once we'd figured out that it was going to be television, a lot of connections started to happen. It was a very dark time with the Gulf War. I think it was the period when cable TV -- particularly CNN and Sky -- started to have a major impact. Because it was like you were watching history unfolding live on TV. But what we were aware of was how editorialised that coverage was. It was having the opposite effect to what you might have imagined. Instead of it drawing people closer to the issues and making people more aware -- and therefore more concerned -- about what was actually happening, and more motivated, it was actually desensitising people to what was going on.
..............and then this
And there's also "Numb," which you sang...
Well, that's the least emotional song (laughs).
Is that how you felt at the time? Numb?
I think it was definitely a comment on what we've just been talking about -- the TV news as entertainment syndrome. Just that sense that you were getting bombarded with so much that you actually were finding yourself shutting down and unable to respond because there was so much imagery and information being thrown at you. So that was really where that lyric came from.
Babyface_20
The Fly
Whoa! Larry sang in Numb!?! What did he sing!?! 
U2DMfan
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Babyface_20 said:Whoa! Larry sang in Numb!?! What did he sing!?!
If you can call it singing, he deadpanned "I feel numb".
Which was more or less just talking.
Oh, and it's almost inaudible on the album. It's there, but you better break the headphones out to hear it.
On one of the remixes (soul assassin?) and on the new 'Best Of' version you can hear him quite clearly.
I haven't listened to that crap Best Of version in a while, so maybe he says something besides "I feel numb" but I don't remeber it off hand.
GretzkyU2Yanks
Acrobat
U2DMfan said:
and the cartoon network, turns into the news
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