Can We Talk About "Gone"?

[BEVERLY56]

My god I love this song! (The New Mix version). To me it could be Bono's autobiography.

You used to feel so guilty, you got so much for so little, then you find that feeling just won't go away. You were holding onto every little thing so tightly, til there's nothing left for you anyway. (Bono's early fame and fortune made him feel guilty - he didn't really deserve it, but he was hording the attention, the money, didn't want to let any of it slip thru his fingers.)

You wanted to get somewhere so badly, you kinda lose yourself along the way. You change your name, but that's ok - it's necessary. What you leave behind you don't miss anyway. (He wanted so desparately to escape the poverty, loneliness, unhappiness of his early life; obviously he changed his name, but he was glad to leave all that behind.

You're taking steps that make you feel dizzy, then you learn to like the way it feels. (I interpret this as when he became an activist, involving himself in all his worthy causes...very scary at first to be involving yourself with all the movers and shakers...but once he got used to it, it was fine!) You hurt yourself, you hurt your lover, then you discover what you thought was freedom just was greed. (Not sure exactly how he hurt his lover (Ali) but obviously something happened, he was relishing his "freedom" of being out on the road or whatever... then he realized that he was just being selfish and hurting her.

Anyone else?

 

[lady luck]

I never considered that song as a biography... but maybe you could be right in some points.

And also "you can keeps this suit of light" -- he lives under the spot all the time, he's a public man, and I guess that could be hard sometime, even if he's always trying to be polite and kind.

"closer to you everyday/I didn't want it that much anyway"
is he talking about God and about the fact he didn't want fame that much?
Who knows...

 

[thesuburbskill]

You're taking steps that make you feel dizzy, then you learn to like the way it feels.

its funny i think that line would have resonated more had it been in achtung or zooropa... since i feel it was with those two albums that u2, specially bono, took some relatively huge "steps" towards such a re-invention that would have made the guys you see on the jt cover truly "dizzy" ... i can see the fly easily saying that line

i felt lukewarm towards the song when i first heard it

edit: that is, until i heard/saw popmart mexico version..... bono just singing "goooone" over and over in the end is amaaaziiiing

 

[Bluer White]

"You changed your name well that's OK, it's necessary"

To me this song is definitely about it's writer.

 

[one4u2]

Gone