Choose your enemies carefully 'cos they will define you

[financeguy]

Choose your enemies carefully ‘cos they will define you
Make them interesting ‘cos in some ways they will mind you
They’re not there in the beginning but when your story ends
Gonna last with you longer than your friends

So true, almost a deep psychological truth. That's the wisdom of experience, the wisdom of age.

 

[kassandra]

Very powerful last words to the CD.

 

[alanah]

 

[beegee]

If I could re-write the second line it would be:

Make them interesting ‘cos in some ways they'll remind you.

 

[shart1780]

I always thought that verse was pretty forced and pretentious, actually. Your enemies last longer than your friends? Really? Make them interesting cause they'll mind you? Huh? How will they define you?

It feels like Bono wants me to buy what he's saying so it'll sound deep, but it really isn't true.

 

[last unicorn]

^ Try harder.

I think it is true. A person is indeed defined by their enemies, more than by their friends.

There is a saying that a man's greatness can be told by his enemies.

Great lines to close the album. I've been thinking about them a lot, and about the rest of the lyrics on COL.

 

[zwervers2]

best lyric of the record besides I'm a traffic cop etc.

 

[mama cass]

best lyric of the record besides I'm a traffic cop etc.

oh god i have real trouble with that traffic cop line! for me, it takes the song off at a complete tangent into god knows where!

 

[mama cass]

So true, almost a deep psychological truth. That's the wisdom of experience, the wisdom of age.

it's just song lyrics, i wouldn't read too much "deep psychological truth" into it... just a matter of opinion and different perspectives

those lyrics trouble me slightly, and i don't think i agree with them somehow

 

[Salome]

I do think there's a deeper truth there
and I don't think 'enemies' are necessarely people
they can be ideas and/or beliefs

 

[Marien]

I've always thought he's refering to the enemies inside yourself, your fears, your defects, your lack of certain qualities, I can relate this kind of enemies to other verses within the song, like when he says "I'm here 'cause I don't wanna be home"

 

[BVS]

Probably the best closing line of a U2 album...

 

[mama cass]

I do think there's a deeper truth there
and I don't think 'enemies' are necessarely people
they can be ideas and/or beliefs

i know what you're/he's saying, but it's just that i prefer the idea of being "defined" by the positives rather than the negatives... i can see where that angle is coming from in the song though as the character is written from a real downer perspective, so it certainly fits the context

tis a good line though, and Cedars is actually one of my faves on this album... i don't have to agree with the philosophy of this particular lyric, but it flows and is delivered beautifully and powerfully

 

[last unicorn]

^ That's right, it IS a very dark song, but since Bono takes on a different perspective here, he also takes on the philosophy of that character, and it's not a very positive one, based on what the guy saw and experienced. That's the kind of empathy I like about Bono.

I also agree that "enemies" doesn't necessarily mean people. In fact, when I think about my own "enemies", I think about everything else but people.

 

[GretzkyU2Yanks]

I've always thought he's refering to the enemies inside yourself, your fears, your defects, your lack of certain qualities, I can relate this kind of enemies to other verses within the song, like when he says "I'm here 'cause I don't wanna be home"

very interesting way to look at it. its a level of enemy I hadnt gone to with this song.




I still dont understand the 2nd line
Make them interesting ‘cos in some ways they will mind you

in the US the word mind as a verb means they will respect you, mainly used as in, "a well behaved child minds his parents"

so how/why would an interesting enemy or any enemy for that matter mind you??

am I missing the meaning of the word 'mind' in this use??

 

[kassandra]

You learn for mistakes, not from being perfect, so, your enemies (fears, defects, etc) are what "mold you" or mind you.

 

[Marien]

I still dont understand the 2nd line
Make them interesting ‘cos in some ways they will mind you

in the US the word mind as a verb means they will respect you, mainly used as in, "a well behaved child minds his parents"

so how/why would an interesting enemy or any enemy for that matter mind you??

am I missing the meaning of the word 'mind' in this use??

I understand "mind" in the same way. Let's see if I'm able to express what I understand in this line, cause I find it difficult.
He says "make them interesting", here I understand that it is you who has the control, nobody or nothing can be your enemy if you don't choose them as that, maybe someone doesn't like you, but this is not relevant, what is really relevant is what you choose to feel and do about it. So the important thing is to choose the "right" enemies, the things that can stop you from growing as a person, perhaps, I don't know, so in this way your enemies, or better your fight against them, will educate, shape you (they will mind you).
In this light I understand that, even if he is talking about his own personality, the enemies were not there in the beginning (he hadn't chosen them yet) and they are going to last longer than you friends, because as part of you you will have to fight them all your life.
As with many Bono lyrics, I also feel in the last two lines a quite bitter reflexion about celebrity life, but I don't really think it's the main theme within the song.
Hope I've made my thoughts clear enough for you to understand them.

 

[Tommy WM]

This song produces such great imagery...gosh I love it! Anybody heard 'Winter' yet...there's a line that goes 'It's hot as hell, like butter on toast'. So simple and so true!

 

[Greg Gregson]

Very powerful last words to the CD.

Like the rest of NLOTH's lyrics, powerful and truly poetic words.