MERGED ----> Re: He's a man again! and First Time + The First Time

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kaili

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Re: He's a man again! and First Time

Okay, I realize now, I misunderstood Bono's meaning behind the words to his song, "The First Time".

When he says "I threw away the key" I thought he meant he turned away from the belief of the man who lives in sin and must return, tail between his legs, to the Father (for redemption).

I thought he was turning instead to humanity and seeing the beauty in us--in our compassion, wisdom and maturity. And knowing that it is us who are the Source of the love/light in this universe. I thought he knew that we are the future. What was most exciting to me, is when he sang after "Bad" the words "just you and me, you and us in the garden".

Perception..wasn't he talking about us, isn't he, when he sings in "Streets"--"and when I go there, I go there with you. It's all I can do." ?

But no. Now he's saying he doesn't need the key because grace will set him free. Grace will return him to "Thee".

Who is Thee? The spectators of our trials and tribulations? Personally, I hope he never kneels.

Why want to be a child again-- (Yahweh "take this heart and break it")--looking for Father in the sky-- when he's such a Man here, in the toughest ring in the universe...LIFE?

He's rich now with wisdom, experience, love and (com)passion. Why give it all away?

I know it's painful. But he's earned it.

Rhetorical questions...

(I know why. Because sometimes the pain/burden/the knowing is too much).

Warrior, wake up. Again.
 
Maybe "The more you know/The less you feel" is a line that could give a partial answer to your question

At times, it seems that we have to go back if we want to go on.

May sounds stupid, but that's the point.

It's like starting again and again and again...
With a new heart, with a new sould, with new perceptions!
 
That doesn't sound stupid at all...thanks.

Yes, he's said it before, in different ways, "I feel numb".
But his actions speak louder than words, and his
actions say he is still passionate. So his heart (the
voice of the soul) is not numb, even if he feels
that way sometimes.

I guess that's my point. I hope he--and no one else for
that matter--takes his or her experiences, the good and the bad,
that life brings, and at the end, gives it up, gives it away, for a new heart, a new soul.

Keep your soul. Your heart can feel new again.

People have been "giving up to God" for centuries, and yet
humanity keeps making the same mistakes. So "God" must not
be doing anything constructive with our hard earned wisdom.
I say it's time we share it with each other, and give the
love and respect that pours out of people's hearts every
Sunday to "God" to each other instead. Maybe then, some of
our wisdom will start reaping instead of people continually
sowing for nothing.

History reveals the truth. We keep repeating the same mistakes (humanity) again and again.

I say we keep our memories, our broken hearts, our
experiences, and use that wisdom the next go round, not
"give it up to God". We're the ones who know
better....apparrently God's just watching.

Kind of makes you wonder who we are "giving it up to,
doesn't it?"
 
Are you saying submitting to God is bad in some way...?

When he sings "The more you see, the less you know" he's saying that the more experience and wisdom you gain the more you realize how much you DON'T know. It's dangerous to get a big head because in reality we can't be our own gods or anyone else's.

I always interpreted the lyrics in The First Time to be about a man (perhaps Bono) that had everything he needed (a great lover, great friends, everything God has to offer) and he turned his back on it. I'm guessing this was when Bono was going through a hard and maybe unfaithful time in his life (kind of a Wake Up Dead Man type thing). That's why I think he changed the lyrics for this tour to "and I didn't throw away the key", meaning redemption can still be his. A more optimistic Bono!


As someone who DOES try my hardest to give up all of my problems to God, I just can't shake the feeling that you're blaming alot of this world's problems on our submission to God. You make it sound as though God feeds off of OUR wisdom and does nothing with it. It's the complete opposite that's the problem though! God has been dying (figuratively and literally) to give us his wisdom and we haven't been excepting it and putting it to use! The world is in a bad state because humanity is in such blatant sin. This is why we need Jesus, to save us from our own sins and carry us through a hostile world (sorry if this sounds like a sermon, but I believe it's relevant). As Jesus said, we should love him with complete faith as little children love their parents. It's not as though we're giving God our brains so he can wipe them clean, it's about letting him carry us along through all of our problems.

And I don't really get your point. Are you saying that we somehow lose knowledge by submitting to God...? You say we're giving our wisdom to God, and wasting it, but this doesn't really make sense in my mind. Just because you rely on God doesn't mean you never retain any earned experience from life. You're honestly kind of making the faithful sound like ignorant fools...
 
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Are you saying submitting to God is bad in some way...?
Yes. We don't know what "God" is. People define "God" differently, depending on their beliefs and experiences. Nontheless, truth is absolute (given a context of space and time), even if perspective is relative.

When he sings "The more you see, the less you know" he's saying that the more experience and wisdom you gain the more you realize how much you DON'T know.

I agree with the actual lyric, to a point--the more you see, the less you know. I've thought the same thing. But I don't agree with you that the more experience and wisdom we acquire, the less we know. I don't agree that what we observe, what we perceive, is the same thing as wisdom.

I always interpreted the lyrics in The First Time to be about a man (perhaps Bono) that had everything he needed (a great lover, great friends, everything God has to offer) and he turned his back on it. I'm guessing this was when Bono was going through a hard and maybe unfaithful time in his life (kind of a Wake Up Dead Man type thing). That's why I think he changed the lyrics for this tour to "and I didn't throw away the key", meaning redemption can still be his. A more optimistic Bono!

That could be. I don't know him and you're interpretation is as good as mine. :hmm:

As someone who DOES try my hardest to give up all of my problems to God, I just can't shake the feeling that you're blaming alot of this world's problems on our submission to God.

Well, I don't think we should turn to God for our problems-- we should figure them out ourselves. We've been on this earth long enough to know better.

You make it sound as though God feeds off of OUR wisdom and does nothing with it.

Oh, They are doing something with it. But your guess is as good as mine. .:eyebrow:

As Jesus said, we should love him with complete faith as little children love their parents. It's not as though we're giving God our brains so he can wipe them clean, it's about letting him carry us along through all of our problems.

That may be the right thing for you. But not me-- "I am a woman, not a child. And I can see the shadow behind your eyes"

And I don't really get your point. Are you saying that we somehow lose knowledge by submitting to God...?
We become (and I think this is actually in scripture) "his tools". I substitute the words "slaves", "pawns", "lab rats", depending on the mood I'm in, but don't get the wrong idea. I do believe in goodness.

"He" works through us, though the more accurate term is "They", especially if you believe in angels and demons. And evidence points to the reality of other dimensional beings, no matter what you call them-- God, angels, devils or ET. They are real.

You're honestly kind of making the faithful sound like ignorant fools
Not ignorant fools! Just tired, weary, crushed--"beaten and blown by the wind". And I understand. I don't blame anybody for surrendering to God. I am just questioning the wisdom of this given our history of doing so, instead of surrendering to the God in each of us. Not that we are all powerful, but that we are worthy and if we spent half as much time appreciating each other as we do trying to "pacify" God in worship, we would be a lot further along than we are now, and a lot better off.
 
just you and me, you and us in the garden
---when did Bono sang this?? In New York or elsewhere? Which date?
 
Glendale, 04-15-15, Bad snippet

From an earlier post:

Re: the snippet at the end of Bad in Glendale, AZ on 04-15

Bad...one of my favorite U2 songs and he adds Van's lyrics:
only Bono's are better. He's got the truth (in my agreeing, and humble opinion ;-)


Bono adds:
No Guru, no method, no teacher
No Guru, no method, no teacher
Just you and me
Just you and me
You and me in the garden
Just you and me, you and me
Just you and us in the garden

Compare Bono's words to Van Morrison's actual lyrics:
No Guru, no method, no teacher
Just you and I and nature
and the Father in the garden
No guru, no method, no teacher
Just you and I and nature and the Father in the garden
And the Son and Holy Ghost in the garden wet with rain

Why did Bono leave out "the Father"? Why did he say, "just you and us in the garden"?

Cause he knows.

I LOVE this man's courage.
 
The First Time

Ok try and follow me, because I tend to ramble, so this may get confusing.

one of my favorite U2 songs is the First Time, however I've always been confused by the end of the song. Why exactly does he throw away the key?

Well I was only led into deeper confusion as I witnessed my first concert. The first night of the second Chicago visit, I saw U2. What made me most excited was that they sang First Time. So I listened and sang along, and then Bono got to the end. however, this time I did not hear, "but I threw away the key" instead I heard, "But I didn't throw away the key." I'm almost 95% possitive this is what I heard.

Does anyone have any idea to explain to me what the heck the song meant in the first place, and what it means now?

Thanks in advance
Ashley


(BTW. I only mean the end of the last verse, I have a fairly good grasp on what the rest of the song is about. )
 
<< Why did Bono leave out "the Father"? Why did he say, "just you and us in the garden"? >>

Personally, I think it's just Bono's forte for forgetting HIS OWN lyrics, much less someone else's.

I would not read too much into this, frankly . . .
 
Re: The First Time

bono_212 said:
one of my favorite U2 songs is the First Time, however I've always been confused by the end of the song. Why exactly does he throw away the key?



My opinion? Because he decides to (at least temporarily) reject the "many mansions" and "kingdom come" for whatever else he feels is worth it (sin, maybe).

In the live shows now, Bono is adding this line after "And I threw away the key," . . . "Only grace can give it back to me." To me, he adds this as the REAL ending to the story . . . that it's God's grace that gives the key back to him, to re-enter, after asking for forgiveness for his decision to throw it away in the first place.
 
He only made the the "threw away for grace" reference once.

Now he sings "and I threw it away for love" and has the audience repeat after him.

In the moment I guess. ;-)
 
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