The Very Best and Worst U2 Lyric

[MsMofoGone]

The best lyric is from A Man And A Woman :


You can run from love ...
And if it's really love, it will find you ...
Catch you by the heel ...
But you can't be numb for love ...
The only pain is to feel nothing at all ...
How can I hurt when I'm holding you ??



The worst lyrics ... definitely Big Girls Are Best ... ( stupid song )

 

[the tourist]

Perhaps you forget:

"You don't know if it's fear or desire
Danger the drug that takes you higher
Head in heaven, fingers in the mire
Her heart is racing, you can't keep up
The night is bleeding like a cut
Between the horses of love and lust
We are trampled underfoot
Oh...love...you say in love there are no rules
Oh...love...sweetheart...
You're so cruel"

Yeah, talk about shite lyrics, right?

-Miggy

On a whole, the lyrics from The Unforgettable Fire and The Joshua Tree are equal to that; however the poetic lyrics of Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses, Acrobat, Love Is Blindness, and One may be quite grand -- however, it's my opinion that the poetic lyrics of A Sort Of Homecoming, The Unforgettable Fire, Promenade, Where The Streets Have No Name, Running To Stand Still, One Tree Hill, Exit, etc., etc., etc. match/are better than.

 

[Miggy D]

So Cruel is one of the best songs, lyrically, ever.

-Miggy

 

[tnt850a]

best....
...cry without weeping, talk without speaking, scream without raising your voice..

worst...
..freedom has a scent like the top of a newborn babies head....(sorry, i just dont get that line...)

 

[TheRooster]

Best (At least my favorite)

They want you to be Jesus
They'll go down on one knee
But they'll want their money back
If you're alive at thirty-three
And you're turning tricks
With your crucifix
You're a star

Worst:
Most of a Man and a Woman. I cringed when I first heard this song, my current reaction is not much better, did Bono get Barry Manilow to help write?


There is a line I love in Big Girls Are Best that I feel does not deserve the derision the song gets as a whole, "She's got a smile like salvation". And to the detractors of Miami who don't understand where he got the Your Auntie line from, the song was in stream of conscious style, thats why most of it doesn't make sense. You should read "Into the Heart" gives more insight into many of their songs.

 

[prisz25]

I have to agree with Axver and The Tourist.. UF and JT are the best lyrically FOR SURE!!!
Heartland is Amazing!!! To quote Axver its Poetry!
Although i do like AB i just like UF and JT better

 

[Zoots]

And to the detractors of Miami who don't understand where he got the Your Auntie line from, the song was in stream of conscious style, thats why most of it doesn't make sense. You should read "Into the Heart" gives more insight into many of their songs.

Really??? That's great news! I love Miami to death anyway.

 

[Zoots]

I have to agree with Axver and The Tourist.. UF and JT are the best lyrically FOR SURE!!!
Heartland is Amazing!!! To quote Axver its Poetry!
Although i do like AB i just like UF and JT better

The thing is... UF and JT may be more poetic, granted. I will go so far as to say that JT is outstanding lyrically. Achtung, lyrically has some amazing songs (Acrobat, Fly, Until The End, So Cruel, UV, LIB, One...) and some decent, okay ones (EBTTRT, WGRYWH, MW etc..). But Achtung is not just about lyrics, it's about the music, it's about change, it's about attitude. To me, lyrics are not the be-all and end-all. I value the music as much, if not more. Sure Heartland is gorgeously pretty. But Achtung Baby is a complete musical experience.

 

[honeychild]

The thing is... UF and JT may be more poetic, granted. I will go so far as to say that JT is outstanding lyrically. Achtung, lyrically has some amazing songs (Acrobat, Fly, Until The End, So Cruel, UV, LIB, One...) and some decent, okay ones (EBTTRT, WGRYWH, MW etc..). But Achtung is not just about lyrics, it's about the music, it's about change, it's about attitude. To me, lyrics are not the be-all and end-all. I value the music as much, if not more. Sure Heartland is gorgeously pretty. But Achtung Baby is a complete musical experience.

okay, but this thread is about LYRICS - not which albums you prefer.
as for me, I´ll have to give this one some thought!

 

[Zoots]

okay, but this thread is about LYRICS - not which albums you prefer.
as for me, I´ll have to give this one some thought!

I know... I've posted about the best and worst lyrics already! Here, I was just trying to make a point to Axver and the Tourist.

 

[TheRooster]

If you like poetic description over insightful comments then 80s U2 is your cup of tea. If you prefer the latter than 90s U2 is your bag. I still don't understand what 00s U2 aim is.

 

[honeychild]

I know... I've posted about the best and worst lyrics already! Here, I was just trying to make a point to Axver and the Tourist.

okay, fair enough!

 

[honeychild]

Oh and as for me, I think I have to agree with alot of the above posts. Lyrically I like Running..., GONE, Heartland.

Though not the most poetic lyrics, for personal reasons I like parts of MOFO and Sometimes...

Mother, am I still your son?
You know I´ve waited for so long
to hear you say so
Mother, you left and made me someone...

Can you hear me when I sing? (the delivery really makes this one of course!)

I lost my mother when I was young, and those lines are just so insightful. They put feelings into words so simply but so powerfully. If you´ve gone through it I´m sure you know what I mean.

And worst? a mole digging in a hole!

 

[U2248]

Best: Can't see the future, it's getting away from me. I just watch the tail lights glowing.

Worst: Babyface, Babyface tin foil hair all tied up in lace (Puke!)

And have to agree with Honeychild on Sometimes.....when he sings --don't leave me here alone ...says it all if you've been through it.

 

[BigCat]

"Freedom has a scent like the top of a newborn baby's head" :

Ok, it doesn't rhyme, but I don't know why most of you think it's one of the worst lyrics...

It's not only the lyrics that has to be thought of, but also the metaphor, the image that is shown.

Have you ever smelled the top of a newborn baby's head ? It's unbelievable !

This scent makes you so joyful like freedom does, but this scent is also intangible just like freedom.

At first you can be confused with this lyric in this song, but what about the lack of freedom is you're handicaped, bed ridden or ill, or the freedom a miracle drug can give you back.

And freedom is sometimes so fragile, well... like the top of a newborn baby head.

It's only the image that is really important in this sentence.
That's why, even if it doesn't rhyme, I think it is at the right place in the song. It's xxxing brilliant! Maybe I'll put it in the Best ones bag.

 

[Zoots]

"Freedom has a scent like the top of a newborn baby's head" :

Ok, it doesn't rhyme, but I don't know why most of you think it's one of the worst lyrics...

It's not only the lyrics that has to be thought of, but also the metaphor, the image that is shown.

Have you ever smelled the top of a newborn baby's head ? It's unbelievable !

This scent makes you so joyful like freedom does, but this scent is also intangible just like freedom.

At first you can be confused with this lyric in this song, but what about the lack of freedom is you're handicaped, bed ridden or ill, or the freedom a miracle drug can give you back.

And freedom is sometimes so fragile, well... like the top of a newborn baby head.

It's only the image that is really important in this sentence.
That's why, even if it doesn't rhyme, I think it is at the right place in the song. It's xxxing brilliant! Maybe I'll put it in the Best ones bag.

I see what you're saying! Personally, I have no problems with that line (albeit it's not my favorite). But Axver's comment about it being cool around here to dislike it, irritated me. That's why I said it sucks and that's normal, not cool. I really think people (at least most of 'em here) who say they don't like the new album have good reasons as to why they don't. Don't put them down by saying it's cool to not like it.

 

[LMP]

Best 5
--------
Every artist is a cannibal/every poet is a theif/all kill their inspiration/and sing about their grief

Time is a train/makes the future the past/leaves you standing in the station /with your face pressed up against the glass

Can you hear me when I sing/You’re the reason I sing/You’re the reason why the opera is in me

Home, hard to know what it is if you've never had one/Home, I can't say where it is but I know I'm going home/That's where the hurt is

I remember when we could sleep on stones/Now we lie together in whispers and moans/When I was all messed up and I heard opera in my head/Your love was a lightbulb hanging over my bed

Worst 5
----------
Big girl with the sweet tooth/Watches the skinny girl in the photo shoot/Freshmen squeaky clean/She tastes of chlorine

A mole living in a hole/Digging up my soul/Going down, excavation/I and I into the sky/You make me feel like I can fly so high/Elevation

And he's peeling off those dollar bills/Slapping them down/One hundred, two hundred

All of 'Ito Okashi'

And I wonder where is the love/Where is the love/Where is the love/Love and peace/Where is the love/Where is the love/Where is the love

 

[LuvandPeace1980]

I think So Cruel has the best lyrics ever followed closely by MOFO

About Miracle Drug: I think that line is probably the most powerful line on the album, it's just one of those that the most don't get.
What is freedom more than life of an innocent baby, to say that is the worst line out of some of those silly lines Bono has written on some songs is a bit strange..

The worst for me would have to be the playboy mansion.. it's so corny LOL

Thanks

 

[youtooellen]

hmm the line in miracle drug seems to fascinate people so much that I guess I'll voice an opinion on that. well uhh, I don't think it's one of U2's greatest lyrics in the world, but it's definitely not the worst.

opinions on lyrics are probably how one interprets them.. literally or more.. mentally?..

but back to the topic. sorry about that everyone

but yeah. "..a mole digging in a hole, digging up my soul now going down.. " .. kinda strange isn't it? but I love the breakdown part of the song ".. love lift me up out of these blues.." hehe

and best would probably be plenty of songs from TUF, AB, and JT.
it'd take me too long to write excerpts from each song that I love lyrically.

 

[u2girlcj]

My bests that I have seared in my brain (I know more would pop up if I was actually listening to songs...)

"i remember when we could sleep on stones. now we lie together in whispers and moans. when I was all messed up and I had opera in my head, your love was a lightbulb, hanging over my bed" (yes, my favorite, even in my profile)

"don't expect, suggest"

"well you left my heart empty as a vacant lot, for any spirit to haunt"

"she's gonna dream up the world she wants to live in. she's gonna dream out loud"

"don't believe in forced entry. don't believe in rape. but every time she passes by, wild thoughts escape"

"and if the mountains should crumble, or disappear into the sea, not a tear, no not I..."

"my hands are tied, my body's bruised. she's got me with nothing to win and nothing left to lose"

"if they don't know what you're doing - babe, it must be art!"

"well you ask me to enter and then you make me crawl and I can't be holding on to what you've got, when all you've got is hurt"

"dressed up like a car crash, your wheels are turning but you're upside down"

"I want the lot of what you got and I want nothing that you're not"

fAnd these songs in their entireties: "So Cruel" "Gone" "If You Wear that Velvet Dress" "UTEOTW" "Running to Stand Still" "Red Hill Mining Town" (See sig.) and I would say The Ground Beneath Her Feet, but that doesn't really count since Bono didn't write it.
I know there's more...but isn't this enough?

 

[u2girlcj]

I think So Cruel has the best lyrics ever followed closely by MOFO

About Miracle Drug: I think that line is probably the most powerful line on the album, it's just one of those that the most don't get.
What is freedom more than life of an innocent baby, to say that is the worst line out of some of those silly lines Bono has written on some songs is a bit strange..

The worst for me would have to be the playboy mansion.. it's so corny LOL

Thanks

You are so right about So Cruel, but I have to say that the line in Miracle Drug sticks out like a sore thumb to me EVERY TIME I hear that song. I'm totally in it until that line - it doesn't fit and throws it. AND yes I have smelled newborn babies' heads, even my own (well, my daughter, not my own newborn head!) and the line STILL doesn't do anything for me, in fact I think it makes me kind of queasy. There's just something not quite right about it...

...but then maybe that's because I'm a mom and I happen to associate newborn smell with being at the beck and call of a small person...not exactly freedom! Ha! I think that's it!

 

[tmciano]

When I hear that line, I just think of a slimy NEWborn baby's head. I'm sure he didn't mean quite THAT new born, but I don't know, the line just weirds me out. Freedom doesn't smell at all. It just plain doesn't HAVE any scent at all. A blind person would not recognise freedom by a scent.

 

[Meghan]

Have you ever smelled the top of a newborn baby's head ? It's unbelievable !

i did actually risk looking like a freak and sniffed the top of a babys head... it kind of smelt like the hospital.
How "new born" does it have to be? This one was a couple of days old.

 

[Meghan]

my all time favourite line has to be from Walk On:
"i know it aches and your heart it breaks, and you can only take so much... Walk on."
Gets me everytime!
Also, and i've got a bad feeling putting this up, it sounds like you're all gonna say its cheesy, but i like it
One:
"We get to carry eachother"
and
"Did i ask too much? More than alot?"

and i do happen to like Playboy Mansion
"Don't wake her, she'll come around"
and
"Then will there be no time for sorrow, then will there be no time for shame, and though i can't say why, you know i've got to believe"

Acrobat
"And you can swallow or you can spit, you can throw it up, or choke on it, and you can dream, so dream out loud, and don't let the bastards grind you down"

Kite
"in summer i can taste the salts of the sea, theres a kite blowing out of control on the breeze, i wonder whats gonna happen to you, you wonder what has happened to me"

And (in my opinion anyway) there is nothing wrong with the new album, without it we wouldn't have
"Where you live should not decide, whether you live or whether you die"
or
"can't see the future, its getting away from me, i just watch the tail lights glowing"

some of these do include the delivery.

Worst?

NOT the freedom smell one. its maybe not the best, but its not the worst.
"Who's gonna ride your wild horses?"
(not the whole song, although i don't really like it, just that line)

 

[tmciano]

I really like:

Have you come here for forgiveness?
Have you come to raise the dead?
Have you come here to play Jesus, to the lepers in your head?

and:

You say love is temple
You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl.

(memories of an ex-wife)

 

[TheRooster]

Playboy Mansion has some good lyrics like:

Chance is a kind of religion
Where you're damned for plain hard luck

 

[Volly]

Best

Were fact is fiction and TV reality...

-Sunday Bloody Sunday


Worst

-There is no such thing as a bad U2 Lyric. Even his woo's in Elevation where priceless-

 

[lyra14]

I like "Gone," and "Kite" the best. But there are many honorable mentions...

 

[Bono's Betty]

One of my fav:

"I saw you in the curve of the moon, in the shadow cast across my room"
-ABOY

One of the worst:

"I've been sleeping in the street again, like a stray dog"
-Man and a Woman
love the song, hate that one lyric.

 

[bono_gal]

Best:

"Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief, all kill their inspirations, and sing about their grief"

This one from The Fly is definitly the best. There are so many other good ones, so I didn't know which ones to list, so you guys can add to it.

Worst:

"I'll give you everything you want, except the thing that you want"

"Freedom has a scent, like a top of a newborn baby's head"

"Hello, hello, im at a place called Vertigo"

"Oh, you, look, so, beautiful!"

Notice anything about the this last list?...^

Not a big fan of how to dismantle an atomic bomb then?