Did Trump weaken SOE

[Tim Wallach]

Why is the second verse automatically not still a letter to his daughters? Even if it is about world politics?

Oh, I think he thinks it's still relevant to his daughters. My point is simply with how overtly Americanized the lyric is, no casual fan will draw any link to the original intent of the song.

 

[ascender_RS]

I never bought in to the Trump thing and while I'm sure the songs may have been tweaked here or there, I don't think the version of SOE we're going to get will be noticeably different to the one they could have released before the Joshua Tree tour.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Oh, I think he thinks it's still relevant to his daughters. My point is simply with how overtly Americanized the lyric is, no casual fan will draw any link to the original intent of the song.

I really think you're overestimating how much casual fans read into lyrical meanings.

 

[BVS]

Artists are opportunists and Trump was a perfect vehicle to tie themselves in with.

What a ridiculous statement.

 

[Airseven]

Based on Get Out, I would have to answer yes. It's probably already been said, but I wish the lyrics continued with the themes and personal subtleties of the first verse. Instead, we get clunky political soapboxing shoe-horned into the second verse and the song is derailed. Then no third chorus and it fades with more groaning. This song had so much potential.

 

[Tim Wallach]

I really think you're overestimating how much casual fans read into lyrical meanings.

I never over-estimate people anymore. I expect little and usually get less. Having said that, with lyrics about the Statue of Liberty getting a smack in the mouth, I doubt any casual fan will hear this as it was intended.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I never over-estimate people anymore. I expect little and usually get less. Having said that, with lyrics about the Statue of Liberty getting a smack in the mouth, I doubt any casual fan will hear this as it was intended.

He says the face of liberty. You assume he means the statue, and it's a quality assumption, but he doesn't ever directly reference the statue.

 

[Tim Wallach]

He says the face of liberty. You assume he means the statue, and it's a quality assumption, but he doesn't ever directly reference the statue.

Fair enough. I just doubt you'll find anyone aside from fans who read the explanation that think this song has anything to do with his daughters. And that's a shame because it really works in that context.

 

[womanfish]

The more i listen to it, the more I think Headache is looking at this from the right angle. That yes, it IS a song to his daughters, but its not just a - Be strong, independent, blah, blah. It really is a song to them about what's happening in the world politically and how you have to stand up to that shit.

What finally made me see it was that, the political references are not just in the second verse, but the first as well.

And resistance
Love has got to fight for its existence
The enemy has armies of assistants

The anti-Trump movement is called "Resist"
and then saying that love now has to fight for it's existence in this current climate. That the enemy of love, is now in high positions and has the support of so many. (congress/senate, voters who align with those views)
Obviously this also is applicable to British and French elections, etc...

So it then going on to the next verse to talk about the face of liberty starting to crack is not a big shift at all. It's just continuing the warning and advice to his daughters.

I think the verse i was most puzzled about was the third, until i looked at the official lyrics and one word changed the meaning of it for me.

Like freedom
The slaves are looking for someone to lead them
The master’s looking for someone to need him
The promised land is there for those who need it most
And Lincoln’s ghost said

I think that this is a larger reference to just how fragile freedom is. And that even in a "free" country, the masses are looking for someone to lead them, and not always using their own thought, morals and integrity in the process.
Obviously "masters" referencing ego driven politicians.

The promised land section to me - referring to those that fall for the big promises and lies that politicians spout. Those that are hurting the most, often are the ones that will fall for those promises, because they need something, some hope.

Anyway, I don't think this is a song that starts out as a personal father to daughter thing and then takes a hard turn to political. I think the entire song is a personal song to his daughters about the politically shifting world they are finding themselves in, and not to stay quiet.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

Fair enough. I just doubt you'll find anyone aside from fans who read the explanation that think this song has anything to do with his daughters. And that's a shame because it really works in that context.

Ok... So let's assume that the second verse never said liberty or freedom or Lincoln.

Casual fans still would never think the song was a letter to Bono's daughters unless somebody told them that, because unless you're a wacko fan like us who pays attention to this shit, who would know such a thing?

So it really doesn't change a thing in that regards.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

The more i listen to it, the more I think Headache is looking at this from the right angle. That yes, it IS a song to his daughters, but its not just a - Be strong, independent, blah, blah. It really is a song to them about what's happening in the world politically and how you have to stand up to that shit.

What finally made me see it was that, the political references are not just in the second verse, but the first as well.

And resistance
Love has got to fight for its existence
The enemy has armies of assistants

The anti-Trump movement is called "Resist"
and then saying that love now has to fight for it's existence in this current climate. That the enemy of love, is now in high positions and has the support of so many. (congress/senate, voters who align with those views)
Obviously this also is applicable to British and French elections, etc...

So it then going on to the next verse to talk about the face of liberty starting to crack is not a big shift at all. It's just continuing the warning and advice to his daughters.

I think the verse i was most puzzled about was the third, until i looked at the official lyrics and one word changed the meaning of it for me.

Like freedom
The slaves are looking for someone to lead them
The master’s looking for someone to need him
The promised land is there for those who need it most
And Lincoln’s ghost said

I think that this is a larger reference to just how fragile freedom is. And that even in a "free" country, the masses are looking for someone to lead them, and not always using their own thought, morals and integrity in the process.
Obviously "masters" referencing ego driven politicians.

The promised land section to me - referring to those that fall for the big promises and lies that politicians spout. Those that are hurting the most, often are the ones that will fall for those promises, because they need something, some hope.

Anyway, I don't think this is a song that starts out as a personal father to daughter thing and then takes a hard turn to political. I think the entire song is a personal song to his daughters about the politically shifting world they are finding themselves in, and not to stay quiet.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

There were a lot of people shaken to their core that there were enough people in this country who saw a corrupt con man with a history of severe sexual harassment and assault, who ran a campaign riddled with blatant racism and xenophobia and said... "yup, that's my guy" to actually put him in office.

Jordan and Eve both live here, and Jordan is heavily involved in activism... I can imagine they were a little rattled and unsure of how to navigate, much like the rest of us.

 

[Tim Wallach]

Thanks womanfish. I hadn't looked at the official lyrics. To my ears, I thought Bono was saying "the enemy is always of assistance" which also made sense to me.

 

[womanfish]

There were a lot of people shaken to their core that there were enough people in this country who saw a corrupt con man with a history of severe sexual harassment and assault, who ran a campaign riddled with blatant racism and xenophobia and said... "yup, that's my guy" to actually put him in office.

Jordan and Eve both live here, and Jordan is heavily involved in activism... I can imagine they were a little rattled and unsure of how to navigate, much like the rest of us.

 

[ARMOGI]

this album sounds like an overbloated, overthought, overproduced mess so far, not sure if this is because of trump but it certainly didn't help matters.

 

[Nick66]

When the record finally comes out, I'm confident you'll find that very little of it is about Trump. Maybe one or two lines, at most, laying bare the nonsense that "we delayed the record because Trump" always was, and no one believed except the very gullible or those unfamiliar with U2's history.

Let's put it this way...if you believe they really "delayed" the record because of Trump, then you also believe that they had 40 songs after NLOTH that were finished and ready to be released and that Ordinary Love was actually written about Nelson Mandela. And you're most likely still trying to figure out what happened with Invisible.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

[emoji90]

 

[david]

I don’t believe anymore...

 

[BVS]

 

[Gzusfrk]

For me, lyrically, some of the stuff in Get Out or AS about America do seem kind of one dimensional. I mean, the same guy wrote about America before in stuff like "In God's Country" or "Heartland" for example. There are ways to write about America, or the current President, or whatever, that seem less ham-fisted, but more thought provoking and poetic.

I understand that Bono was "writing letters as if he were dead", so as not to worry about how he's perceived, or being afraid of directness. But he's done it so often the last 20 years, it seems like at least in Get Out and AS, he could have made the imagery a bit more subtle.

 

[Airseven]

There were a lot of people shaken to their core that there were enough people in this country who saw a corrupt con man with a history of severe sexual harassment and assault, who ran a campaign riddled with blatant racism and xenophobia and said... "yup, that's my guy" to actually put him in office.

I voted for Trump. I agree with his politics. And I find your post exaggerated and disingenuous. Look no further than your need to use terms like “severe, riddled, and blatant” to craft your political hyperbole. Now would I mind if you took that opinion and folded it into a great rock tune and maybe spun a little ditty on that grocery store rag CNN? Absolutely not! As long as it’s a good song, the political lean would be entirely excusable if not condoned. Here we have U2’s conundrum.

 

[LemonMelon]

I don't appreciate hyperbolic terms like "president" and "man" being applied to Donald Trump.

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

I voted for Trump. I agree with his politics. And I find your post exaggerated and disingenuous. Look no further than your need to use terms like “severe, riddled, and blatant” to craft your political hyperbole. Now would I mind if you took that opinion and folded it into a great rock tune and maybe spun a little ditty on that grocery store rag CNN? Absolutely not! As long as it’s a good song, the political lean would be entirely excusable if not condoned. Here we have U2’s conundrum.

This explains so much.

 

[CosmoKramer]

Why do I have a feeling this thread is about to go sideways........again.

 

[Nick66]

[emoji90]

This explains so much.

 

[Sr. Poop]

The fact this thread doesn't rhyme is a crime!

So get it over the hump, Trump!

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

This explains so much.

As it was in response to you, correct again!

 

[Nick66]

Actually, I was more or less referring to your maturity & mindset.

 

[Hollow Island]

I voted for Trump. I agree with his politics. And I find your post exaggerated and disingenuous. Look no further than your need to use terms like “severe, riddled, and blatant” to craft your political hyperbole. Now would I mind if you took that opinion and folded it into a great rock tune and maybe spun a little ditty on that grocery store rag CNN? Absolutely not! As long as it’s a good song, the political lean would be entirely excusable if not condoned. Here we have U2’s conundrum.

how do you not see that Trump is "a corrupt con man with a history of severe sexual harassment and assault, who ran a campaign riddled with blatant racism and xenophobia?"

- he bragged about being a sexual predator
- there are several accusations of sexual assault and harassment, including against teenage girls
- his cons, such as running a fraudulent school for which he was fined $25 million, have been documented for decades
- if you don't see the racism and xenophobia in something like proposing that all Muslims be registered and the way he talks about violence committed by Muslims and black people compared to violence committed by white people...you know, I know a guy who thinks that the Nazis weren't anti-Jew.

 

[BVS]

I voted for Trump. I agree with his politics.

Color no one shocked, but we’re all impressed you found this post in under 2 weeks. Yay...