When I first heard Yahweh a year ago, I was deeply touched and wrote this essay. In two days, I’m going to my first U2 concert ever in Salt Lake City. I’m totally stoked about it. My favorite U2 song of all is Bad, and I’ve been watching the setlists to see what the chances are they’ll play it. I’m not expecting it, but it would be great to hear. That said, Yahweh and 40 are great back to back as a closer and would impact me deeply, spiritually, I’m sure.
As a note of introduction, be warned this is lengthy and very religious and doctrinal. Don’t read if that sort of thing might offend you. Many U2 fans don’t care about religion and this might even detract from your enjoyment of the song, so let this essay be about me and what the song means to me, not trying to force you to believe I speak for Bono.
I don’t talk about the music, here, just the lyrics. I think if the lyrics didn’t reach me so deeply, the music might not either, but as it is, I love this song.
Yahweh is an alternate pronunciation of Jehovah. It is spelled YWHW in Hebrew and the correct pronunciation was lost over time because no one was allowed to speak the word.
Christians believe Jehovah is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. At the risk of offending Jews, I will approach this just from a Christian point of view, since that is all I know. The song is sung as a hymn directly to our Savior. The theme here is one of grace, coming to know Christ and his love, and offering one’s self to Him.
Verse 1
Take these shoes
Click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes
And make them fit
Take this shirt
Polyester white trash made in nowhere
Take this shirt
And make it clean, clean
Take this soul
Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul
And make it sing
Here I am, Jesus, in all my weakness.
I lack direction and purpose (Click clacking down some dead end street).
I don’t have ability or talent to meet any purpose if I had one (And make them fit ).
I feel there is nothing special about me (Polyester white trash made in nowhere).
I struggle with sin. (And make it clean, clean)
I am mortal with a body that is prone to sickness and death and imperfection (Stranded in some skin and bones)
I can’t reach my potential, and I lack joy. (And make it sing)
But I offer myself to you. (Take these shoes, shirt, soul, etc.)
Chorus
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I’m waiting for the dawn
Always pain before a child is born
Before a child is born
• Our individual condition before we accept Christ
• Condition of mankind before Christ came and atoned for us
• Our individual condition before we feel forgiveness for sin
Still I’m waiting for the dawn
This song is a live action event. We are in real time. At this stage we have acknowledged Christ’s goodness and power. We are asking for his grace. We lament in the pain and difficulty we are experiencing waiting for Him, comparing it to the waiting for the dawn in a dark night.
Verse 2
Take these hands
Teach them what to carry
Take these hands
Don’t make a fist
Take this mouth
So quick to criticise
Take this mouth
Give it a kiss
Most of the interpretations of this is to say this is a Christian code of conduct or it’s an anti-war or anti-Bush message. Certainly U2 has been very political and especially anti-war but not looking deeper is to completely miss a very meaningful thought.
The message goes back to the first verse’s message. It is an admission of guilt.
I don’t know what to do with my life. (Teach them what to carry)
I lack charity--naturally prone to aggression or criticism. (Don’t make a fist… So quick to criticize)
And now we make more of a direct and intimate request for his grace.
Take this mouth
So quick to criticise
Take this mouth
Give it a kiss
What beautiful words expressing human weakness and our unworthiness and symbolizing our collective request to God to forgive us. We ask for what we don’t merit: his grace, his favor, his forgiveness.
My son is young enough that we kiss on the lips. A few weeks ago he threw an unopened can of pop at me in anger which hit my work laptop computer and upon impact, exploded open right into the keyboard. The screen went dead, and I was mad! I chased after him and he ran away crying. He knew he had done wrong. He knew he had caused a loss that maybe couldn’t be retrieved. He felt serious regret. After I calmed down he came to me to say sorry and puckered up his little mouth for a kiss. He knew he DESERVED something worse but what he desperately NEEDED was my grace and my kiss.
I imagine my little son saying these lyrics, asking the Savior for a kiss on the mouth. I imagine myself asking the Savior in an equally intimate way to give me grace instead of punishing me the way I deserve.
Chorus
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I’m waiting for the dawn
Back to the live action. We are still in a state of waiting. Feeling the pain and suffering of the loneliness and heartache of this world and the consequences of our mortality. The last sentence is sung slower as if we are running out of strength and faith waiting for Christ to save us.
Still waiting for the dawn, the sun is coming up
The sun is coming up on the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
This is the moment we are saved. This is the moment the Savior takes on our sins in the garden and dies for us, opening a new hope for mankind. This is the moment the atonement becomes real in our lives. We receive his grace. Our shoes fit. Our shirt is made clean. We are kissed on the mouth.
At this moment we realize His love is like a drop in the ocean. It is so abundant and encompassing that we will never again want for more.
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I’m waiting for the dawn
The music picks up as we are now in a state of feeling God’s love and knowing his grace. We repeat the same words we lamented on in our darkness, but this time at a quicker pace and a happy tone, as if to say how easy that was to sit through that dark night knowing how wonderful the pay off was.
Verse 3
Take this city
A city should be shining on a hill
Take this city
If it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart
Take this heart
Take this heart
And make it break
The last line is the most touching of all.
First, we acknowledge that Christ owns our heart. (What no man can own, no man can take)
Then we offer our heart to Christ. We don’t ask for fame or riches or romantic love. Our only request is for Him to make it break.
Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken
and a contrite heart,
The requirement to access his grace is the broken heart and a contrite spirit, but the irony and the power here is that we as a human race are still unable to meet the requirement for us to offer a broken heart. We need him to even accomplish that and are asking for him to break our hearts, i.e. change our naturally selfish/carnal self to a humble spirit ready to offer a broken heart.
Thank you for reading to the end if you have. I am a Mormon (LDS), and though we believe in grace, doctrinally, we are having a hard time with it culturally, due to our history of works and strong work ethic enabling our survival (crossing the plains to Utah, settling in the desert of Utah and working to make it thrive, etc.). This song is very touching to me.
As a note of introduction, be warned this is lengthy and very religious and doctrinal. Don’t read if that sort of thing might offend you. Many U2 fans don’t care about religion and this might even detract from your enjoyment of the song, so let this essay be about me and what the song means to me, not trying to force you to believe I speak for Bono.
I don’t talk about the music, here, just the lyrics. I think if the lyrics didn’t reach me so deeply, the music might not either, but as it is, I love this song.
Yahweh is an alternate pronunciation of Jehovah. It is spelled YWHW in Hebrew and the correct pronunciation was lost over time because no one was allowed to speak the word.
Christians believe Jehovah is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. At the risk of offending Jews, I will approach this just from a Christian point of view, since that is all I know. The song is sung as a hymn directly to our Savior. The theme here is one of grace, coming to know Christ and his love, and offering one’s self to Him.
Verse 1
Take these shoes
Click clacking down some dead end street
Take these shoes
And make them fit
Take this shirt
Polyester white trash made in nowhere
Take this shirt
And make it clean, clean
Take this soul
Stranded in some skin and bones
Take this soul
And make it sing
Here I am, Jesus, in all my weakness.
I lack direction and purpose (Click clacking down some dead end street).
I don’t have ability or talent to meet any purpose if I had one (And make them fit ).
I feel there is nothing special about me (Polyester white trash made in nowhere).
I struggle with sin. (And make it clean, clean)
I am mortal with a body that is prone to sickness and death and imperfection (Stranded in some skin and bones)
I can’t reach my potential, and I lack joy. (And make it sing)
But I offer myself to you. (Take these shoes, shirt, soul, etc.)
Chorus
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I’m waiting for the dawn
Always pain before a child is born
Before a child is born
• Our individual condition before we accept Christ
• Condition of mankind before Christ came and atoned for us
• Our individual condition before we feel forgiveness for sin
Still I’m waiting for the dawn
This song is a live action event. We are in real time. At this stage we have acknowledged Christ’s goodness and power. We are asking for his grace. We lament in the pain and difficulty we are experiencing waiting for Him, comparing it to the waiting for the dawn in a dark night.
Verse 2
Take these hands
Teach them what to carry
Take these hands
Don’t make a fist
Take this mouth
So quick to criticise
Take this mouth
Give it a kiss
Most of the interpretations of this is to say this is a Christian code of conduct or it’s an anti-war or anti-Bush message. Certainly U2 has been very political and especially anti-war but not looking deeper is to completely miss a very meaningful thought.
The message goes back to the first verse’s message. It is an admission of guilt.
I don’t know what to do with my life. (Teach them what to carry)
I lack charity--naturally prone to aggression or criticism. (Don’t make a fist… So quick to criticize)
And now we make more of a direct and intimate request for his grace.
Take this mouth
So quick to criticise
Take this mouth
Give it a kiss
What beautiful words expressing human weakness and our unworthiness and symbolizing our collective request to God to forgive us. We ask for what we don’t merit: his grace, his favor, his forgiveness.
My son is young enough that we kiss on the lips. A few weeks ago he threw an unopened can of pop at me in anger which hit my work laptop computer and upon impact, exploded open right into the keyboard. The screen went dead, and I was mad! I chased after him and he ran away crying. He knew he had done wrong. He knew he had caused a loss that maybe couldn’t be retrieved. He felt serious regret. After I calmed down he came to me to say sorry and puckered up his little mouth for a kiss. He knew he DESERVED something worse but what he desperately NEEDED was my grace and my kiss.
I imagine my little son saying these lyrics, asking the Savior for a kiss on the mouth. I imagine myself asking the Savior in an equally intimate way to give me grace instead of punishing me the way I deserve.
Chorus
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I’m waiting for the dawn
Back to the live action. We are still in a state of waiting. Feeling the pain and suffering of the loneliness and heartache of this world and the consequences of our mortality. The last sentence is sung slower as if we are running out of strength and faith waiting for Christ to save us.
Still waiting for the dawn, the sun is coming up
The sun is coming up on the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
This love is like a drop in the ocean
This is the moment we are saved. This is the moment the Savior takes on our sins in the garden and dies for us, opening a new hope for mankind. This is the moment the atonement becomes real in our lives. We receive his grace. Our shoes fit. Our shirt is made clean. We are kissed on the mouth.
At this moment we realize His love is like a drop in the ocean. It is so abundant and encompassing that we will never again want for more.
Yahweh, Yahweh
Always pain before a child is born
Yahweh, Yahweh
Still I’m waiting for the dawn
The music picks up as we are now in a state of feeling God’s love and knowing his grace. We repeat the same words we lamented on in our darkness, but this time at a quicker pace and a happy tone, as if to say how easy that was to sit through that dark night knowing how wonderful the pay off was.
Verse 3
Take this city
A city should be shining on a hill
Take this city
If it be your will
What no man can own, no man can take
Take this heart
Take this heart
Take this heart
And make it break
The last line is the most touching of all.
First, we acknowledge that Christ owns our heart. (What no man can own, no man can take)
Then we offer our heart to Christ. We don’t ask for fame or riches or romantic love. Our only request is for Him to make it break.
Psalm 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken
and a contrite heart,
The requirement to access his grace is the broken heart and a contrite spirit, but the irony and the power here is that we as a human race are still unable to meet the requirement for us to offer a broken heart. We need him to even accomplish that and are asking for him to break our hearts, i.e. change our naturally selfish/carnal self to a humble spirit ready to offer a broken heart.
Thank you for reading to the end if you have. I am a Mormon (LDS), and though we believe in grace, doctrinally, we are having a hard time with it culturally, due to our history of works and strong work ethic enabling our survival (crossing the plains to Utah, settling in the desert of Utah and working to make it thrive, etc.). This song is very touching to me.