Everything about Lemon is unbelievably amazing

[coolian2]

The vocal transition out of the falsetto

 

[The Sad Punk]

I like the countermelody Bono added during the chorus on the live version in '93.

Me too.

I still like the album version a whole lot too. Actually, I've been listening to it more often lately.

Don't think it's too long, either.

 

[GirlsAloudFan]

Beautiful, beautiful song...

"She had heaven and she held on so tight"

Really beautiful lyrics from, in my opinion, Bono's best lyric-writing "era" sung in the falsetto that not mnay other singers can approach...

Lemon kicks ass

 

[roy]

The falsetto killed it, IMO. It doesn't work as being sung throughout. More sparingly is better (i.e.: Dirty Day).

 

[Earnie Shavers]

One part is apparently about his mother, "she wore lemon", and then there's whole entire other song that makes a social commentary about society with, "A man makes a picture..." and "Midnight is where the day begins"

No, the "she wore lemon" and the "man makes a picture" stuff is linked. I am literally running late for a plane, should have left work half an hour ago so I'll get back to this later if this fuels debate, but quickly.... so one part is the story of Bono finding/watching old film of his mother (wearing lemon), and the other stuff is talking about man creating things/doing things, what motivates them blah blah. Then he's singing about swimming/chasing after her and everything. This is really not coherent, I could make a better argument if I wasn't in a cold sweat at the moment, but it's sort of a round about way of wondering out loud if everything that he is is because of her (or more to the point, her death). He's creative and creating, he's Bono etc, and is that why? Is the love and attention he craves as 'Bono' because of that? Is that hole what created U2/Bono? Why do other people do these things? Also, it's why I love the ZooTV performance WITH With or Without You. He's performing it as this ultra attention seeking MacPhisto - reaching out to the crowd, showing off, after the love of thousands indiscriminantly while singing a song about how perhaps his mothers death made him what he is. Then it goes into With or Without You and he closes up, literally wrapping himself up, and starts staring out over the crowd like he's looking for only one specific person out there. And he's singing With or Without You. Can't live without you, but maybe wouldn't be this if I was with you? Perhaps? It's an interesting possibility anyway. Now... must go. Promise I will debate/articulate this better on Sunday if it's still floating around.

p.s No idea about the Midnight bits.

 

[jacobus]

LEMON
great song and one of the best videos ever... it has the groove and the flow, just the special magic element which makes a good song a classic one

midnight is where the day begins... mitternacht ist wo der tag beginnt...

 

[cobl04]

How good are the lyrics though?

A man melts the sand so he can see the world outside

 

[cobl04]

Me too.

I still like the album version a whole lot too. Actually, I've been listening to it more often lately.

Don't think it's too long, either.

Their longest song, but whenever I listen to it the time just flies by. A very quick seven minutes.

 

[The_Edge89]

I love this song, and I grew up with it on the stereo at home whenever I had to take a nap in the afternoon when I was about 4-5 years old or something.
It's a song that has a special place in my heart, and I never get tired of it.

The only thing that annoys the hell out of me is the squeaking rocking chair sample.
I wish I never discovered that sound, it ruins a lot of the song for me.

 

[CTU2fan]

Now where's CTU2fan?

Well it's a Lemon appreciation thread, so I wasn't going to even look...

Every couple of years I play Lemon, hoping it will grow on me. So far it hasn't...I think maybe it's too much of the falsetto, as philly says. But I have gotten to like it better than Some Days... and Babyface so there's hope

 

[cobl04]

Some Days rocks.

Brings me out of funks.

 

[kingofsorrow]

the beauty of lemon is in it's simplicity. i still don't like lemons or lemon candy.

 

[Hornbag]

How good are the lyrics though?

A man melts the sand so he can see the world outside

Well wasn't MacPhisto meant to be in Hell or something? Surely this means he's literally underground in the fires of the earth, so to speak, and from his position is melting sand on the same shore mentioned earlier in the song. We know when glass melts it becomes glass, so he's maybe using it as a looking glass between where he is and where the woman he wants is. I dunnno if that makes any sense But I can imagine it being one interpretation...

 

[mysterious_jen]

I love this song, and I grew up with it on the stereo at home whenever I had to take a nap in the afternoon when I was about 4-5 years old or something.
It's a song that has a special place in my heart, and I never get tired of it.

reading that makes me feel old !

lemon accompanied me through my teenage angst years, and i love it , but then i worship zooropa .

"i feel like im drifting, drifting, drifting from the shore ,
i feel like im swimming out to her"


and the brilliant simplicity of "midnight is where the day begins"

goes to find cd for another listen ....

 

[cobl04]

Well wasn't MacPhisto meant to be in Hell or something? Surely this means he's literally underground in the fires of the earth, so to speak, and from his position is melting sand on the same shore mentioned earlier in the song. We know when glass melts it becomes glass, so he's maybe using it as a looking glass between where he is and where the woman he wants is. I dunnno if that makes any sense But I can imagine it being one interpretation...

I just thought it was a very creative way of saying "a man looks out the window"

 

[flaming june]

I like the countermelody Bono added during the chorus on the live version in '93.

Yes!

I agree with the thread starter, it's one of the best U2 songs, and my favorite at the moment. The lyrics are haunting, the music is fun, the falsetto is heaven and the cello (is it?) adds a nice, melancholy touch.

 

[flaming june]

p.s No idea about the Midnight bits.

I've always thought this relates to people's creativity coming sometimes from the darkest sides of themselves. Or simply the idea that something good (day) always comes from bad experiences (midnight).

I feel like I'm drifting, drifting, drifting from the shore
I feel like I'm swimming out to her

Doesn't Bono sound incredibly Bowie-esque when he sings this part?

 

[XHendrix24]

Doesn't Bono sound incredibly Bowie-esque when he sings this part?

Probably yet another reason I love the song so much.

Bowie

Lemon

Thinking back, the song's probably a bit of a throwback to the adrogynous, Krautrock-influenced music of the 70's (Bowie on his Berlin albums and the like). That could just be Brian Eno's doing, though, seeing as how he was significantly influenced by (and involved in to an extent) the krautrock scene himself.

Eno

 

[The Disciple]

LOVE the Lemonade Remix...

 

[shart1780]

I think it's great. Not one of my favorites, but great.

 

[vaz02]

awesome song

 

[WCF]

I love Lemon and pretty much all of Zooropa. It's gotta be in my top 10 U2 songs

 

[shart1780]

Everything about my face is amazing.

 

[blm]

Downloads of live versions anyone?? Would love to listen....
very intense song, love the electric piano(?), Bono's voice, cello very cool.

j.malsich@verizon.net

 

[An Cat Gav]

Great great song and the perfecto remix is the best U2 remix of all time.
I wonder if U2 will ever do anything so different again.

 

[socceroo]

I like it being 2 merged songs (ala Beatles A Day In The Life). That's called creativity.

 

[david]

I like it being 2 merged songs (ala Beatles A Day In The Life). That's called creativity.

Or not being creative enough to finish the respective 2 songs so they just combine the lyrics into one.


The greatest thing about Lemon is that Henry Rollins actually likes the song.

He thought it was brilliant the way Eno made Edge's guitars not even sound like guitars.

 

[Val]

Henry Rollins... explain that! Why should we care? Nothing personal, David, but really, what does it matter that he doesn't see the brillance of U2? Has he really made much of a contribution to music? If I need to get educated on this front, please do!

 

[The Sad Punk]

Black Flag are/were very highly respected.

 

[david]

Henry Rollins... explain that! Why should we care? Nothing personal, David, but really, what does it matter that he doesn't see the brillance of U2? Has he really made much of a contribution to music? If I need to get educated on this front, please do!

What do I need to explain? It's well known that Henry Rollins despises U2 and Bono.

The point I was trying to make was despite his hatred towards the band he does like Lemon.