Song of the day 04-05-08: Please

[Cassis]

Please

So you never knew love
Until you crossed the line of grace
And you never felt wanted
Till you had someone slap your face
So you never felt alive
Until you almost wasted away

You had to win, you couldn't just pass
The smartest ass at the top of the class
Your flying colours, your family tree
And all your lessons in history

Please, please, please
Get up off your knees
Please, please, please
Please

So you never knew how low you'd stoop
Yo make that call
And you never knew what was on the ground
Until they made you crawl
So you never knew that the heaven you keep
You stole

Your Catholic blues, your convent shoes
Your stick-on tattoos, now they're making the news
Your holy war, your northern star
Your sermon on the mount from the boot of your car

Please, please, please
Get up off your knees
Please, please
Leave me out of this mess

So love is hard and love is tough
But love is not what you're thinking of
September, streets capsizing
Spilling over, down the drain
Shards of glass, splinters like rain
But you could only feel your own pain
October, talk getting nowhere
November, December
Remember, are we just starting again

Please, please, please
Get up off your knees
Please, please, please
Please
So love is big, it's bigger than us
But love is not what you're thinking of
It's what lovers deal, it's what lovers steal
You know I found it hard to recieve
'Cause you, my love, I could never believe

 

[Popmartijn]

Yes, the single version is much better than the album version and the live version on the Popheart EP is AMAZING, but it is one of the highlights on Pop. Yet again a next-to-last song and a very good follow-up to Sunday Bloody Sunday.

But all this can be summarised with:

 

[Cassis]

there is never enough drooling over this song

 

[the soul waits]

Those lyrics

 

[Joshua_Tree_Hugger]

This and WUDM at the end of the Pop increase its credibility three-fold!

The lyrics in this song are some of Bono's best, IMO, and I especially love Edge's hammer-on-and-pull-off riff.

 

[Aardvark747]

I put the single version of Please on, late last nite and listened to it thru my headphones.

I then played it 3 more times! Really re-discovered the song! I love it when that happens!

 

[MacPhistoPT]

Great lyrics but the song is a bit overrated IMO

 

[MumblingBono]

Lyrics
Song itself, I don't see the fuss

 

[lady luck]

a great song.
The references to the trouble in Ireland, to the fanatism, and the lines about love are just great.

Once I read that, while they were doing the video for this song, Bono burst into tears because it was so involved in the song that he couldn't avoid it.

I think this song is a sort of prayer, but it also has got a lot of rage: a rage against the people that some way are obstacles on the way to peace and justice.
I think that one of the lines in Staring at the sun (i.e. "will we ever live in peace) would have been perfect also in this song.

 

[the soul waits]

I put the single version of Please on, late last nite and listened to it thru my headphones.

I then played it 3 more times! Really re-discovered the song! I love it when that happens!

I SO need to buy headphones

 

[lady luck]

I put the single version of Please on, late last nite and listened to it thru my headphones.

I then played it 3 more times! Really re-discovered the song! I love it when that happens!

The same happened to me with Elvis Presley and America yesterday!

 

[MsMofoGone]

Such an emotional song with absolutely brilliant lyrics !!


These lyrics alone are a constant reminder of September 11th ...

September, streets capsizing ...
Spilling over, down the drain ...
Shards of glass, splinters like rain ...
But you could only feel your own pain ...

 

[RavenBlue]

One of my favs here. Love this one!

 

[greety]

I only have the Pop version but would like to hear the single if someone wants to post or better send it (since it's an official )

greetie@gmail.com

 

[discothequeLP]

the bridge for the live vesions, with Larry's Sunday Bloody Sunday drumming, is soo fucking awesome! the solo at the end is great. totally encompasses the Pop album.

 

[Zoovation]

What's the difference between the single and album version?

 

[namkcuR]

What's the difference between the single and album version?

There's a guitar solo in the single version and more strings in the single version. Although the precussion is better on the album version.

 

[Harry Vest]

One of U2's top 15 songs. If not top 10.

 

[greety]

There's a guitar solo in the single version and more strings in the single version. Although the precussion is better on the album version.

As I requested above, could you send the single version please?

 

[the soul waits]

Hi Greety

I'd love to hear the single-version too please

tocagirl AT gmail DOT com

 

[namkcuR]

http://s40.you send it.com/d.aspx?id=0H45JY1IAL3D24KSDDQ5CLVIN

Take out the spaces.

 

[AtomicBono]

the bridge for the live vesions, with Larry's Sunday Bloody Sunday drumming, is soo fucking awesome! the solo at the end is great. totally encompasses the Pop album.

Yeah I fuckin love the SBS drums in the bridge!! the bridge also has some of the best lyrics, very eerie in the wake of 9/11 especially, though it is about the troubles in Ireland the song is still relevant today.

Though it's not my favourite song from Pop, I think it's my favourite LIVE song from Pop. Live it's just incredible, with Edge's beautiful frenzy at the end, the rhythm going wild, Bono's vocals are just crazy, I love that sound he makes where he's not really saying anything, just sort of going up and down with "Ooooohh's" but very powerful. Please NEEDS to be on the third leg of the tour. If I could only request ONE song for them to play at my concert, I'd request Please. Even over Acrobat

 

[mobvok]

I'm slightly conflicted myself on preference with the single vs. album version. Of course the single version is, in the final analysis, superior because of the added solo; but the percussion is (as stated) better on the album and there are a few various quirks that are more satisfying. (Stuff like Bono's phrasing, and the fadeout/ahhs at the end of the song)

 

[SiW87]

A while back there was a thread posted about which song live is the best transition into Streets, and Please came up a bunch of times.

Just wondering, does anyone have a clip they can send me of it? I think the Please/Streets happened in Mexico a while back and it was awesome I'm told!

Please?