what is "original of the species" REALLY about?

[MattFromNYC]

is there any interview around by the band on exactly what this song is about?

some say its written for edge's daughter... others say its about any child in general, or someone who's going through an illness... or about kids growing up.. which would make no sense because this sounds like more of a romantic song...

"I'll give you anything that you want.. except the thing that you want"

"i get down on my knees cos i want you some more"???

this doesnt sound like a song written about a child, if you know what i mean. unless bono means something else by these? what are your takes?

 

[clifedge]

The kneeling thing can definitely be applied to a kid growing up....he's praying! "I kneel 'cos I want you some more." Just like in Vertigo: "Your love is teaching me how to kneel."

 

[typhoon]

BJs.

 

[onebloodonelife]

BJs.

 

[indra]

There's a big discussion of one possible meaning of it in the It's A Musical Journey forum. It's a fun thread.

 

[ElectricalVoice]

Every good lyric is about what the listener can get out of it. Don't limit yourself to Bonos possible meanings.

 

[julianamendoza]

an adult kneels to hug a child... that way he can get some more of the child.. a really nice hug!

 

[corianderstem]

"i get down on my knees cos i want you some more"???

"I kneel cos I want you some more"

I take that as kneeling because you're humbled, perhaps overwhelmed by love and/or beauty.

Not every reference to knees is about sex.

 

[To-Ho]

Good point electricalvoice.

 

[U2girl]

"I'll give you anything that you want.. except the thing that you want"

The divide between the parents's wish to give their children everything but the thing the child wants most, independence.

"i get down on my knees cos i want you some more"???

Like someone else said, kneeling IMO here is about praying that the child always stay the same vibrant personality, true to themselves etc...

 

[MattFromNYC]

im still not sure how to take it. because to eroticize a song that was/is about edge's daughter or even his own daughters, is a little odd, if you ask me.....

 

[MattFromNYC]

bono did say it was about their children.. but "i later eroticized it"

 

[corianderstem]

It is an odd thing to say. Knowing Bono and the things he sometimes says, I'd want further explanation from him about what he meant before I started feeling all "ew!" about it.

 

[LyricalDrug]

I wrote this earlier, but here it goes again -- if any fans are confused by the song, then maybe an analysis of the video can provide a good explanation.

The video seems to open with umbilical cords, knotted together, before they morph into a fetus. Then we see an unmistakable image of maternity: a mother's breasts, and her arms around her child. The synchronicity beween lyric and video is perfect, as the line "please stay a child" overlays exactly with the graphics, before "somewhere in your heart" matches up with a scribbled, red heart.

The band members' heads appear next, as if to signal paternalism: U2, collectively, is the father of this child. As Bono has said, this song is for "all of U2's girls." The female child in the video also represents the future, the coming generation of music, and the result of U2's influence on the world.

As the video continues, Bono whispers in the child's ear, "I'll give you everything that you want..." as the child smiles, listening. The advice continues, as written phrases appear on the child's head, scrawled like words of wisdom in a classmate's yearbook ("Stay True"..."Let Go"). Like a father imprinting life lessons into a child's mind, Bono's lyrics implore listeners to recognize their own individuality.

The flowers growing from the child's mouth symbolize her individuality, her own song, and her identity. Bono instructs her to "shout it" everywhere she goes, and the flowers represent the child's unique voice.

Bono has said that while the song was first written for Edge's daughter, in the end, he "eroticized it" a little bit. Indeed, the lyric "I kneel / cos' I want you some more" is suggestive at the very least. The video hints at this fact, as the child transforms into a woman, emerging from the silky cocoon of childhood to enter womanhood. The director's imagery is telling: we see butterflies (a symbol of post-pubescence), a pregnant womb, and a rose (the quintessential symbol of romantic, sexual love).

Even the tattoos on Bono's arm are symbolic: we see a heart, "Mother," and a dove flying free, which echo the themes of the song.

As the song climaxes, Bono's face teeters on the edge of joy (of a father seeing his daughter grow up) and agony (the ache of a father missing his little girl).

There are so many themes in this song: parental influence vs. individuality, nature vs. nurture vs. free will, the entry into adulthood, the excitement it presents to a teenager, mixed with the sadness a father feels from seeing his daughter leave home.

 

[Lila64]

Wow - thanks for your detailed description LD - I will ponder that as I head off to bed

 

[ClaudeF]

Wow, there's a video?

Every time I see MTV they show frickin' Black Eyed Peas.

Sertiously, though, I've always heard it's about having kids, too.

 

[For Honor]

interesting.....

 

[DreamOutLoud13]

The Edge: "The last time I cried was listening to that song. It was a song Bono started on the last record about my daughter Hollee. He's her godfather. The lyric became more universal. About being young and full of doubt about yourself. He probably won't agree, but I think it has connotations for Bono, looking back to when he was 20." (Quote from Q magazine)

Bono: "It's about seeing some people who are ashamed of their bodies, in particular teenagers with eating disorders, not feeling comfortable with themselves and their sexuality. I'm just saying to them, you are one of a kind, you are the first one of your kind, you're an original of the species... "You feel like no one before, you steal right under my door, I kneel 'cause I want you some more, I want the lot of what you've got, and I want nothing that you're not, everywhere you go you shout it, you don't have to be shy about it". So it's a "be who you are", and I can't wait to play it live. Edge plays some extraordinary piano which got the complexity to the verses, to balance that anthem." (Quote from an interview found at u2tour.de)


I'll put my two cents in as well. As a twenty year old girl, I immediately identified with this song. I can remember, one of the very first time I listened to it, I couldn't just sit down. I got up and danced, because it just made me so joyful. It made me love myself.
Not long after that, I came across the above quotes, and I was just amazed at how spot-on the song was.
As Edge said, it started out for Hollee, but became more universal. It's for all of us. All of us girls. And it's fulfilled it's purpose. The song is so dear to my heart.
I see this song as a message from a father figure to a daughter figure. Not necessarily Bono to Jordan, or Edge to Hollee, but a universal thing. I don't have that great of a relationship with my father, at times I almost see it as a song from Bono, as a father, to his younger female fans on behalf of their own fathers who haven't/can't say it themselves.

Many songs can mean different things to different people. A song, to one person, can be about God. To another person it's about a woman. They've said it before "We write songs about women, and songs about God, and sometimes we get the two mixed up." Bono writes his songs like that on purpose, so that they can be more relative to more people.
Whether or not the song is eroticized or not is up to the personal interpretation of the listener.
I always like to bring up Until The End Of The World when people start trying to interpret songs. The direct interpretation is that the song is Judas talking to Jesus. I accept that, and am quite a fan of the biblical references found in U2 songs. Though one day, while listening to it, it suddenly occured to me, that (and especially to someone with no biblical knowledge) the song could quite easily have been interpreted as being a man talking to the woman that he's taken advantage of/used.
Just one more reason why Bono is awesome. His ability to make a song mean different things to different people.

 

[Jamila]

thanks to LyricalDrug for a very insightful analysis of the meaning of some of the OOTS symbolism.



But what I can't figure out is why we are always looking for the underside of U2.

I never interpreted Bono's statement in terms of children - I thought the "eroticizng" would be in terms of two adults.

I guess I'm just too gullible not to be looking for all the possible negative stuff.

And I'm glad that I am.

 

[angelordevil]

I'm not a religious nut (I'm just a nut). But if you listen to the lyrics of OOTS and think of Jesus and his life, it does get interesting.

I always take Bono with a grain of salt when he says a certain song is about something...I think he's much more elusive lyrically than he lets on at times.

 

[intedomine]

I wrote this earlier, but here it goes again -- if any fans are confused by the song, then maybe an analysis of the video can provide a good explanation.

The video seems to open with umbilical cords, knotted together, before they morph into a fetus. Then we see an unmistakable image of maternity: a mother's breasts, and her arms around her child. The synchronicity beween lyric and video is perfect, as the line "please stay a child" overlays exactly with the graphics, before "somewhere in your heart" matches up with a scribbled, red heart.

The band members' heads appear next, as if to signal paternalism: U2, collectively, is the father of this child. As Bono has said, this song is for "all of U2's girls." The female child in the video also represents the future, the coming generation of music, and the result of U2's influence on the world.

As the video continues, Bono whispers in the child's ear, "I'll give you everything that you want..." as the child smiles, listening. The advice continues, as written phrases appear on the child's head, scrawled like words of wisdom in a classmate's yearbook ("Stay True"..."Let Go"). Like a father imprinting life lessons into a child's mind, Bono's lyrics implore listeners to recognize their own individuality.

The flowers growing from the child's mouth symbolize her individuality, her own song, and her identity. Bono instructs her to "shout it" everywhere she goes, and the flowers represent the child's unique voice.

Bono has said that while the song was first written for Edge's daughter, in the end, he "eroticized it" a little bit. Indeed, the lyric "I kneel / cos' I want you some more" is suggestive at the very least. The video hints at this fact, as the child transforms into a woman, emerging from the silky cocoon of childhood to enter womanhood. The director's imagery is telling: we see butterflies (a symbol of post-pubescence), a pregnant womb, and a rose (the quintessential symbol of romantic, sexual love).

Even the tattoos on Bono's arm are symbolic: we see a heart, "Mother," and a dove flying free, which echo the themes of the song.

As the song climaxes, Bono's face teeters on the edge of joy (of a father seeing his daughter grow up) and agony (the ache of a father missing his little girl).

There are so many themes in this song: parental influence vs. individuality, nature vs. nurture vs. free will, the entry into adulthood, the excitement it presents to a teenager, mixed with the sadness a father feels from seeing his daughter leave home.

Haven't seen the video yet.

Is the child in the clip Jordan?

 

[Utoo]

LyricalDrug---kick-ass job! I haven't seen the video yet, but you've just made me want to hurry up and see it!

I think that if you look at the lyrics, it's pretty clear that he's talking to a teenaged girl/daughter. Just about all of the lyrics fit.

As for the "eroticizing" of the song, the only real line that does this is the "and I kneel coz I want you some more." There are a few reasons for this. First, kneeling is as universal and pervasive a symbol in all of U2's music as water was on the Joshua Tree. It's the U2 symbol of submission. While it certainly has an erotic quality, I see it in OOTS more as the submissive bowing/praying of a father who wants his little girl to stay his little girl forever, but who knows he has absolutely no power to keep her that way...and that all the power and radiance is in her. As for the whole reason for "eroticizing" the song at all, I'd say it has to do with Bono's recurrent theme of an appreciation/love of the female spirit, as well as his recurrent theme of his poetic self's powerlessness to women. Plus, "eroticizing" it kinda lets you know that he's talking to a young woman/girl and not a guy.

(sorry if I rambled...it's late and time for bed!)

 

[LyricalDrug]

Whether or not the song is eroticized or not is up to the personal interpretation of the listener.
I always like to bring up Until The End Of The World when people start trying to interpret songs. The direct interpretation is that the song is Judas talking to Jesus. I accept that, and am quite a fan of the biblical references found in U2 songs. Though one day, while listening to it, it suddenly occured to me, that (and especially to someone with no biblical knowledge) the song could quite easily have been interpreted as being a man talking to the woman that he's taken advantage of/used.
Just one more reason why Bono is awesome. His ability to make a song mean different things to different people.

I'd never been able to hear "Until the End of the World" like that until now. That's a really cool interpretation.

 

[Utoo]

I'd never been able to hear "Until the End of the World" like that until now. That's a really cool interpretation.

Bono states in the recent Rolling Stone article that he would occasionally use "you" for "God" in a song, romanticizing it and making it more mainstream. Kinda changes the meaning of a ton of songs if you start wondering which ones he did that for....

 

[ADecentMelody]

This is still my favorite song off HTDAAB and the video really adds to the imagery of Bono's song about his (their) daughter's eventual maturity and independence. On the one hand, he embraces her emergence from under his wing. In the other, he misses her already for growing up so fast.

What I like best about the song (and I think where most of its emotional impact lies) is how Bono is also relating to his daughter when he was growing up and hitting the same age. He knows all about the pressures and insecurities and dangers that befell him when he was her age. He knows the forks in the road that can lead to happiness or sorrow. He knows all the pain she will have to suffer before there is joy.

He wants these for her, but he can't help but REMINISCE about HIS own time when he was her age. How long ago that was and how he can never have those times back. I can see this not just in this song but in this current tour - the bringing back of songs from Boy and October; the ending with 40; his fondness with children during the shows (specially Nicholas during the Denver shows, where he taught him the trick of all tricks - "stay as you are" before breaking into the climax of Bad).

I believe the director capture these emotions during the end of the video when Bono takes off his shades and gets teary eyed. I think those emotions are captured when Bono sings the lines where there are no words (which I'm glad they kept in the new single version) but just utterances full of sentiment and passion.

Salt Lake is my last U2 show of this leg. In a bittersweet way, I don't want it to come yet. I don't want it to end much like their daughters will eventually grow up.

 

[Jamila]

Let me just thank all those who posted here their very astute and well-thought out interpretations of the OOTS video.

Utoo - very good analysis of the use of "kneeling" in U2 songs.

I agree overall with these ideas so that is why I really didn't post any of mine.

Thanks for a great discussion.

 

[AtomicBono]

This is a fantastic thread. I don't have anything to add really, people have pretty much covered it, thanks for the insights everyone I'll just say that I love how Original of the Species, along with many other great U2 songs (such as Beautiful Day), masterfully mixes joy and sorrow. The climax of the song and then back to the chorus brings forth some of the most joyous feelings possible in a song, but there is also an underlying sadness throughout. U2 doesn't write cookie cutter songs. They write songs that capture what it means to be human, both the good and the bad. They capture human emotion better than any band I know; I agree with Bono that they've covered emotional territory no one else really has. This is what sets them apart and is also why Original of the Species is one of the most beautiful songs they've ever written.

I also just wanted to add that the video perfectly depicts the conflicting emotions in the song. It's one of the best videos U2 has ever made, really. It fits the song so well. It's so weird and beautiful and...well, perfect.

 

[Utoo]

I also just wanted to add that the video perfectly depicts the conflicting emotions in the song. It's one of the best videos U2 has ever made, really. It fits the song so well. It's so weird and beautiful and...well, perfect.

Absolutely! I just watched it for the first time...

It really does showcase U2's love of the female spirit. Interesting to note---Bono's only wearing his right earring.......perhaps using this image of homosexuality as yet another image of love of the feminine..?

 

[FungusAmongus]

This is a fantastic thread. I don't have anything to add really, people have pretty much covered it, thanks for the insights everyone I'll just say that I love how Original of the Species, along with many other great U2 songs (such as Beautiful Day), masterfully mixes joy and sorrow. The climax of the song and then back to the chorus brings forth some of the most joyous feelings possible in a song, but there is also an underlying sadness throughout. U2 doesn't write cookie cutter songs. They write songs that capture what it means to be human, both the good and the bad. They capture human emotion better than any band I know; I agree with Bono that they've covered emotional territory no one else really has. This is what sets them apart and is also why Original of the Species is one of the most beautiful songs they've ever written.

I also just wanted to add that the video perfectly depicts the conflicting emotions in the song. It's one of the best videos U2 has ever made, really. It fits the song so well. It's so weird and beautiful and...well, perfect.

i couldn't agree with you more. wonderful post.

 

[corianderstem]

It really does showcase U2's love of the female spirit. Interesting to note---Bono's only wearing his right earring.......perhaps using this image of homosexuality as yet another image of love of the feminine..?

Is that still a "sign" of homosexuality in this day and age?