1. INSIDE ITS AMERICA
A road trip across the United States
Where The Streets Have No Name
In God's Country (Last November an Interferencer suggested IGC in the second spot. I never thought of that before. Yep, it does break up the original opening trilogy which is sacrilege for many! But, hey, the whole idea of a different track order is not a criticism of JT or an attempted improvement of JT but rather simply a new and fresh approach. Something in order to further appreciate JT. IGC propels the energy coming out of Streets and it focuses the spotlight on the original opening trilogy’s theme – America)
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Heartland (It was dropped from JT at the last minute in favour of Trip. Here it continues to center the attention on the original opening trilogy’s subject matter – America. Many find it to be a “love letter” to /about America. Yet, a portion of the lyrics and the vocals particularly near the end of the song appear to be just as scathing and critical of America as Bullet is. Sounds like the word and the meaning of heartland is transformed into hardland and one of hardened hearts.)
With Or Without You (Many see it only as an anguished love song. However, in the context of the whole album and in the original opening trilogy I find it to be more like a modern day psalm about America and God. It appears to me that all of the You(s) in Streets, Still Haven’t, and WOWY stand for God, or Lord, or Yahweh, or whatever name one prefers. Adam said that it surprised him that WOWY was such a hit on the radio for he found it more suited for church.)
2. OUTSIDE ITS AMERIKA
“And in our world a heart of darkness. A firezone…while bullets rape the night”
Silver And Gold (Many have commented on the harshness of the transition between WOWY into Bullet. S & G here may possibly be a worthy bridge between the two?)
Bullet The Blue Sky
Exit (Plenty of boiling rage here and complimentary to the seething fury in Bullet. Imagine what Bono felt, the turmoil inside of him, after he witnessed, experienced, heard, saw [and read about] the oppression, injustice, violence in Central America [and South America and South Africa]. The temptation and struggle between a peace pursuit of social justice and a violent resistance.)
One Tree Hill (Many see it as only a heartfelt eulogy to friend and crew member tragically killed. However, it appears to be about much more and much darker. A broader song about grieving and mourning. Who is this Victor Jara and what happened to him?)
Mothers Of The Disappeared
3. WIDE AWAKE IN AMERICA
Running To Stand Still (“and so she woke up. Woke up from where she was… Said I got to do something. About where we're going.”)
Red Hill Mining Town (and he can’t sleep, up all night, for he “see the lights go down on. I'm hanging on.”
The album ends with the question - What are we going to do? In a culture and in society where “we turn away to NOT face the cold, enduring chill” of what’s going on inside and outside of Reagan’s America. Instead, turning to a silence [indifference or despair]; turning to drugs [illegal or prescribed] – Running To Stand Still, booze – Red Hill Mining Town, 5 hours of TV per evening, consumerism, material obsession, an all-consuming career, etc. where we are always “running” around but never standing “still.” What are we going to do about being in a culture where “love [is] slowly stripped away” and “love runs cold”; a culture which encourages being “wounded by fear, injured in doubt”; that promotes “you to cry with out weeping. Talk without speaking. Scream without raising your voice.” Are we just “hanging on”? What are we “holding on to”? Are we “wide awake in America” and prepared to do something about it?
1. Where The Streets Have No Name
2. In God's Country
3. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
4. Heartland
5. With Or Without You
6. Silver And Gold
7. Bullet The Blue Sky
8. Exit
9. One Tree Hill
10. Mothers Of The Disappeared
11. Running To Stand Still
12. Red Hill Mining Town
A second album of the rest:
1. Spanish Eyes
2. Trip Through Your Wires
3. Womanfish
4. Sweetest Thing
5. Deep In The Heart
6. Race Against Time
7. Beautiful Ghost
8. Walk To The Water
9. Heroine (The Edge, Larry, and Sinead)
10. Luminous Times (Hold On To Love)