Hawkmoon 269 Intro?

[Dfit00]

Has anybody noticed that the initial melodic intro of Hawkmoon 269 is completely unrelated to the rest of the song?

It starts really slow, then it progresses to some synthesizer/guitar tune, kind of like a circus beat, and then the main chorus of the song starts. I know that the song was heavily mixed during the Rattle & Hum era, but was this particular intro part of that mixing or just regular jamming from the band?

Any input would be highly appreciated.

 

[Rachel D.]

I have no idea, but I've always thought of it as circus or carnival music.

 

[theedgeu2]

I think Bob Dylan played the organ on the intro. It is really weird as an intro but I like it!

Oh and I have to add that I always mishear "Like a preacher needs pain" as "Like a sheet stain".

 

[corianderstem]

But there is a line in there that's about a stain.

I can't remember off the top of my head if it's "sweet stain" or "sheet stain." One doesn't make much sense, and the other is just TMI.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

But there is a line in there that's about a stain.

I can't remember off the top of my head if it's "sweet stain" or "sheet stain." One doesn't make much sense, and the other is just TMI.

u2.com says it's sweet stain, so it's probably actually sheet stain.

or maybe bono meant it was a sweet stain, as in "dude, that's sweet!" and was just predating the term by like...12 or so years.

 

[Galeongirl]

I vaguely recall something that the intro was actually the outro of another song, but that one didn't make the cut or something like that. But they liked that part so kept it in, and it ended up as intro to Hawkmoon.

Then again my memory of where I read this is very vague, so it could have been just a rumour...

 

[BlueSilkenSky]

1. I LOVE THIS SONG.
2. It does sound like circus music... and I think it's intentionally in the song, not a mistake with mixing or anything.
3. It has to be "sheet stain", that's the only thing that makes sense.
4. (This doesn't have much to do with the rest of the thread) Don't you LOVE the timpani in the beginning of this song?

 

[lemonfly]

In my head, this is what I like to believe happened: U2 are in the studio struggling to find a good intro for Hawkmoon. Bono, Edge and Adam are in deep discussion with the producer. In the background, a bored Larry is messing around on the organ. The others turn their heads and look at him. "Do that again" they say. Larry shrugs and does it again. The rest is history.

 

[AndrewCowley]

So much for this song. The live versions from the LoveTown tour are incredible.

 

[PhilsFan]

Has anybody noticed that the initial melodic intro of Hawkmoon 269 is completely unrelated to the rest of the song?

It starts really slow, then it progresses to some synthesizer/guitar tune, kind of like a circus beat, and then the main chorus of the song starts. I know that the song was heavily mixed during the Rattle & Hum era, but was this particular intro part of that mixing or just regular jamming from the band?

Any input would be highly appreciated.

It is neither a synthesizer nor a guitar tune. It's an organ that's playing.

 

[KhanadaRhodes]

(This doesn't have much to do with the rest of the thread) Don't you LOVE the timpani in the beginning of this song?

yes! the timpani's awesome both in the song and as an instrument.

 

[bono_212]

I've always understood the lyric to be "sheet stained".

 

[mad1]

yes I too love the Timpani sound at beginning, its very thrashing!
Its like, walking down a tiny street and suddenly a monster truck appears.

 

[JoRu]

Oh and I have to add that I always mishear "Like a preacher needs pain" as "Like a sheet stain".

As previously mentioned, there is a line that goes "Like a sheet stained". There's also another line that goes "Like a preacher needs pain", so there's both.

As for the intro, it sounds really cool but I have no idea how it ended up being there and why it ended up being there.

 

[Morgoth321]

The intro is Dylan messing about on an organ, it doesn't add much to the song. However, since it was the God Dylan Himself who had condescended to spend some time with them, U2 were probably reluctant to remove his contribution. Always loved the live version though, wish they'd have played it more often. The performance in the Lovetown documentary is amazing.

You know, I loved the mysterious possibilities of the song's title so much that I actually used it as the title of a thriller novel set in Dublin, that featured lots of references to U2 music and significant locations relating to the band. I thought it would be a good idea and one commercially attractive to literary agents and publishers (given the millions of U2 fans worldwide who might've been interested). However, the agents and publishers disagreed, as they clearly prefer to churn out celebrity memoirs, ghostwritten sex-and-shopping nonsense, and endless Twilight ripoffs about vampires and werewolves. Oh well, seemed like a good idea at the time...(Not that I'm bitter or anything! It's entirely possible that my writing wasn't that good, but since I'm not a minor celebrity or controversial public figure, I've got additional hurdles to pass.)

Sorry, rant over. Anybody know any publishers or agents in the UK who'd like to read a U2-related thriller?!