"I've seen you walk unafraid" is a R.E.M. reference

[LyricalDrug]

Don't think I've ever heard this connection made before, so figured I'd post it. In "City of Blinding Lights," Bono sings, "I've seen you walk unafraid," and "Walk Unafraid" is the title of a song by R.E.M. Cool

 

[cobl04]

Unstimulating day in the Bay Area?

 

[Zoots]

Zomg! Plagiate!!!!11

 

[coolian2]

You just blew my mind

 

[Axver]

U2 like doing this. WGRYWH and Exit both name-check Drive. And they came out BEFORE Drive! Bono is a prophet.

 

[Zoots]

Bono is a prophet.

I thought we knew that... from the Editorial piece on the front page a while back.

 

[Ronnie269]

Don't think I've ever heard this connection made before, so figured I'd post it. In "City of Blinding Lights," Bono sings, "I've seen you walk unafraid," and "Walk Unafraid" is the title of a song by R.E.M. Cool

You may have a good point with this because both bands are v good friends, I also believe R.E.M's song "Hope" from there 1998 album "Up"`[the same album that features Walk Unafraid] was a major influence on U2's song "Levitate" from the ATYCLB sesions in 2000,

There two amazing songwriters who Im have influenced each other many times!

 

[ozeeko]

You may have a good point with this because both bands are v good friends, I also believe R.E.M's song "Hope" from there 1998 album "Up"`[the same album that features Walk Unafraid] was a major influence on U2's song "Levitate" from the ATYCLB sesions in 2000,

There two amazing songwriters who Im have influenced each other many times!

Hope was clearly inspired by Leonard Cohen's Suzanne.

 

[Zoots]

REM is such a phenomenal band! On some days I like them more than U2.

 

[ZeroDude]

REM is such a phenomenal band! On some days I like them more than U2.

Some days are better than others...

On a somewhat related note though, isn't the name of that tree a reference to a U2 album?

Maybe?

 

[cobl04]

You ever notice that REM has a bassist and U2 have one as well?

 

[U2girl]

I don't think he deliberately used that, but I do remember reading at the time Walk Unafraid is about Bono.

 

[last unicorn]

^ Really? I've never heard that. Interesting. I love the song.

 

[Axver]

You ever notice that REM has a bassist and U2 have one as well?

They also both have released albums.

 

[last unicorn]

REM have a bald singer and U2 a bald guitarrist.

 

[kingofsorrow]

U2 like doing this. WGRYWH and Exit both name-check Drive. And they came out BEFORE Drive! Bono is a prophet.

hell they wrote coldplays "yellow" before coldplay did, except we know it as yellow.

 

[The Sad Punk]

Bono and Michael Stipe are friends.

I know, what.

 

[phillyfan26]

Every U2 song is plagiarism of The Beatles, in the end.

 

[kingofsorrow]

i think the beatles, u2 and coldplay are the same 4 time traveling musician robots influencing the musical landscape. wonder what they're next incarnation will be?

 

[major_panic]

Don't forget, the word "and" in With or Without You is a clear reference to Andy Summers of the Police, who they are paying tribute to in that song.

 

[kingofsorrow]

and their tribute to "the cure" with the song "drowning man", who incidentally has a song of the same name.

 

[lazarus]

There was an interview with Michael Stipe around the release of Up (I think it was Charlie Rose) where he talked about influences, and he talked about how Patti Smith and Bono were instrumental in him writing from a braver place, and that Walk Unafraid was about that to an extent.

So Bono was really referencing a song that he himself helped create.

In other words, it's a symbiotic relationship.

 

[powerhour24]

Huh, I didn't know that, "Walk Unafraid" is definitely one of my favorite R.E.M. songs though.

 

[theoriginal]

There was also a brief Rolling Stone interview with Stipe where he said Bono had helped him in some way write Walk Unafraid. Something about getting over writer's block, Bono giving him an idea that led to him writing it. Its been a while, I don't remember it exactly.

 

[Mr. V]

Life in Technicolour = Where the Streets Have No Name = Everybody Hurts

 

[cobl04]

Also, REM and U2 both use capitalised letters of the alphabet in their band names.

 

[cobl04]

hell they wrote coldplays "yellow" before coldplay did, except we know it as yellow.

i like this

 

[U2DMfan]

There was also a brief Rolling Stone interview with Stipe where he said Bono had helped him in some way write Walk Unafraid. Something about getting over writer's block, Bono giving him an idea that led to him writing it. Its been a while, I don't remember it exactly.

I knew I wasn't crazy!!!!

I read the same thing years ago but never saw it verified elsewhere.

Thought maybe I was mistaken.

Great REM song.

 

[the tourist]

R.E.M.=

 

[Zoots]

R.E.M.=