Your favourite U2 song title.

[cobl04]

There's a few contenders, but mine has always been Bad.

From the very first moment I saw it listed on the 80s best of, I was deeply intrigued by it. So short, so simple, and yet, so evocative. It's amazing how something so small packs so much power. The word isn't mentioned once throughout the entire song, which gives it even more power as a title still. It helps give an already incredible song an otherworldly feel. Even without listening to it can still send a shiver up my spine. When they play it live today, even seeing the word typed out is enough to do that.

So very moving.

 

[LemonMelon]

OS1 consistently has the best song titles. A Different Kind of Blue and Always Forever Now are two of the band's most evocative titles. From other albums, Shadows and Tall Trees, Indian Summer Sky and Running to Stand Still stand out to me.

As far as simple but effective goes, you can't do much better than Wire. You already have an idea of how that one goes without ever hearing it.

Worst titles hands down go to SOI and HTDAAB. It's easier to name the few titles that are decent than to list all the ones that fail completely. The Miracle (of Joey Ramone) and Original of the Species require the miracle (of eye bleach).

 

[Oregoropa]

The Fly, Zooropa

 

[DaveC]

Scarlet

 

[BVS]

Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Zooropa
Running to Stand Still


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[Rhiannon64]

An Cat Dubh, The Unforgettable Fire and Walk to the Water to name a few. I love the imagery those song titles conjure up.

 

[djerdap]

Running to Stand Still
Womanfish
Zoo Station
Zooropa
The Wanderer

 

[Axver]

What LM said.

I'm also really fond of Zooropa - a great, eye-catching title. If you flicked through my old high school and undergrad notebooks, you'll find that when I got bored, I'd scribble in the margins and among the patterns are stylised Zooropas. I guess it's a sign of what my tag would be if I were a graffiti artist.

A Sort of Homecoming, Bullet the Blue Sky, Love Is Blindness, The Three Sunrises, and Endless Deep are some other titles that I find really evocative or call to mind exactly how the song sounds. When I first bought The Joshua Tree and knew nothing about the origins of the song names, I also thought Mothers of the Disappeared was an excellent title - of course, now I know Bono didn't come up with that, but it's effective.

As for shitty song titles, it's really hard to go past Love and Peace or Else. It may sound stupid to use the acronym as a word, but saying "LAPOE" still feels less dumb than saying the actual title.

 

[djerdap]

I'd put A Sort of Homecoming, but Bono STOLE that one as well.

As for terrible song titles... The Miracle (of Joey Ramone) and I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight take the cake as being particularly horrid.

 

[Axver]

My surprise that U2 actually dropped Songs of Innocence was almost immediately tempered by the horrible song titles.

I'm pretty sure part of the reason I'm not that interested in Sleep Like a Baby Tonight is because I really, really, really hate that title.

 

[djerdap]

Yeah, Bono is being particularly annoying with Sleep Like a Baby Tonight. He ruined what is musically in my mind their most interesting song since The Ground Beneath Her Feet.

When taken into context, it's a bit less cringe-worthy, but out of all possible titles related to the Catholic Church and sexual abuse scandals, this is the one he comes up with?

I guess I have to be thankful there wasn't an "or else" attached to it.

 

[Salome]

Every Breaking Wave is a very good title.

A sort of homecoming and Running to stand still are my favourites.

 

[Kieran McConville]

Give Us A Grammy (Or Else)

 

[Tommy WM]

Always loved If You Wear That Velvet Dress, Cedars of Lebanon and also Beach Sequence from OS1.

I've always disliked Acrobat because obviously U2 hate it as well.

 

[Lotus_Om]

Running To Stand Still

 

[boomerangboy]

Until the end of the world

 

[superchuk5]

Where the Streets Have No Name.

 

[Mack_Again]

Im voting for.....Exit, though lots of U2 titles are actually quite great

 

[Mack_Again]

I'd put A Sort of Homecoming, but Bono STOLE that one as well.

As for terrible song titles... The Miracle (of Joey Ramone) and I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight take the cake as being particularly horrid.

wait, Big Girls are Best arent terrible enough?

 

[bobsaget77]

Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own and Stuck In A Moment That You Can't Get Out Of are both unique and thought provoking.
My only problem is that they don't make more great song titles like that. Just take the entire chorus out and make it as the title. Stupid titles like Exit, Bad, and Gone are much too simplistic and how we are even supposed to know what songs they are? I don't care if it symbolizes the song, they're terrible. Exit should've been titled "She Wanted To Believe In The Hands Of Love". Bad should've been called "Let It Go and So To Fade Away I'm Wide Awake I'm Not Sleeping". Gone would have been better if titled "I'll Be Up With The Sun I'm Not Coming Down".
Luckily, there is still time for them to rename these sub-par songs after classics such as I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight and Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own.


Sent from my iPhone using U2 Interference

 

[TinKnight]

The Unforgettable Fire

 

[DomCobb]

Oh there are so many good ones. My favorite has to be "Where the Streets Have No Name," and not just because I consider that their best song. It's a beautiful title and concept, and the fact that the song lives up to the name and vice versa is just perfect.

Other than that, tough to narrow it down. As others have said, there are some real beauts on TUF, TJT, and OS1.

I will say the worst name to a song that's actually really good is "Daddy's Gonna Pay For Your Crashed Car." Kinda dumb. Cool song though.

 

[scrumpyjsk]

My surprise that U2 actually dropped Songs of Innocence was almost immediately tempered by the horrible song titles.

I'm pretty sure part of the reason I'm not that interested in Sleep Like a Baby Tonight is because I really, really, really hate that title.

What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.