A long time ago I posted a long-winded explanation on my take regarding the lyrics for Beautiful Day. I let the video influence my opinion. After spending time reading the bible and daily doses of U2, I think the song is rather simple and straight forward.
I think the whole song is about Noah's journey, God's promise not to ever destroy the world with a flood again, using the rainbow as a sign, and Bono's message to all that It WAS a beautiful day when that promise was made, and then he changes past tense to present tense, reminding everyone of that Beautiful Day when God made that promise to Noah, and telling us "don't let it get away!" The song is a prayer, too. During the live version at Slane castle, Bono clearly says "teach me, Lord, I know I'm not a hopeless case". Finally, the song ends with the inevitable - death - "what you don't have you don't need in now" -all material wealth is useless, and "what you don't know you can feel it somehow" - an anknowledgement of faith and the presence of God.
There are a lot of ways to interpret the song, but I think the first two verses are actually Noah's laments after spending so much time in the Ark. Noah did lament during the time at sea. "You're on the road...but you've got no destination"..."you're in the mud, in the maze of Her imagination"...the bible mentions "muddy water". "You love this town (earth), even if that doesn't ring true"...Noah trusted in God, and he understood God's anger, but he was crushed by the destruction of so much and so many. "You've been all over, and it's been all over you" sums it up pretty well. The next part about "See the world in green and blue...etc. is a conversation between Noah and God, the one in which Noah pleads with God to never do this again, and God makes his promise, and uses the rainbow as his sign..."after the flood, all the colors came out".
Bono has been quoted as saying the song is about a man who's lost everything and has to start over again. I think that man is specifically Noah. In a way, the song is a celebration about that beautiful day when God made that promise, and he's urging and reminding us to remember that promise and to cherish and live out your dreams every single day.
I still hear Beautiful Day on the radio. I doubt most people analyze the lyrics, but just like the melody and the uplifting nature of the song. I used to think this song was a little to "pop" and was U2's way of trying to establish a hit single to carry the album. Now, I think it's an incredible song, and it will go down in history as one of the top songs of all time from the band. It won 3 grammies and it was very well deserved. The live version from Slane Castle is about as good as it gets. It is really a beautiful day.
I think the whole song is about Noah's journey, God's promise not to ever destroy the world with a flood again, using the rainbow as a sign, and Bono's message to all that It WAS a beautiful day when that promise was made, and then he changes past tense to present tense, reminding everyone of that Beautiful Day when God made that promise to Noah, and telling us "don't let it get away!" The song is a prayer, too. During the live version at Slane castle, Bono clearly says "teach me, Lord, I know I'm not a hopeless case". Finally, the song ends with the inevitable - death - "what you don't have you don't need in now" -all material wealth is useless, and "what you don't know you can feel it somehow" - an anknowledgement of faith and the presence of God.
There are a lot of ways to interpret the song, but I think the first two verses are actually Noah's laments after spending so much time in the Ark. Noah did lament during the time at sea. "You're on the road...but you've got no destination"..."you're in the mud, in the maze of Her imagination"...the bible mentions "muddy water". "You love this town (earth), even if that doesn't ring true"...Noah trusted in God, and he understood God's anger, but he was crushed by the destruction of so much and so many. "You've been all over, and it's been all over you" sums it up pretty well. The next part about "See the world in green and blue...etc. is a conversation between Noah and God, the one in which Noah pleads with God to never do this again, and God makes his promise, and uses the rainbow as his sign..."after the flood, all the colors came out".
Bono has been quoted as saying the song is about a man who's lost everything and has to start over again. I think that man is specifically Noah. In a way, the song is a celebration about that beautiful day when God made that promise, and he's urging and reminding us to remember that promise and to cherish and live out your dreams every single day.
I still hear Beautiful Day on the radio. I doubt most people analyze the lyrics, but just like the melody and the uplifting nature of the song. I used to think this song was a little to "pop" and was U2's way of trying to establish a hit single to carry the album. Now, I think it's an incredible song, and it will go down in history as one of the top songs of all time from the band. It won 3 grammies and it was very well deserved. The live version from Slane Castle is about as good as it gets. It is really a beautiful day.
Nice analysis. I always felt that there was something deep about BD, even though a lot of people didn't seem to think so. It's a beautiful song and I love the imagery that it conjures in my mind when I listen to the lyrics.
