Jesus showing up in Window in the Skies...

[tommycharles]

So I was listening to WITS last week when the lyric suddenly "clicked" with me for the first time... if it's not how anyone else interprets it, that's totally fine, but I find it entirely possible for the "window in the skies" to be salvation...

The shackles are undone
The bullets quit the gun
The heat thats in the sun
Will keep us when there's none

The rule has been disproved
The stone has been moved
The grain is now a groove
All debts are removed, ooh

> The whole "chains being dropped" imagery there...


Oh can't you see what our love has done
Oh can't you see what our love has done
Oh can't you see what our love has done
What it's doing to me

>"see what our love has done, is doing to me"... could be God's love working through a person

Love makes strange enemies
Makes love when love may please
Soul in a strip tease
Hate brought to its knees

Sky over our head
Can reach it from our bed
If you let me in your heart
And out of my head

>It was actually the last two lines of this verse that made me think about this song in that light - "you let me in your heart and out of my head" ... isn't that, really, what we're asking God to do? Let us into his heart and out of our sinful selves?


Oh I know I hurt you and I made you cry
Did everything but murder but you and I
But love left a window in the skies
And to love I rhapsodize

>And then that whole last stanza seems like a pretty cool verse of praise...

Believe me, I hate it when people over spiritualize things, but I think the God-reading of this song is fairly relevant to it.

T

 

[love2bmama]

I purposely and determinedly try NOT to read that into the song when I hear it. It's almost impossible to deny the message there, but if you try really really hard (like me) you can pretend you don't see the religious imagery and enjoy the song despite it.

 

[rihannsu]

One of Bono's great talents is that he speaks in Biblical metaphor quite naturally and so those who have that frame of reference will recognize the imagery. But he is also vague enough that someone without that frame of reference will find their own interpretation without being lost at sea so to speak.

In the Conversations book Assayas comments on the fact that even when answering questions that have nothing to do with religion Bono would often use biblical imagery or metaphor in his answers. I've noticed that he also will use sexual imagery to talk about spiritual things and biblical imagery to talk about sex. LOL

Dana

 

[nightninja56]

So I was listening to WITS last week when the lyric suddenly "clicked" with me for the first time... if it's not how anyone else interprets it, that's totally fine, but I find it entirely possible for the "window in the skies" to be salvation...

The shackles are undone
The bullets quit the gun
The heat thats in the sun
Will keep us when there's none

The rule has been disproved
The stone has been moved
The grain is now a groove
All debts are removed, ooh

> The whole "chains being dropped" imagery there...


Oh can't you see what our love has done
Oh can't you see what our love has done
Oh can't you see what our love has done
What it's doing to me

>"see what our love has done, is doing to me"... could be God's love working through a person

Love makes strange enemies
Makes love when love may please
Soul in a strip tease
Hate brought to its knees

Sky over our head
Can reach it from our bed
If you let me in your heart
And out of my head

>It was actually the last two lines of this verse that made me think about this song in that light - "you let me in your heart and out of my head" ... isn't that, really, what we're asking God to do? Let us into his heart and out of our sinful selves?


Oh I know I hurt you and I made you cry
Did everything but murder but you and I
But love left a window in the skies
And to love I rhapsodize

>And then that whole last stanza seems like a pretty cool verse of praise...

Believe me, I hate it when people over spiritualize things, but I think the God-reading of this song is fairly relevant to it.

T

i thought very similar things when i first heard this song

excellent

 

[Ellay]

you are correct of course,

however up until this thread I hadn't thought of it in those terms.

I'd heard it as a love song. funny that.

 

[JCOSTER]

One of Bono's great talents is that he speaks in Biblical metaphor quite naturally and so those who have that frame of reference will recognize the imagery. But he is also vague enough that someone without that frame of reference will find their own interpretation without being lost at sea so to speak.

In the Conversations book Assayas comments on the fact that even when answering questions that have nothing to do with religion Bono would often use biblical imagery or metaphor in his answers. I've noticed that he also will use sexual imagery to talk about spiritual things and biblical imagery to talk about sex. LOL

Dana

It really is amazing and an incredible gift he has.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

Well, he's gotta do something for us dirty-minded atheists....

 

[Ellay]

Well, he's gotta do something for us dirty-minded atheists....

ha ha, yeah, sort it out.

 

[kingofsorrow]

i'm sorry. those conclusions make no sense.

 

[WITS]

Personally I think the songs are about Africa and what we can do to stop poverty within it. We do have the money and all that but the prime Minister won't help out as much as he should do, sorry to those who disagree with my idea. What I am saying is that the whole song must be telling us to do what we can and help those who are less fortunate. WITS x (Ps: That is my login name)

 

[Trinity3000]

When I first heard it I thought he was singing

Oh can't you see what the Lord has done.

I had to google the lyrics.

"the stone has been moved" I think is fairly obvious ressurection imagery.

 

[Utoo]

"the stone has been moved" I think is fairly obvious ressurection imagery.

yeah, that's the most obvious of the lot

 

[Utoo]

Personally I think the songs are about Africa and what we can do to stop poverty within it. We do have the money and all that but the prime Minister won't help out as much as he should do, sorry to those who disagree with my idea. What I am saying is that the whole song must be telling us to do what we can and help those who are less fortunate. WITS x (Ps: That is my login name)

I don't disagree----I think that's the intent of the song, or at least part of it. But looking at the whole body of Bono's lyrical work, you'll see biblical references in dozens of songs, many of which aren't necessarily intended to be biblical/religious at all.

Springing to mind is "after the flood all the colors came out" of BD....among many, many more.

 

[reptile]

....could just be a stone in his shoe....
...I know how painfull that can be myself.....

 

[The Fiddler]

....could just be a stone in his shoe....
...I know how painfull that can be myself.....

RFLMAO..............Um.........................No

 

[reptile]

RFLMAO..............Um.........................No

Just trying to be helpfull!

What is RFLMAO?? I'm never any good at working those things out.

 

[The Fiddler]

Rolloing on the floor laughing my best side off - RFLMAO

 

[reptile]

Rolloing on the floor laughing my best side off - RFLMAO

Oh. Good then. I was worried it might have been some form of abuse!

What was this thread about again?

 

[diamond]

So I was listening to WITS last week when the lyric suddenly "clicked" with me for the first time... if it's not how anyone else interprets it, that's totally fine, but I find it entirely possible for the "window in the skies" to be salvation...

The shackles are undone
The bullets quit the gun
The heat thats in the sun
Will keep us when there's none

The rule has been disproved
The stone has been moved
The grain is now a groove
All debts are removed, ooh

> The whole "chains being dropped" imagery there...


Oh can't you see what our love has done
Oh can't you see what our love has done
Oh can't you see what our love has done
What it's doing to me

>"see what our love has done, is doing to me"... could be God's love working through a person

Love makes strange enemies
Makes love when love may please
Soul in a strip tease
Hate brought to its knees

Sky over our head
Can reach it from our bed
If you let me in your heart
And out of my head

>It was actually the last two lines of this verse that made me think about this song in that light - "you let me in your heart and out of my head" ... isn't that, really, what we're asking God to do? Let us into his heart and out of our sinful selves?


Oh I know I hurt you and I made you cry
Did everything but murder but you and I
But love left a window in the skies
And to love I rhapsodize

>And then that whole last stanza seems like a pretty cool verse of praise...

Believe me, I hate it when people over spiritualize things, but I think the God-reading of this song is fairly relevant to it.

T

your interpretation rings true.

dbs

 

[Varitek]

I purposely and determinedly try NOT to read that into the song when I hear it. It's almost impossible to deny the message there, but if you try really really hard (like me) you can pretend you don't see the religious imagery and enjoy the song despite it.

I can't help but hear it and it's one of the reasons I don't much care for the song - the other being the craptastic simplicity of the lyrics and melody.

 

[coolian2]

I can't help but hear it and it's one of the reasons I don't much care for the song - the other being the craptastic simplicity of the lyrics and melody.

You're so going to hell.

We'll meet up for a barbeque there

 

[Axver]

You're so going to hell.

We'll meet up for a barbeque there

I'll bring the sausages and onions. When I saw this thread, I couldn't help myself and played Kneel To The Cross by Agalloch (which is actually a Sol Invictus cover). Why is this so bad and damnation-worthy? Weeeelll:

And give them the gold and they'll save your soul
And kneel to the cross on the wall
And hail to the boss of the great unwashed!
And kneel to the cross on the wall
They wail and weep, the march of the sheep
As they go to the cross on the wall
And it's ever so wrong to dare to be strong
So kneel to the cross on the wall

See the roof fall
Hear the bells crash
As flesh and bone turn to ash
Trying to conquer the sun with a Christian frost
The corpse's stench beneath the cross

Now those are the kind of lyrics I'd be down with hearing on U2's next album rather than WITS or whatever.

 

[Varitek]

I read those lyrics like a rap song until I put together that you would never, ever quote rap lyrics.

 

[coolian2]

Are you turning tricks with your crucifix?

 

[U2girl]

I see it as a love song.

It can be seen as Bible inspired, certainly in these lines -

The rule has been disproved
The stone has been moved
the grave ( or is it grain?) is now a groove
All debts are removed

Love left a window in the skies

 

[Trinity3000]

I read somewhere that it's a song about Easter/the crucifixion. Makes sense.

 

[CrashedCarDriver]

window in the skies is the only u2 song in recent times where it feels like the band is letting their hair down and just playing a light little number

the song just feels 'loose'. but it does feel like u2 has lightened up for this song. and its not overdone and not overrehearsed, it could so easily be a b-side, but it was released as a single

for me, it feels like a reminiscent song in many ways

another thought is this would be a u2 song people would play at funerals in a celebration of life type of funeral

 

[Rachel D.]

I've noticed that Bono uses the word love in place of mentioning God or Jesus outright. He has said several times that "God is love" (which is in the Bible, too).

Additionally, this verse makes me think of WITS: Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. Malachi 3:10

Bono has mentioned the idea of tithing as an example of prosperous nations giving aid to poorer nations (I don't have the exact quote for that). I can't say if this verse was any inspiration for the song, but it kinda goes with what someone else said about it being about helping Africa. Just an idea.

I don't know if there are any connections here in my ramblings. One thing is for sure: like a lot of U2 songs, there's some Christian stuff going on here, whether or not people notice it (or want it). But that's all part of what makes U2 so interesting!

 

[Rachel D.]

I purposely and determinedly try NOT to read that into the song when I hear it. It's almost impossible to deny the message there, but if you try really really hard (like me) you can pretend you don't see the religious imagery and enjoy the song despite it.

Wow, I bet you have to do that for a lot of U2's stuff.