Let's talk about Window in the Skies

[Scorpionac]

What's up with this song? I'll give my thoughts.

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

The rule has been disproved
The stone it has been moved
The grave is now a groove
All debts are removed

These are some of the most obvious Christian U2 lyrics, talking about forgiveness and redemption in Christ. Most of the time, Bono's more obscure in his references. Not here. I don't mind, I actually like it.

The chorus comes under fire for being repetitive... I really like the line "can't you see what love has done?" because it can be interpreted both as rejoicing and despairing - that is, it can be read as "open your eyes to what love has done" and as "can't you see how love has hurt me?" (especially with the "what it's doing to me?" part). Maybe the repetition is valuable if it lets the listener pick up on both these meanings. I will admit that the second reading (the more despairing interpretation) doesn't jive very well w/ the rest of the song. Still, it's interesting that the lyrics are ambiguous about what love's effect has been.

The despairing interpretation is supported a little by the line "Love makes strange enemies." Like how romantic love can turn people against each other. The rest of the verse:

Makes love where love may please
Soul in its striptease
Hate brought to its knees

Love makes love where love may please? I think I'm missing something.

The idea of spiritual aspiration through sexual expression is in the other two lines. The standard mixing of God and sex that Bono does in his lyrics. It's certainly present in the next verse:

The sky over our head
We can reach it from our bed
If you let me in your heart
And out of my head

I love the bridge, even if the lyrics are simple. "Please don't ever let me out of here" and "I've got no shame" are really joyful, celebratory lines.

But then it all falls apart at the end:

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

Feels kinda simple after the rest of the song...
Melodramatic, too. Also, the way Bono sings it, the line sounds like "Did everything but murder you and die."
I really like the "window in the skies" line, it ties in well with the previous ideas of redemption and spirituality via sex. I mean, it would. It's the name of the song.

The word "rhapsodize" feels random and weird, especially after the rest of the verse used such obvious rhyming words. I guess the line makes sense - if the song is meant to celebrate love - but still, I wonder if a better line couldn't have been written. "Harmonize," maybe? It wouldn't mean quite the same thing, but the effect might have been better.

The banality continues in "To every broken heart / For every heart that cries." Which might be fine, if these were the only cliches... but along with the last verse, the song has just descended into laziness by now.

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The song moves from openly Christian verses, to U2's usual mix of God and sex (which I enjoy, as a fan of the band), to some real awkward and banal stuff.

I appreciate the first verses for being atypical in U2's catalogue - the second verses less so, because they're more familiar territory, but they're still good. And the last verses are just frustrating. It's a shame, cause the song starts so strongly.

What are your thoughts on the progression of the song's lyrics? Do you have a dominant reading of the chorus? Or you can share your thoughts in general...

[Meg]

I must admit my lack of U2 might be distressing to some, but I've never heard this song before, what record is it on if you don't mind illuminating a novice.

[bonocomet]

It was a stand-alone single released in 2006, and it's on the U218 Singles album. Check your private messages.