Someone explain Unknown Caller to me

[granadaCoder]

Listen to the below audio clip for about 40 seconds before continuing to the spiced up version.

I Stand Amazed in the Presence
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
And my song shall ever be:
O how marvelous! O how wonderful!
Is my Savior’s love for me!

Exegesis of the lyrics from "Unknown Caller".


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3:33 when the numbers fell off the clock face


Jeremiah 33:2 "This is what the LORD says—the LORD who made the earth, who formed and established it, whose name is the LORD:
Jeremiah 33:3 Ask Me and I will tell you remarkable secrets you do not know about things to come.




(Sidenote, Paul Hewson (Bono) has said that he thinks "333" is God's phone number )

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Hear me, cease to speak that I may speak
Shush now
Then don't move or say a thing

Psalms 37:7 Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for Him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

Psalms 46:10 "Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world."

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Force quit and move to trash
Restart and re-boot yourself

Gal 6:15
It doesn't matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation.

2 Corinthians 5:17
This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
-------

You're free to go

Galatians 3:22
But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin, so we receive God's promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.
-------

Shout for joy if you get the chance

John 9:25
"I don't know whether He is a sinner," the man replied. "But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!"

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LINK:

U2 - Unknown Caller (360° Tour At The Rose Bowl DVD) - YouTube

Lyrics
Unknown Caller - U2 Lyrics from @U2




Full Lyrics





It was a beautiful sunrise on that morning in the holy city of Fez in Morocco. Some birds flew into our little riad and we wrote this song. I
t’s called Unknown Caller, for a chorus of voices. Chorus of voices.

Sunshine, sunshine
Sunshine, sunshine

Oh, oh, yeah
A chorus of voices now
Oh, oh

I was lost between the midnight and the dawning
In a place of no consequence or company
3:33 when the numbers fell off the clock face
Speed-dialing with no signal at all

Go, shout it out, rise up
Oh, oh
Escape yourself and gravity
Hear me, cease to speak that I may speak
Shush now
Oh, oh
Force quit and move to trash

I was right there at the top of the bottom
On the edge of the known universe
Where I wanted to be
I had driven to the scene of the accident
And I sat there waiting for me

Restart and re-boot yourself
You're free to go
Oh, oh
Shout for joy if you get the chance
Password, you, enter here, right now

Oh, oh
You know your name so punch it in
Hear me, cease to speak that I may speak
Shush now
Oh, oh
Then don't move or say a thing




(( O how marvelous! O how wonderful! (audio via humming is here ))
(( The album version has a guitar solo, where the hymn tune is very clear. ))





Oh, oh
you know your name
So punch it in
Oh, oh
You know your name
So punch it in

You know your name
So punch it in
Oh, oh
Password, enter here
punch it in
Oh, oh
Password, enter

[jeevey]

Originally Posted by phillyfan26

Trust me, I understand the point, and I understand those lines. I just don't like the references to technology, and I think they contrast with the rest of the lyrics of the song.

I think the technology references and the monotone chant, emphasize the dehumanized experience of the narrator. He's trying to be reached, and reaching out, but lives alone in a robotic world.

[jeevey]

Originally Posted by mikal

it's too bad you can't allow yourself to like this. UC has become one of my all time favorite U2 songs. for me, MOS-UC transition may be the best two song combo in their career.

I love those two together. I kind of think that trying to parse the lyric to figure out what it "means" is an error- the feeling that you have when you give it a sincere listen is the meaning of the song.