spiritual side of nloth (album)

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Stryker395

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I can quite quote the lyrics, but I've already heard a few that sound like references to scripture. Whether or not Bono intended for them to be is up for debate. I just thought I'd open this thread for all the discussion of anything spiritually related to the new album.

One thing that bothers me and perhaps it doesn't bother everyone, is when Bono curses on the last song. I realize he doesn't do it on albums hardly ever, but it did jump out at first.

Feel free to discuss.
 
Shit happens. I'm glad he threw that in there.

I haven't had a chance to digest all the lyrics yet. But after a first few listens, this sounds like one of their most spiritual albums.

Magnificent: He's clearly talking about God in this one. "I was born to sing for you, I didn't have a choice but to lift you up, and sing whatevers ong you wanted me to, I give you back my voice" Bono is singing to God on this one. "Justified till we die, you and I will magnify, The Magnificent"

Moment of Surrender: "I did not notice the passers-by" Bono is taking this lyric from the Good Samaritan parable.

Unknown Caller: Sounds to me like the "unknown caller" on this one is God. "cease to speak, that I may speak"

Crazy Tonight: "Listen for me, I’ll be shouting
Shouting to the darkness, squeeze out sparks of light" one of the most powerful lyrics on the album.

Stand up Comedy:"God is love
And love is evolution’s very best day"

Fez-Being Born: The idea of being born again shines through.

White as snow: The most blatant christian lyrics: "Once I knew there was a love divine
Then came a time I thought it knew me not
Who can forgive forgiveness where forgiveness is not
Only the lamb as white as snow"

Breathe: "I’ve found grace inside a sound
I found grace, it’s all that I find
And I can breathe" Also, this song has a central theme of "rebirth".


Very spiritual album! I love it!
 
I couldn't out what the curse word was... saying shit is not such a big deal I think in other cultures. Are you American?

My favourite lyrics are from Moment of Surrender:

I was speeding on the subway
Through the stations of the cross
Every eye looking every other way
Counting down ’til the pentecost

Clearly Magnificent is about God.

Unknown caller I think is basically God saying "Be still and know that I am God."

"Is it true that perfect love drives out all fear?" From I'll go Crazy...
 
Magnificent: He's clearly talking about God in this one. "I was born to sing for you, I didn't have a choice but to lift you up, and sing whatevers ong you wanted me to, I give you back my voice" Bono is singing to God on this one. "Justified till we die, you and I will magnify, The Magnificent"

Moment of Surrender: "I did not notice the passers-by" Bono is taking this lyric from the Good Samaritan parable.

that's pretty much what i thought also.
 
IOne thing that bothers me and perhaps it doesn't bother everyone, is when Bono curses on the last song. I realize he doesn't do it on albums hardly ever, but it did jump out at first.

Feel free to discuss.

It doesn't bother me, but I did notice it and so did my & 7 year old...."He said Mom Bono swore"
 
One thing that bothers me and perhaps it doesn't bother everyone, is when Bono curses on the last song. I realize he doesn't do it on albums hardly ever, but it did jump out at first.

Feel free to discuss.

The fact is that it's not Bono cursing but the character he takes on to sing this song, this war correspondent. I think it fits very well because there's a certain resignation and bitterness in this song and the "shitty world" is a genuine way of expressing that. I wouldn't even say it's cursing. I don't mind it, actually, I think it fits very well.

Magnificent: He's clearly talking about God in this one. "I was born to sing for you, I didn't have a choice but to lift you up, and sing whatevers ong you wanted me to, I give you back my voice" Bono is singing to God on this one. "Justified till we die, you and I will magnify, The Magnificent"

Isn't Bono singing: You and I will make a fire? Because that's what I hear and it was quoted in some reviews like that.

The lyrics to White as snow are heartbreakingly beautiful.
 
I can quite quote the lyrics, but I've already heard a few that sound like references to scripture. Whether or not Bono intended for them to be is up for debate. I just thought I'd open this thread for all the discussion of anything spiritually related to the new album.

One thing that bothers me and perhaps it doesn't bother everyone, is when Bono curses on the last song. I realize he doesn't do it on albums hardly ever, but it did jump out at first.

Feel free to discuss.

Stryker - I created a thread about biblical references in NLOTH as well. As far as the cursing, you've got to remember that doesn't carry the same shock value everywhere around the globe as it does here in Alabama. For me, this instance is insignifcant compared to the F-bomb Bono drops in "Wake Up, Deadman" - but even in that song, the swearing doesn't seem out of place - and that's one of the most spiritual songs in the U2 catalog. I guess what I'm saying is that Bono isn't frivolously cursing just to be "cool" with the youths - when a swear makes it onto a U2 record, then you can rest assured that Bono felt strongly that he needed it there to make his point.

Isn't Bono singing: You and I will make a fire? Because that's what I hear and it was quoted in some reviews like that.

Um, no. It is definitely "magnify." Magnify the Magnificent. To me, meaning that we are to be reflections of Christ.
 
What about "the sound"? "let me in the sound, meet me in the sound"..."I found grace inside a sound"

John 3:8 - The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

I think Bono's lyrical angle across much of the album may lie in "born of the sound" = "born of the spirit"
 
What about "the sound"? "let me in the sound, meet me in the sound"..."I found grace inside a sound"

John 3:8 - The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."

I think Bono's lyrical angle across much of the album may lie in "born of the sound" = "born of the spirit"

Could be. Bono's referenced that verse before when talking about his faith. I remember reading it in "U2 by U2"
 
One thing that really sticks out to me is the phrase, "It's not if I believe in love / But if love believes in me." When asked if he believes in God, Bono sometimes replies that it's not a matter of whether he believes in God, but if God believes in him. And we all know that Bono uses "Love" to refer to God in many, many U2 songs.

I heard a sermon not long ago, I don't remember where exactly, where the pastor was saying that not only do we believe in Jesus, but Jesus believes in us, in the sense that He doesn't think we are hopeless or failures. I couldn't help but wonder if the pastor had read a Bono interview lately.
 
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