What U2 songs do you consider "religious"

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sulawesigirl4

sulawesigirl4

Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Joined
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Messages
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Add:

Rejoice
With A Shout
Love Rescue Me
When Love Comes to Town
AIWIY (can be anyways)
Discotheque
 
Originally posted by oliveu2cm:

Gloria
One
40
IGWSHA
Until
Mysterious Ways (?)
WUDM
Streets
ISHFWILF
WOWY
The First Time
The Wanderer
Please
Peace On Earth
Grace
Click to expand...
Add:
I Will Follow
October
With A Shout
I Threw A Brick
Fire
Surrender
Drowning Man
 
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Playboy Mansion

I heard Bono say in an interview that I Will Follow was written about agape love, the unconditional love that God expresses for humanity.

Also, I have always seen Beautiful Day being about a man who has died and looks back at Earth one last time before realizing "what he doesn't have, he doesn't need it now, what he doesn't know, he can feel it somehow" as he enters heaven and eternity with God. Bono also said it was about a man who lost everything in this world but was still joyous. A very Christian concept.
 
I'm so glad you brought this up olive...as I have already said in a couple of other threads, I was listening to the Miami boot today and at one point Bono says "Take it to the church." (I actually think he said this in almost every concert on the tour.) And I was wondering what songs get people in the mood, get people ready for church. This is interesting...and I'll have to think about it to answer, later. I like the ideas so far (and I'm thinking of making a mix with all these songs on it). I'll be back.
smile.gif


------------------
And love is not the easy thing...the only baggage you can bring is all that you can't leave behind.

BONO: FOAD, Lawrence. Just FOAD. (LOL, Mona)

Create Light, Create Unity, Create Joy, CREATE PEACE!
 
Here are a few more that come to mind. Some may beg to differ on my list, but if anyone needs explaining, I will do my best to accommodate your request.
wink.gif


Chris

Boy
I Will Follow

October
Gloria
I Fall Down
I Through A Brick Through A Window
Rejoice
Fire
October
With A Shout
Scarlet
Is That All

War
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Like A Song
Drowning Man
Two Hearts Beat As One
Red Light
Surrender
40

Unforgettable Fire
A Sort of Homecoming
The Unforgettable Fire
Promenade
Bad

The Joshua Tree
Where The Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
With Or Without You

Rattle and Hum
Hawkmoon 269
Love Rescue Me
When Love Comes To Town
All I Want Is You

Achtung Baby
One
Until The End Of The World
Mysterious Ways
Acrobat

Zooropa
Zooropa
The First Time

Pop
Discoteque
Mofo
If God Will Send His Angels
Gone
The Playboy Mansion
Please
Wake Up Dead Man

All That You Can't Leave Behind
Beautiful Day
Elevation
When I Look At The World
Grace



[This message has been edited by spanisheyes (edited 01-28-2002).]
 
I'd like to see an explanation for Discotheque, it seems to be a popular choice...

I can't help thinking that so many songs have been chosen here that maybe EVERY U2 song could be called religious--which to me would definitely be stretching it.

Sorry if that sounds snarky, there are just a few here that I find really surprising choices, personally.

------------------
Love was never a single emotion

-ACROB@T

[This message has been edited by scatteroflight (edited 01-28-2002).]
 
In the process of developing another grand theory of mine
wink.gif
I've stumbled on a little problem... I need to figure out which songs are overly "religious" - I guess I'd define that as songs that could be seen as speaking to God or about God. I'm really only interested in those that have an overwhelming "religious" sense to it, not a song with one or two lines that hint towards that. I'd love to hear everyone's suggestions. This is what I have so far:

Gloria
One
40
IGWSHA
Until
Mysterious Ways (?)
WUDM
Streets
ISHFWILF
WOWY
The First Time
The Wanderer
Please
Peace On Earth
Grace

------------------
Not suckin on my thumb
Staring at the sun

www.u2takemehigher.com

Macphisto Society: "Evil shouldn't look this good"

"The way I might look at you" ~Adam
 
I'd like to add When I look at the world.
I thought about bringing this song up for discussion but wanted to wait til Grace was done.

Depending on how you look at it Beautiful day could be a "religious" song. Bono described it in an interview for Swedish TV as the view of the world from a man looking at the earth from outside, that man could be God, what he sees when he looks down on earth.

I'll think of more. I can't really agree on Streets though...I think...
smile.gif
It's interesting though so maybe I get a new angle to look at it now, have to check it out.
 
well, actually, my first thought when I saw this question was, MOST of them !
biggrin.gif
Really, I take probably 90% of their songs as conversations about (or with) God. Which probably isn't helping you, olive. *L*
I'd say at least take that ? off of MW. It's about the feminine face of God, but it's still ALL about God. There's a Bono quote in Into the Heart that refers to Gloria, but fits this, too: "It is a love song. In a sense it's an attempt to write about a woman in a spiritual sense and about God in a sexual sense." That's so radical...
As for Discotheque, I think it's a song about "the God-shaped hole." It's an I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, for the guy who hasn't climbed highest mountains, who doesn't believe in the Kingdom come. But yes, he's still runnin'...

But maybe you're asking for the songs that would translate in a church...at least, I ponder that question often. My list would be:
Gloria (some day, I SO wanna hear that chorus in a church!)
Scarlet
I Will Follow
With a Shout
Drowning man
'40'
MLK
ISHFWILF
WOWY
Love Rescue Me
When Love Comes to Town
One
UTEOTW
MW
Ultraviolet
The First Time
The Wanderer
The Playboy Mansion
WUDM
Elevation
WILATW
Grace
(and thanks to Joey
smile.gif
IALW

yup, I might have to make a tape meself.
smile.gif


Deb D

------------------
in memoriam
Peter Gzowski (1934-2002)

He set my feet upon a rock
made my footsteps firm

the greatest frontman in the world -- by truecoloursfly: http://www.atu2.com/news/article.src?ID=1575
 
Originally posted by MissZooropa:
I'd like to add When I look at the world.
Click to expand...

I completely agree. Especially if you read the lyrics as if it were someone talking/questioning God.


------------------
Work like you don't need to
Love like you've never been hurt
Dance like no one is watching
 
Lyrics to discotheque-

You can reach, but you can't grab it
You can't hold it, control it, you can't bag it
You can push, but you can't direct it
Circulate, regulate, oh no, you cannot connect it

You know you're chewing bubblegum
You know what that is, but you still want some
You just can't get enough of that lovie dovie stuff

You get confused, but you know it
Yeh you hurt for it, work for it, LOVE
You don't always show it

LET GO, LET'S GO, DISCOTHEQUE
GO GO LET GO DISCOTHEQUE

Looking for the one
But you know you're somewhere else instead
You want to be the song
The song that you hear in your head

you want heaven, heaven in your heart..
you want heaven, heaven in your heart..

It's no trick, you can't learn it
It's the way you don't pay, that's okay
'Cos you can't earn it

You know you're chewing bubblegum
You know what that is, but you still want some
You just can't get enough of that lovie dovie stuff

LET GO, LET'S GO ... DISCOTHEQUE
GO GO ... LET GO ... DISCOTHEQUE

Looking for the one
But you know you're somewhere else instead
I want to be the song
The song that you hear in your head

But you take what you can get
'Cause it's all that you can find
Oh you know there's something more
But tonight, tonight, tonight

BOOM CHA
BOOM CHA
DISCOTHEQUE

I can't get in, I paid..it's not enough
I can't get in, I paid..it's not enough

I can see a possible religious interp to this song, especially set in the context of the album. Taken in this way, the chewing bubble gum part could refer to the fake high and love from the dance scene, and especially ecstacy. "You want heaven in your heart" "it's no trick, you can't learn it, it's the way you don't pay, that's ok cause you can't earn it" "I can't get in, I paid..it's not enough"...these are a few lyrics in the song that lead me to believe it could have a religious interp..
 
So many of U2's songs have religious/spiritual tones to them.
smile.gif


I'm surprised that you all left this one out!

Trip Through Your Wires

In the distance
She saw me coming 'round
I was calling out
I was calling out


Still shaking
Still in pain
You put me back together again
I was cold and you clothed me honey
I was down and you lifted me honey


Angel
Angel or devil
I was thirsty
And you wet my lips


You, I'm waiting for you
You, you set my desire
I trip through your wires


I was broken, bent out of shape
I was naked in the clothes you made
Lips were dry, throat like rust
You gave me shelter from the heat and the dust
No more water in the well
No more water, water


Angel
Angel or devil
I was thirsty
And you wet my lips


You, I'm waiting for you
You, You set my desire
I trip through your wires


(All I need...All I need)


Thunder, thunder on the mountain
There's a rain cloud in the desert sky
In the distance she saw me coming 'round
I was calling out
I was calling out

I mean yes, a lot of that can be said about women or a woman, but so can other U2 songs...

In the distance, well, we may feel at a distance from God but he can see us...

I was calling out...calling out to whom? To God.

He was cold and in pain and *she* clothed him and made him warm...well, God does that. And that's also what a Good Samaritan would do.

Water in the well...

Ack, I love this song, lol and I have just listened to it for the fourth time in a row!

wink.gif


tania
 
Am I the only person that doesn't think that most U2 songs are religious?
Maybe thats cos I'm a tottaly opposite religion then them

------------------
He who stands atop the highest mountain can see the farthest.
 
I don't think anyone has mentioned "North and South of the River," I think that ranks among the most religious of all U2 songs...

I want to reach out over the Loch
And feel your hand across the water
Walk with you along an unapproved road
Not looking over my shoulder

I want to see, and I want to hear
To understand your fears
But we're north and south of the river

I've been doing it wrong all of my life
This holy town has turned me over
A young man running from what he didn't understand
The wind from the Loch just get colder, colder

There was a badness that had its way
But love wasn't lost, love will have its day
North and south of the river
North and south of the river


Can we stop playing these old tattoos
Darling I don't have the answer
I want to meet you where you are
I don't need you to surrender

'Cause there's no feeling that's so alone
As when the one you're hurting is your own
North and south of the river
North and south of the river
North and south of the river

Some high ground is not worth taking
Some connections are not worth making
There's an old church bell no longer ringing
Some old songs are not worth bringing
North...
(Higher ground is not worth taking)
North and south of the river
 
Originally posted by 80sU2isBest:
Originally posted by oliveu2cm:

Gloria
One
40
IGWSHA
Until
Mysterious Ways (?)
WUDM
Streets
ISHFWILF
WOWY
The First Time
The Wanderer
Please
Peace On Earth
Grace
Click to expand...
Add:
I Will Follow
October
With A Shout
I Threw A Brick
Fire
Surrender
Drowning Man
Click to expand...

You guys are really reaching on a few of these songs. Streets was written about Ethiopia. After Live Aid Bono wanted to see things first hand in Ethiopia so he and Ali spent 6 weeks in a tent in Ethiopia. They helped hand out the food etc. and taught the kids there about proper hygeine. That's where Streets came from. There's not too many named streets in Ethiopia.

One is written about a dark time in a relationship. Probably about Edge and his first wife, as they were in the middle of a divorce at that time.

Mysterious Ways is about a man-woman relationship.

WOWY is another dark man-woman relationship. During the writing of WOWY Bono and Ali were going through a rough time.

I Will Follow is a song written about Bono and his blind love for his mother.
 
Originally posted by spanisheyes:
Here are a few more that come to mind. Some may beg to differ on my list, but if anyone needs explaining, I will do my best to accommodate your request. ;)

Chris

Boy
I Will Follow

October
Gloria
I Fall Down
I Through A Brick Through A Window
Rejoice
Fire
October
With A Shout
Scarlet
Is That All

War
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Like A Song
Drowning Man
Two Hearts Beat As One
Red Light
Surrender
40

Unforgettable Fire
A Sort of Homecoming
The Unforgettable Fire
Promenade
Bad

The Joshua Tree
Where The Streets Have No Name
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
With Or Without You

Rattle and Hum
Hawkmoon 269
Love Rescue Me
When Love Comes To Town
All I Want Is You

Achtung Baby
One
Until The End Of The World
Mysterious Ways
Acrobat

Zooropa
Zooropa
The First Time

Pop
Discoteque
Mofo
If God Will Send His Angels
Gone
The Playboy Mansion
Please
Wake Up Dead Man

All That You Can't Leave Behind
Beautiful Day
Elevation
When I Look At The World
Grace

[This message has been edited by spanisheyes (edited 01-28-2002).]
Click to expand...

I beg to differ on some of these.

Homecoming is just that. Bono had wrote that song after he and the band had been away from home for a considerable amount of time.

Promenade lyrics were written in Bono house. Bono and Ali had a round house I believe at or near a beach. For some reason (holiday) there were people out shooting fireworks and having a good time. Everything Bono was seeing outside he wrote about. The spiral staircase to the higher ground was just that. Bono and Ali had a spiral staircase leading up to their bedroom (higher ground).

Bad was written about drug addiction.

WOWY is about a dark time in Ali and Bono's marriage.

Hawkmoon is a man-woman relationship.

Mysterious Ways is another man-woman relationship.

Zooroppa is entirely about commercialism.

Disco has nothing to do with God. Don't know where you got that one.

Gone is about some of the catch-22's of rock stardom.

Elevation: Not much of that is about God.
 
Actually, all of the songs you speak of can and do have spiritual interpretations. Just because a song was inspired by an event or a time and place does not mean it is eternally wedded to that one thing. Bono himself has made comments about these songs talking about (for example) Mysterious Ways being about the holy spirit AS WELL AS a relationship between a man and a woman. The beauty of U2 songs is that they have more than one reading.

Streets - I think ALL of us know that it was inspired by Bono and Ali's trip to Ethiopia. But try reading the lyrics sometime. It's pretty obvious that they not only refer to places like Ethiopia but that they have a much larger picture in mind....that of heaven, another place where the streets have no name and (to quote bono in many of the live versions of this song) there is "no sorrow and no shame". Not to mention the fact that Bono has been quoting from the Psalms before singing this song for more or less the duration of the Elevation tour. "What can I give back to God for the blessings he has poured out? I lift high the cup of salvation and drink a toast to the Almighty..." If that's not "spiritual" in your book, I dunno what would be.

One was written during the time that the band was on the verge of breaking up in the Hansa sessions. Like any good U2 song tho, it can be read in a multitude of ways. It works from man to woman or vice versa, father to son, human to human. If you have read Flanagan's ATEOTW, you might remember Bono and Bill talking about the metaphors in this song: "you ask me to enter but then you make me crawl" and Bono talking about finding God in the low places...the trash and the scum.

Mysterious Ways has been acknowledged as being about the Holy Spirit, I'm surprised that you would argue. Bono's said this on a number of occasions.

With Or Without You can be "about" a multitude of things, including romantic relationships, the relationship that Bono has with his audience, and the relationship of a person to God. Another great example of dual purpose songs.

I Will Follow is about Bono's mother's death and the subsequent inner turmoil that it created in Bono. Part of that included his finding faith. The lyrics that are most often cited to relate to this would be "I was looking through the window. I was lost, I am found."

Ultimately, it is of course a subjective thing. U2 songs are great because they can be so ambiguous and because they can take on different meanings to different people. To slap down an interp and call it the one and only one does not do justice to the songs, the band, or Bono as a lyricist and artist.
 
Oh also, I'm not sure if you were aware of this, new orleans, but this particular forum (Goal is Soul) is dedicated to discussing U2 and spirituality. Part of that will inevitably involve personal interpretations of songs. I rather doubt you are going to be able to convince a forum full of fans who are gathered specifically to discuss the spirituality in U2's lyrics that none of their songs have it.
smile.gif
 
Originally posted by sulawesigirl4:
And until the moment that you convince me that you're Bono or that you have the magic ability to read his thoughts when he wrote a song, I don't think I can agree with you that XYZ song is definitively "about" XYZ period in time. Until then, you are speculating just as much as the next person.

p.s. It would be great if instead of quoting an entire long post numerous times that you cut and paste only the relevant parts that you wish to refer to. Thanks.
smile.gif
Click to expand...

The original thoughts I'm writing about are quotes from Bono that I have read. Nope I can't mindread.
 
Originally posted by new orleans:
What a reach. The song has nothing to do w/ God. You people think everything Bono writes is about God. Many songs are but not Disco.B]
Click to expand...

new orleans, if you think that Discoteque has nothing to do with God, I urge you to think about one of Bono's favorite Christian subjects: Grace. Grace, as a Christian term, is that Christ offers salvation free of charge, offers his love free of charge, and offers Heaven free of charge. You can't earn or buy any of these. Discoteque is about someone looking for love. Think about the following lines, and their connection to God:

"You know you're chewing bubblegum
You know what that is, but you still want some
You just can't get enough of that lovie dovie stuff"

Bono is saying that the person is settling for a substitite. The love they are looking for on the dance floor is not real love, it's just a substitute. God is the real love.

"you want heaven, heaven in your heart..
you want heaven, heaven in your heart..

It's no trick, you can't learn it
It's the way you don't pay, that's okay
'Cos you can't earn it"

and

"I can't get in, I paid..it's not enough
I can't get in, I paid..it's not enough"

All the bove lines are referring to the fact that you can't earn love or Heaven or God's favor.

Read Bono's ideas on grace, or the books about grace that he recommends, and you will see what people are talking about when they say this song is about God.




[This message has been edited by 80sU2isBest (edited 04-01-2002).]
 
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