San Diego: Bono The Prisoner

[bcrt2000]

I'm a bit confused on this one.. at the end of Bullet he puts the blindfold over his eyes and puts his hands over his head while he is kneeling to the ground.. now i read somewhere that hes referring to the extremist groups who are killing people in iraq, but the first time i saw the picture of him in that position (too bad the site that was originally hosting the pics linked off of u2log is now turned private) i thought that he was rerferring to prisoners in guantonamo bay & in iraq held by the united states, and the delcaration of human rights also fits that bill. What do you guys think?

 

[pub crawler]

I'm a bit confused on this one.. at the end of Bullet he puts the blindfold over his eyes and puts his hands over his head while he is kneeling to the ground.. now i read somewhere that hes referring to the extremist groups who are killing people in iraq, but the first time i saw the picture of him in that position (too bad the site that was originally hosting the pics linked off of u2log is now turned private) i thought that he was rerferring to prisoners in guantonamo bay & in iraq held by the united states, and the delcaration of human rights also fits that bill. What do you guys think?

It was an interesting moment. I mean, he's blindfolded, extending his hands, singing "the hands that built America" juxtaposed with Bullet the Blue Sky and he's on his knees. I'd like to think he was making a political statement about current U.S. foreign policy but it's hard to say.

 

[joyfulgirl]

I definitely thought he was making a statement about both the Guantanamo Bay and Iraqi prisoners. The declaration of human rights text made it pretty clear to me.

 

[bonoed]

absolutely about the U.S. not Iraqis. No question about it. And it's brillant, as usual, so U2, so Bono.

 

[Anu]

Bono on America: the little bits of "Johnny comes marching home," the anti-war trilogy of "Love and Peace," "Sunday Bloody Sunday," & "Bullet": this is his most explicit anti-war statement in a while, and best contained inside the mix of the concert: mixed as it is with his human rights internationalism and pro-Africa statements during the "Pride," "Streets," "One" trilogy later: what a Bono, so spontaneous yet serious, poetic yet funky, gospel yet goofy: how long must we sing this song?
love, Anu
looking forward to these dates more than ever now that I have heard the show thanks to the generous uploading of the Interference community.

 

[UnforgettableLemon]

Nearly this whole thing seems to work in trilogies, with a few exceptions.

Boy - The Electric Co, An Cat Dubh, Into the Heart
Anti-War - Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky
Songs that just rock - Zoo Station, The Fly, Elevation
Africa - Pride, Streets, One
God - All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

 

[bcrt2000]

its nice to see that bono still has the balls to make political statements. i don't think they made ANY significant statements in Elevation other than maybe anti-gun violence (which still was not as serious as this statement IMO).

 

[bridonohue]

you're right, there is no way he could be refering to the guys taking prisoners and then beheading them. and definately not those commiting genocide in western Sudan. he must be refering to the US.

 

[ramblin rose]

You should all just listen to the Gerry Adams radio interview. He specifically talks about what it meant.

That should quell this debate pretty quickly.

 

[ZeroDude]

^
I need to see/ hear what Mr. Adams has said

 

[ramblin rose]

^
I need to see/ hear what Mr. Adams has said

The interview was with Bono, Edge and Paul M. (right after the show). You can hear what Bono has to say, not Gerry Adams.

 

[PopDaisy]

The interview was with Bono, Edge and Paul M. (right after the show). You can hear what Bono has to say, not Gerry Adams.

I think it's quite important to point out here that the interviewer was Gerry Ryan, not the Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams...



PopDaisy

 

[ramblin rose]

You're right. Thanks.

 

[zoopop]

Nearly this whole thing seems to work in trilogies, with a few exceptions.

Boy - The Electric Co, An Cat Dubh, Into the Heart
Anti-War - Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky
Songs that just rock - Zoo Station, The Fly, Elevation
Africa - Pride, Streets, One
God - All Because of You, Yahweh, 40

LOL, "Songs that just rock" trilogy. Good observation.

 

[bridonohue]

gerry adams interviewing bono, now that's something i would pay to see.

 

[Anu]

Ramblin, do you have a link or lead or transcript to this interview. I'd love to hear Bono talk about it. Thanks,
Anu

 

[ramblin rose]

http://www.rte.ie/2fm/ryanshow/rams/032905_u2long.ram

 

[JR#9]

can somebody just post what Bono said it was all about for those of us w/no audio?

 

[U2girl]

Blind-folded routine (clue 1), Bullet... (clue 2), human rights declaration (clue 3).

a point about the US adminstration.

 

[ramblin rose]

Blind-folded routine (clue 1), Bullet... (clue 2), human rights declaration (clue 3).

a point about the US adminstration.

Did you listen to what Bono said in the interview?

 

[U2girl]

To repeat: can somebody just post what Bono said it was all about for those of us w/no audio?

No matter what he said, I can still make my own opinion.

 

[amarks86]

He said it isn't only what is happening to US Soldiers being captured, but also the Iraqi civilians.

 

[tlt29]

I don't think it is a statement exclusively about US foreign policy. If it was, it would truly piss me off.

I think it's just a statement about human rights in general. The rights of the soldiers and civilians being held hostage in Iraq. The Gitmo detainees. The Iraqi citizens who suffered under the Hussein regime.

 

[ramblin rose]

I think it's just a statement about human rights in general. The rights of the soldiers and civilians being held hostage in Iraq. The Gitmo detainees. The Iraqi citizens who suffered under the Hussein regime.

ding, ding, ding, ding.....you win. That seemed to be what Bono was trying to convey, (according to him, anyway)

 

[Nerfherder]

Here's a rough transcription -

Bono: This was the base of the U.S. navy, so there was some stuff in Bullet the Blue Sky that had to be said.

Gerry: How did that go down? Because you're talking to a barracks town... that must've been quite a challenge. How did you manage that?

Bono: Well, you know, we played the Declaration of Human Rights, which was amazing. A reading, something that Catherine Owens put together. It's really a great piece of street theater. These giant heads made of smoke appear in the middle of the arena... and they speak the articles in the Declaration of Human Rights about torture, arrest and respect for people. That was after Bullet the Blue Sky, so that was pretty heavy --

Gerry: How do you get out of that, Bono, to get back to the --

Bono: It was pretty hard. I'm not sure we did exactly. That's probably where the gig went wrong - it was SO heavy that... We went into Running to Stand Still and the Human rights came across... I meant to dedicate it to the hostages and other people to just kind of keep it right. Because the Declaration of Human Rights applies not just to the U.S. soldiers captured but Iraqi civilians, of course. That was the point.

 

[Erin go bragh]

ding, ding, ding, ding.....you win.

So when does tlt get the keychain??


Sorry....couldn't resist.

 

[amarks86]

ding, ding, ding, ding.....you win. That seemed to be what Bono was trying to convey, (according to him, anyway)

My impression from what he said is that it was concerning US foreign policy, which is why he mentioned the Iraqi civilians, but I guess it could have been either or, maybe even both.

 

[VertigoGal]

you're right, there is no way he could be refering to the guys taking prisoners and then beheading them. and definately not those commiting genocide in western Sudan. he must be refering to the US.

I agree with you...some people would just like Bono to come out and be all anti-US policy. I didn't like the Iraq War but I still don't think I'd like it much if an Irishman at this point in the war started trying to make "statements."

I'd like to think he's talking about both the prisoners in gitmo and the journalists being taken hostage in Iraq.

 

[tlt29]

So when does tlt get the keychain??


Sorry....couldn't resist.

Keychains are part of this deal???

SWEET!

Please provide instructions on how to claim said keychain. I hope it's one of those carabiner dealios. That would kick ass.