An Cat Dubh Appreciation

[An Cat Gav]

It's about time i gave out some credit and some love to one of my all-time favourite U2 tracks, An Cat Dubh, the black cat, I love it so much I even used it as inspiration for my Interference nickname.
TJT and TUF were the first U2 albums I got into, but after them it was Boy all the way. Years previously, a cousin of mine from dublin was staying with us and she had the Boy and War LP's with her. I was only about 6 but even then the artwork on the covers amazed me, it was so cool how they were showing this little boy at different phases of his childhood.
And its this feeling of adolescence that I love most about Boy and An cat Dubh in particular. The song sums up perfectly the feelings I had when I was a teenager, falling in love with girls for the first time, the insecurities you get with that, the love, the lust and the longing that go with unrequited love. The female in this song is as mysterious, sexy and cold as a black cat and seems totally unattainable.Playing and toying with our hearts. This is how I felt about most of the objects of my desire too when I was 14 and i can totally empathise with it!! The song is full of innocence but sexy and knowing at the same time!
The guitar riff is one of my favourites, and Bono's wo ho ho's are simply sublime!
I am totally in love with this song, its incredibly cool but also incredibly insular and heartbreaking. Not for the last time, Bono was inviting us to look inside his heart and soul.
Perfect, magical, classic.
An Cat Dubh...... An Cat Gav (i think i should spell that Gabh) salutes you!!

 

[YBORCITY]

Indeed one of U2's best songs, definitely in my top 15. ^ You do a great job of capturing the feelings of this song but I must say I can't help to always wonder who is the Black Cat that Bono is singing about because we all know that it's not necessarily Ali.

I think that this only adds to the mystique of the song.

 

[yeter]

The song is full of innocence but sexy and knowing at the same time!

Perfect description. It's a great song. One of my favorites.

 

[pgv]

When i first listened to boy many years ago, an cat dubh was the first song that really stood out for me. I really love it - please let them play it in hawaii!

 

[Axver]

An Cat Dubh is a really fantastic, overlooked gem. One of the few U2 songs I can play on guitar too.

One of my fondest memories is dancing to An Cat Dubh with my girlfriend when we saw U2 last year.

 

[RedRocksU2]

An Cat Dubh is a really fantastic, overlooked gem.

 

[LemonMelon]

I appreciate...

It should have been the theme for Casino Royale.

 

[INDY500]

Some great chords before the transition to Into The Heart
And don't forget Larry's drumming.

 

[blueeyedgirl]

An Cat Dubh is a really fantastic, overlooked gem. One of the few U2 songs I can play on guitar too.

One of my fondest memories is dancing to An Cat Dubh with my girlfriend when we saw U2 last year.

 

[ozeeko]

The best song off Boy. There's something about it that transcends the early 80's new wave post punk sound of the album. It's like opening an old wound and watching it bleed relentlessly until there's nothing left. The most primal, darkest and sexual song off Boy. I love it.

 

[cobl04]

An Cat Dubh is a really fantastic, overlooked gem. One of the few U2 songs I can play on guitar too.

One of my fondest memories is dancing to An Cat Dubh with my girlfriend when we saw U2 last year.

Ooh I'd love to hear how you danced to that!


Anyways, An Cat Dubh is a fantastic song. To me it and Into the Heart are seperate songs, even though they run together. An Cat Dubh for me has always been second best on that album, but 'Boy' (get the pun?) do I love it. The sexy, suggestive vocals in the verses, made even more mysterious and dark by Edge's guitar, is just to die for, and the way that Larry and Adam move the song along, especially in the 'yo ho ho ho ho' part is magnificent.

Terrific song.

I've always wondered though...how do you pronounce Dubh? Cos I've always said it as it is - An Cat Dub-h

 

[Hallucination]

I just moved in with my brother this past week and today I was playing An Cat Dubh and he was blown away. he didn't know who it was but he loved it and asked who sings it. he nearly shit when I told him it was U2.

 

[An Cat Gav]

Ooh I'd love to hear how you danced to that!


Anyways, An Cat Dubh is a fantastic song. To me it and Into the Heart are seperate songs, even though they run together. An Cat Dubh for me has always been second best on that album, but 'Boy' (get the pun?) do I love it. The sexy, suggestive vocals in the verses, made even more mysterious and dark by Edge's guitar, is just to die for, and the way that Larry and Adam move the song along, especially in the 'yo ho ho ho ho' part is magnificent.

Terrific song.

I've always wondered though...how do you pronounce Dubh? Cos I've always said it as it is - An Cat Dub-h

It's promounced the same as the bird,Dove.