Dont understand these two lyrics (Kite)

[mad1]

When Bono sings:

'Life should be fragrant,
Rooftop to the basement'


well, isnt Kite supposed to be an uplifting song? meaning, why sing like life falls low, like it should be sweet from high to low.....should it not be opposite?

or today am I being fussy wussy over 'lyrics-that-possibly-could-not-be-rhymed-any-other-way'?



it just doesnt make sense the more I hear it....................life should be uplifting, not floatin down...... eh eh?

 

[daisybean]

hhhhhmm that's an interesting take on that lyric. I've never thought of it in that way, going high to low.

I've always heard it as even the "low" has it's own sweetness to it, a silver lining. That life is full of good and bad, highs and lows, you can't have one without the other, so you might as well make the best of what life brings you.

 

[Hewson]

I just figured "rooftop to basement" was just a lyrical way of saying "top to bottom", or basically in total.

 

[mad1]

I just figured "rooftop to basement" was just a lyrical way of saying "top to bottom", or basically in total.

OHHHHHHHH yes! I forgot about that 'top to bottom' thang!

like,

Hewson to a sexy chick - 'Hey baby! U look mighty damn fine from top to bottom!'

 

[HelloAngel]

I've always taken the "rooftop to the basement" lyric in a "cradle to the grave" context.

 

[Like O2]

I've always taken the "rooftop to the basement" lyric in a "cradle to the grave" context.

Me too.

 

[spanisheyes]

This line is so in line with the way Bono writes and thinks. If you think about it, a fragrance or aroma would naturally go from the bottom up. However, he writes the very opposite in rooftop to the basement. I've always thought that this line was referring to how easy it is to think of life as good when your on the rooftop of life and things are going well...but also, we should realize that though painful at times, that we can find the fragrance of life even when life is at the basement for us. It is also a contradiction that a kite, in referring to the title of the song, would go from the ground to the sky, but in this line he sees the need to have us see life from a different perspective.

Chris

 

[NicaMom]

Chris, that was beautiful!

 

[Danospano]

Over the last few days I've had a terrible case of strep throat. I've been taking every availible drug to rid myself of a sore throat, coughing, and all the other pains. I think it's because of these drugs that I've found myself being more and more emotional than usual. I'm finding myself crying about the most tragic circumstances, when usually I'll just look on the bright side.
Now, tying this into the quote from "Kite" I can honestly say that Bono's words are and will always be there to help me realize that even though life can be shitty, it's also full of wonderful beauty and happinesses. In fact, I'd say that in the end there are just as many, if not more, smiles than there are frowns. These words from "Kite" prove something that I really needed to hear after the last few days of emotional indulgences I've witnessed. "Life shouldn't be fragant...rooftop to the basement" means that without the bitter we'll never fully enjoy the sweet. It means that, in Bono's case: his father's death, he will need to accept that pain was inevitable.

 

[U2girl]

I guess Bono is saying that one should always seek goodness and positivity in life.

It's easy to do it in the good times (rooftop), but the real challenge is to do it in the low times (basement).

 

[rooftop to the basement]

I guess I should add my two cents here

I agree w/the idea that it means life in totality--and life in totality means the highs and lows, like daisybean said. kind of the whole idea of dreaming/living out loud. Inhaling as much of life's beauty--and by beauty I mean the moments that make you realize you're really alive, be they times of happiness or times of pain and sorrow

and hey, would you guys quit talking about me?

 

[AliEnvy]

I took it to mean you should appreciate and live life to the fullest...stop and smell the roses...don't take it for granted...no regrets...highs and lows...beginning to end...

 

[Bonochick]

Chris, that was beautiful!