Kite

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Zoots

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Found this interpretation on the U2MoL site...

I believe the lyrics of this song refer to the band itself. The kite symbolyzes the future of the band and the new album. 'whose to say where the wind will take you, whose to say what it is will break you' etc. At the end, he describes himself as 'the last of the rock stars when hip hop drove the big cars'. It is quite obvious that the main concern here is what this new album will bring about in terms of success to u2. Will it be the downfall or the uprising of the u2 empire? or rather, whose to know where the wind will take you?

- James Abu-Mrad james.abu-mrad@wfinet.com ( 9:th of April 2001)

Bono once said that he can't see any future of U2 after the next album. I think that this song describes his feelings of this album and the future. And if they split up he gives us the lines: "I want you to know, That you don't need me anymore." and also: "I know that this is not goodbye." The music is still there if they quit. At the end he asks himself "Did I waste it?" Was it worth the effort to get where he is today? "Not so much I couldn't taste it, Life should be fragrant." Although the huge succes of their music and what that means, he has been able to enjoy life. It has not been rubish all the time. Maybe, this song is: "Thank you and goodbye" or "Where should we go now?".

- Karl Otto Emanuelsson, otto@dublin.com (29:th of April 2001)

http://hem.bredband.net/steverud/U2MoL/ATYCLB/kite.html

I thought it was about his father. But if it's really about the future of the band, it seems to kinda make sense now. :hmm:

What do you guys think?
 
deviating from the subject just a tad, I recommend everybody purchases cd2 of window in the skies, namely for the most excellent b sides, zoo station and kite!! woohooo!!
 
tpsreports2424 said:
huh:hmm:

I thought it was about his father

No. Bono claimed it was originally a song from him to his children. It only 'became' a song about his father on the Elevation tour, when Bob Hewson was so ill, and after he had passed on.
 
U2Man said:
i thought i could download the sydney kite version in here :rant:
^ LOL awwww

bono dedicated this song to his dad, (slane castle, london 08-21-01, and probably many other elevation shows), and said somewhere else in print that it was about relationships between father and son. like, after being away from home for a long time, he decided to spend some "quality time" with his kids, and he took them to a hill and they flew kites, and after a while it wasn't working, and they just wanted to go home and do regular things. he said it was about how sometimes you think you know what your kid wants but you don't. sometimes you just have to let go. and then after his father's death, he started dedicating this song to him live. he was happy he made peace with his father before he left, because they kinda had a rough relationship, but bono still finds it hard to let go. something like thatm, but more eloquent than i put it, haha.
dangit...i know i have that story saved somewhere i just can't find it right now.
but yeah, i don't think it was intended to be about the future of the band, even though now when we look back upon it, it might make sense...


edit:
gotta love google =)
<3 i found it!
here's the excerpt of the interview in which bono talks about the meaning of Kite:

Amazon.co.uk: One of them, "Kite", you've been dedicating on stage to your father, Bob Hewson, since he died. Was that song written with him in mind?

Bono: It's actually a reference to an absurd moment of parenting, where I took a kite up on Killiney Hill with Jordan and Eve--back from being away and wanting to do the Dad thing. The kite blew off the line and smashed to smithereens on its first flight, and Evie just asked if they could go home and play with their Tamagotchis. Now, songwriting is still a surprise to me, because you often think you're describing one thing, and it turns on its head. I originally felt "Kite" was my old man encouraging me to let go of him, and suddenly I was back in a caravan site when we were kids, and I realised that he had tried to do exactly the same situation with the kite, and it had gone equally as badly. So I suddenly realised I wasn't singing from quite as theoretical a place as I thought.
 
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Thanks for that interview excerpt, Tuwie! :up:

And thanks for pointing us all to that link, U2Man! :up: :shifty:

I'll still buy it. :angel:
 
gibsongirl, how hard is it to play the extended solo that edge plays on the sydney kite thing?
 
U2Man said:
gibsongirl, how hard is it to play the extended solo that edge plays on the sydney kite thing?

I haven't listened to it yet.
 
J_NP said:


Download it mate

Haha... I was able to google it and install it in seconds! Didn't think it would have an evaluation version that we can try for free. :der:

Thanks, btw!
 
I'm just listening to the version off the WIITS single...

All I can say is wow, where was this during the Elevation tour???

My only 2 complaints are:

1. Bono's false start and pause, which I think is brave to include in a single - makes me wonder if the other versions where not recorded or not as good...

2. The dedication to Cate Blanchett before Edges second :)drool: ) guitar solo... I like Cate and all but it kind detracts from the song IMO.

Other than that, brilliant, he hits the high notes well and the acoustic intro with his wails gives me shivers...

:up:
 
1. I think he did this every time he sang. You mean "I'm not afraid to die...." pause?
 
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