Last song is a throw-away

[AtomicBono]

Not to digress from the subject of the thread, but let's do so, anyway: Forget Yahweh, I think even something as simple as ABOY is going to be a bitch to play live, because both guitars are very important to the song. It's not like, say, Walk On, where oftentimes Bono wouldnt play the chords, but Edge's fills made up for it. So I predict one of 2 things-

1. Bono will kick ass with the axe.
2. They will use sequencers extensively for the live versions.

I think 2 is more likely, which is really disappointing, because it really takes a minimum amount of effort to learn the backing parts.

y'all underestimate the B-man, sure he's not the greatest guitarist ever but he could easily do All Because of You. I guess the only problem would be he wouldn't be able to jump around and bite people and stuff. that'd be too bad.

 

[GibsonGirl]

I'll be honest...I think any nickname that uses Yahweh in it is rather appalling...especially with OMG attached to it??

Same.

 

[Yahweh]

Whats so throw away about it? Explain why you think its throw away...just saying something is weak isnt a good enough reason.

Why do you think for example that Mothers of The Disappeared is any better then Yahweh?

 

[Flying FuManchu]

It's subjective... don't get bent out of shape about it...

 

[InVertigo]

I LOVE Wake Up Dead Man

I would have liked The Wanderer better if Bono had sung it.

I never listen to Grace--boring!

Yahweh sucks--more like a Bon Jovi song, and that's a bad thing, a very bad thing.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

Bon Jovi rawks!!! HTDAAB would have been a guaranteed 10 out of 10 if it had some Bon Jovi elements in it...

 

[drivemytrabant]

Since AB, the last song on U2 records has been throw-aways, which I find disappointing. I'm talking songs that have very little chance to be played live and just aren't that good. You've got:

1. The Wanderer on Zooropa
2. Wake Up Dead Man on Pop
3. Grace on ATYCLB
4. Yahweh on Bomb

What happened to great closers like Love is Blindness? And no, Yahweh is nowhere near Love is Blindness. It's really an awful song.

I love all those songs. I know there are alot of Grace haters and I understand why. But I love the simple-ness of it and Grace is my favorite word in the english language so I may be a bit biased. To me--Grace is about the only good song on the second part of ATYCLB. After IALW I just skip to Grace. I never cared for Wake up dead man until I heard it on the Slane DVD. I think it is much better live than on the album. The Wanderer has great lyrics. The actual music and tune could have used something else but I love the lyrics so much I don't really care. Yahweh is a prayer that makes me want to get down on my knees and thrust my hands in the air. All that said I respect everyone's opinions on the board--lets not get insulting here guys.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

How is the Slane version different from the Boston version? Or even the Mexico version? I find the live versions of Wake Up Dead Man are very lacking without the other guitars in the mix.

 

[Flying FuManchu]

I'm mixed on Grace. Some days it comes off as a good song with a nice little riff and nice atmosphere. Interesting lyrics. Other days, it just comes off as boring and repetitive in terms of the music. I don't think it sucks, but I've always liked 40, Mothers, MLK, Love is Blindess, Wake Up Dead Man, All I Want is You, and October better than Grace.

 

[Tyagu_Anaykus]

Back to the regular Grace and Yahweh bashing. It's not surprising considering many here are unaware of the beauty of Christianity and how these songs connect to us Christians. Coming from the Philippines which is Asia's biggest Catholic country, I can fully appreciate the lyrical content of both Grace and Yahweh. And guess what? The music of Grace perfectly fits the message it conveys - that the concept of grace is so exclusively Christian that other religions don't have a similar concept (for example, the hindus have karma). Grace is so subtle and ever-present - thus the song is doesn't need to be upbeat or flashy. Even in HTDAAB, Bono still uses the lyric grace. As for Yahweh, Bono is calling out to God. Bono is trying to be like King David the Psalmist - singing aloud the his Lord offering him everything. Normally, when you give your everything to God - there is a loss and some hesitation. But if you fully give yourself then you will enter the kingdom and get eternal happiness. This happiness may be reflected in the upbeat nature of Yaweh. Perhaps now that U2 are in their 40's - celebrity and fame and lust for money is not taking over them. It is like U2's last prayer - that they are happy where they are and that they offer all their success to God ("take this..."), and are ready to call it quits anytime if it is God's will ("still waiting for the dawn"). I think Yaweh is perhaps the best closer ever, not just for this album but even for U2's career. It is a great prayer.

Cheers,

J

you're a GOD

 

[Aardvark747]

Only just recently got into Grace again. I just fancied putting on one of their more slower, less commercial songs. And that came to mind. And I really enjoyed listenin to it all the way through for the first time in ages.
Looking forward to Yahweh next week. Not least cos' ill find out how you actually pronounce it!?

 

[Axver]

Looking forward to Yahweh next week. Not least cos' ill find out how you actually pronounce it!?

Bono pronounces it wrong (Attn B-man: it ends in an 'h', not a 'y'!), which somewhat disappointed me ... until I tried singing it and I realised that even with my pronunciation, it comes out pretty similarly.

Still ... 'Yah-way' is about the only thing on the album that makes me cringe (Don't get me wrong, though: I LOVE the song to pieces). Oh, and grammatical mistakes such as 'I would believe if I was able.' If that's all I have to whine about, I am a very happy man!

(For the record, when I first heard Bono sing 'Yah-way', I thought he was singing 'You're waiting.' It didn't click until a few listens later that he was simply pronouncing 'Yahweh' wrong.)

 

[jick]

Off-topic but for some reference guys, try picking up the book "What's So Amazing About Grace?" by Phillip Yancey. Bono read that book and even gave a copy to the Oasis frontman. It is what inspired him to write the song Grace. When you read that book, you will understand the context of the song and realize how the melody, the tune and the atmosphere really convey a perfect message to the song. U2's Grace is a song that takes Amazing Grace to deeper unchartered levels.

Back to Yahweh, I think U2 intentionally chose a "typical U2" sound with "signature Edge" guitars to tell Yaweh (God) that "this is the talent you gave us, this is what we are good at so here...take it all". It is upbeat because the logical conclusion to the song, or "the dawn" is eternal life/happiness where one can be with God in his Kingdom. Yaweh is the perfect prayer.

This is in stark contrast to Wake Up Dead Man, where Bono cries out to God telling Him that he has forsaken this world. It is just like King David in the Psalms. Other than God-friendly songs like Psalm "40", there are also songs where, in Bono's own words, King David sings the blues - crying out to God asking him where he is. Because Wake Up Dead Man had that kind of theme, it had to sound kinda barren like an empty desert ghost town (check the intro and backing guitars when he says "Jesus help me", dont you think it sounds so desolate?). Then when he sings Wake Up Dead Man, we get angry guitars and drums. The music fit the lyrics perfectly.

If you think about it, in the last 4 years all U2 have come up with are 11 songs! Are they that slow? No, they just really take time to perfect their songs, make sure the melody matches the lyrics. That the music alone, without any vocal, would still convey what the song tries to say.

So all of you U2 doubters, enough about knocking their album finale. They are all just perfect and based on Biblical themes. If you aren't Christian, then don't bother.

Cheers,

J

 

[jick]

Bono pronounces it wrong (Attn B-man: it ends in an 'h', not a 'y'!), which somewhat disappointed me ... until I tried singing it and I realised that even with my pronunciation, it comes out pretty similarly.

Still ... 'Yah-way' is about the only thing on the album that makes me cringe (Don't get me wrong, though: I LOVE the song to pieces). Oh, and grammatical mistakes such as 'I would believe if I was able.' If that's all I have to whine about, I am a very happy man!

(For the record, when I first heard Bono sing 'Yah-way', I thought he was singing 'You're waiting.' It didn't click until a few listens later that he was simply pronouncing 'Yahweh' wrong.)

I gotta agree, the pronunciation of Yahweh is wrong. But even the countoff is wrong on the album ..unos,dos,tres,catorce ...it should at least be uno, not unos. And I'll not even try to get into catorce instead of quatro.

Perhaps two wrongs make a right for Bono. Start the album with a wrong and end it with a wrong.

Cheers,

J

 

[Party Boy]

Back to the regular Grace and Yahweh bashing. It's not surprising considering many here are unaware of the beauty of Christianity and how these songs connect to us Christians. Coming from the Philippines which is Asia's biggest Catholic country, I can fully appreciate the lyrical content of both Grace and Yahweh. And guess what? The music of Grace perfectly fits the message it conveys - that the concept of grace is so exclusively Christian that other religions don't have a similar concept (for example, the hindus have karma). Grace is so subtle and ever-present - thus the song is doesn't need to be upbeat or flashy. Even in HTDAAB, Bono still uses the lyric grace. As for Yahweh, Bono is calling out to God. Bono is trying to be like King David the Psalmist - singing aloud the his Lord offering him everything. Normally, when you give your everything to God - there is a loss and some hesitation. But if you fully give yourself then you will enter the kingdom and get eternal happiness. This happiness may be reflected in the upbeat nature of Yaweh. Perhaps now that U2 are in their 40's - celebrity and fame and lust for money is not taking over them. It is like U2's last prayer - that they are happy where they are and that they offer all their success to God ("take this..."), and are ready to call it quits anytime if it is God's will ("still waiting for the dawn"). I think Yaweh is perhaps the best closer ever, not just for this album but even for U2's career. It is a great prayer.

Cheers,

J

J, couldn't have summed it up better...

 

[jer2911]

Yahweh is a great song and prayer. I love it......

 

[PowerSurge]

Bono pronounces it wrong (Attn B-man: it ends in an 'h', not a 'y'!), which somewhat disappointed me ... until I tried singing it and I realised that even with my pronunciation, it comes out pretty similarly.

Still ... 'Yah-way' is about the only thing on the album that makes me cringe (Don't get me wrong, though: I LOVE the song to pieces). Oh, and grammatical mistakes such as 'I would believe if I was able.' If that's all I have to whine about, I am a very happy man!

(For the record, when I first heard Bono sing 'Yah-way', I thought he was singing 'You're waiting.' It didn't click until a few listens later that he was simply pronouncing 'Yahweh' wrong.)

Didn't we discuss the hell out of this about a month or more ago? How is he pronouncing it wrong? I was lucky to be able to ask a couple of Jewish friends and THAT is how they pronounced it. The funny thing is that it was actually written to be unpronouncable (YHWH) so I think its hilarious that we are even discussing a word that doesn't have a CORRECT or INCORRECT pronunciation!

 

[what a bomb!]

1. The Wanderer on Zooropa - ABSOLUTELY UNLISTENABLE!
2. Wake Up Dead Man on Pop - OKISH
3. Grace on ATYCLB- WAKE ME UP WHEN ITS FINISHED!
4. Yahweh on Bomb - I WANNA RUN UP A MOUNTAIN AND SING THIS FROM THE SUMMIT! GORGEOUS SONG!

So feck ya!

 

[Tyagu_Anaykus]

1. The Wanderer on Zooropa - ABSOLUTELY UNLISTENABLE!
2. Wake Up Dead Man on Pop - OKISH
3. Grace on ATYCLB- WAKE ME UP WHEN ITS FINISHED!
4. Yahweh on Bomb - I WANNA RUN UP A MOUNTAIN AND SING THIS FROM THE SUMMIT! GORGEOUS SONG!

So feck ya!

 

[Tyagu_Anaykus]

hei! Damn! I put a attached with the quote and it didn't show up.

 

[Axver]

Didn't we discuss the hell out of this about a month or more ago? How is he pronouncing it wrong? I was lucky to be able to ask a couple of Jewish friends and THAT is how they pronounced it. The funny thing is that it was actually written to be unpronouncable (YHWH) so I think its hilarious that we are even discussing a word that doesn't have a CORRECT or INCORRECT pronunciation!

Yes, I think this topic just about got beaten to death and so I only mentioned it the once, even though I've been tempted to bring it up on other threads. I still fail to see how 'weh' can be pronounced as 'way', though (even if the original 'word' was meant to be unpronouncable). Also, I'm not quite sure asking a couple of Jewish friends is an instant qualification: I'm a New Zealander and I'm the first to confess that I supremely stuff up the pronunciation of some Kiwi town names, including that of my own hometown!

 

[allkub]

so lemme get this straight................anyone that doesn't think Yahweh is crapl............is a U2 lemming.

Cool..............now I see the light

 

[Palace_Hero]

I don't like the singing of 'god's name' in the song. Very cheesy and too obvious. I am also an athiest, but love U2's religious references (UTTEOTW, WUDM) because it adds substance so generally it doesn't bother me.

However Yahweh lyrically is too preachy, which Bono usually isn't, in terms of religion. He has his ideals and convictions, but in this song they seem plastic.

And ultimately, he is singing about an entity that DOESN'T EXIST* and even if he does (the way Christian religion says he does) is a bit of a git.

*Don't have a go at me for screaming the fact god isn't real from the rooftops, its the equivalent of one of you saying 'god is good and loves you .'.

Rant over.

 

[allkub]

God bless you

 

[Palace_Hero]

 

[jick]

I don't like the singing of 'god's name' in the song. Very cheesy and too obvious. I am also an athiest, but love U2's religious references (UTTEOTW, WUDM) because it adds substance so generally it doesn't bother me.

However Yahweh lyrically is too preachy, which Bono usually isn't, in terms of religion. He has his ideals and convictions, but in this song they seem plastic.

And ultimately, he is singing about an entity that DOESN'T EXIST* and even if he does (the way Christian religion says he does) is a bit of a git.

*Don't have a go at me for screaming the fact god isn't real from the rooftops, its the equivalent of one of you saying 'god is good and loves you .'.

Rant over.

You are atheist so you don't understand.

About your assertion that Bono usually isn't lyrically too preachy, you got it all wrong. Most of his lyrics are preachy, you just can't notice it because you probably don't know squat about Christian beliefs or read the Bible because you are an admitted atheist.

Just because Bono sings a great prayer to his Maker, doesn't mean he is plastic. He is real. The real Bono has a deep faith whether you like it or not.

Cheers,

J

 

[Palace_Hero]

You are atheist so you don't understand.

About your assertion that Bono usually isn't lyrically too preachy, you got it all wrong. Most of his lyrics are preachy, you just can't notice it because you probably don't know squat about Christian beliefs or read the Bible because you are an admitted atheist.

Just because Bono sings a great prayer to his Maker, doesn't mean he is plastic. He is real. The real Bono has a deep faith whether you like it or not.

Cheers,

J

Numpty.

Grew up in an Irish Catholic family, went to a Catholic school.

You're in the Phillipines.

If anything I have more of a right to comment on the subject becauseI understand the context better. But you probably wouldn't understand that, because English probably isn't your first language.

 

[swandiver]

"Take this heart and make it brave" is a perfect ending to this compilation of songs. It fits me where I am in my life now, older than most of you, seeing loved ones passing on ... you need a brave heart from here on out. I think it's a stellar ending to the album.