Rate the Song: The Hands That Built America

[digitize]

This is the second-to-last round of the 2012 rate the song series! Today, we shall be voting on the second round of 2000s non-album songs. The full list of these songs is:

Stateless
Summer Rain
Always
Levitate
Love You Like Mad
Smile
Flower Child
Big Girls Are Best
Electrical Storm
The Hands That Built America
Native Son
Xanax and Wine
Are You Gonna Wait Forever?
Window in the Skies
Soon
Winter
Mercy

Today's round will cover the second set of six songs, from Flower Child to Xanax and Wine.

Please rate The Hands That Built America on a scale from 0 to 10, using whatever criteria you feel allows you to best evaluate the song as a whole. I will not set criteria for people to based on, but if you feel like your best evaluation of the merits of a song comes from voting only based on, say, the studio version, go right ahead and vote that way. Full information on the Rate The Song series may be found in this thread.

Have fun! This poll will close in 96 hours.

 

[Galeongirl]

Pretty good b-side, and great soundtrack.

 

[Nick66]

Boring as a dog's ass. And the 9/11 lyric detracts from, not adds to, the songs impact.

6.

 

[theedgeu2]

Wonderful piece of work. There's something magical about the part that goes "And of all of the promises/ Is this one we can keep?/ Of all of the dreams/ Is this one still out of reach?" and then it goes into that awesome opera moment. I thought it went along quite well with Gangs of New York. 9.

 

[corianderstem]

I really like the song. Loved the version that was used in the movie, with the long instrumental intro over the changing NYC skyline.

 

[flybabe]

^ I agree, that version is my favorite by far. The Best Of version is very watered up compared to the TGONY Orchestral ending. 8.

 

[RioRhodes]

8 for a great, powerful song, but not one of U2's best.

 

[prbiker15]

I used to really hate this song, but it has grown on me significantly. It's pretty great, a nice powerful tune. 8.

 

[An Cat Gav]

It's a disgrace that this song made in onto the 90s best of. Not their worst song by any means but still quite dull which for U2 is something of a crime.
The song fits the film, an underperformance by U2 and Scorcese.
6

 

[trevgreg]

Not bad at all, but not one I go back to all the time, which takes a point off. 6.

 

[The Panther]

I think this is a really good track, and works well as a soundtrack song. My only complaint is the final verse about "innocence dragged across a yellow line", or whatever it is. WTF?

 

[cobl04]

Boring as a dog's ass. And the 9/11 lyric detracts from, not adds to, the songs impact.

How does this warrant a 6? A 3/5? I completely agree that it's one of, perhaps the most boring song they ever wrote. 2.

 

[gvox]

How does this warrant a 6? A 3/5? I completely agree that it's one of, perhaps the most boring song they ever wrote. 2.

And that's being charitable. I was going to rate it a 1 but since the hive says it's a 2, I'll go with 2.

 

[digitize]

I kind of like this song.

 

[flybabe]

I kind of like this song.

So do I, and I hope this one breaks the top ten, if not the top twenty.

 

[gvox]

Er...top 20 U2 songs of all time???

 

[mikal]

i don't think a lot of this song, but i do enjoy the opera part. it's neat.

 

[Axver]

Truly a terrible song. I can see why the plans to release it as a proper single were scrapped!

 

[silkensky]

Only thing I like about it was its snippet during Bullet The Blue Sky. Otherwise a pretty forgettable and all around crap song.

 

[cobl04]

I actually sat back down during that snippet.

 

[lemonfly]

I've sat through tax audits that were less boring.

 

[lazarus]

Boring as a dog's ass. And the 9/11 lyric detracts from, not adds to, the songs impact.

6.

Let me get this straight: you gave very low marks to many mid-late 90's tracks that were actually trying something interesting and fresh musically, yet you're giving this a 6 despite finding it boring and criticizing the lyrics?


Come on.

I've sat through tax audits that were less boring.

It takes a special kind of shitty song for U2 at one of their popularity high points to lose an Academy Award to Eminem. E's track Lose Yourself was fantastic, but I don't think it would have taken much for voters to have thrown a bone to Boner & Co.

Terrible, boring, on-the-nose, etc.

The version from the film is superior but only because we get to hear Edge playing some electric guitar before it comes crashing to a halt.

3

 

[FitzChivalry]

Boring. Cheestastic. Just bad.

I gave it a 2 because I've always liked the lyric, "innocence dragged across a yellow line."


So ungood that I thought I didn't even have a copy. But I just looked in my iTunes and I guess I do.

 

[The Panther]

I gave it a 2 because I've always liked the lyric, "innocence dragged across a yellow line."

Finally, someone who can enlighten me. What the hell does that line suggest?

Is it a coy reference to Coldplay's "Yellow"?

 

[cobl04]

Is it a coy reference to Coldplay's "Yellow"?

Unequivocally. In fact whenever they snippeted it live in Bullet it was a reference to Coldplay.

 

[mad1]

I really am not overly fussed on the video version of this on the DVD, how its played.

I do prefer the opening sound of the piano on the CD, its more haunting, and I kinda too wish that the ending was more powerful and lifting like the ending in the movie TGONY.



grrrrrr!

 

[Nick66]

Finally, someone who can enlighten me. What the hell does that line suggest?

Is it a coy reference to Coldplay's "Yellow"?

Other than the obvious...the yellow line referring to a police line marking out a crime scene, who knows exactly what it means. Perhaps not even Bono.

I seriously doubt, however, that a Coldplay reference is intended in such a song, at least as it was originally written.

 

[The Panther]

Hm, maybe you're right. But do you need to be dragged across the line to lose your innocence? Wouldn't seeing "wild acts of terrorism" be enough to take away your innocence without needing to be pulled into a crime scene?

For that matter, why does the yellow line of a crime scene need to be the metaphor for terrorism? Perhaps he could have sung: "Innocence... is dragged across some chicken wire."

 

[Nick66]

Perhaps he could have sung: "Innocence... is dragged across some chicken wire."

Sure, why not!

Or, given Bono's penchant for retreading old lyrics, why not "The hands that build can also tear down, even the hands of love" (i.e. Allah is love)...an oldie but goodie that would fit right into this song.

 

[mad1]

somebody, here, (maybe not!), but i could have sworn, ages ago, said about the sung verse of 'innocence, dragged across a yellow line'......something about the fact there were so many people lost, it represents the build up of the bodies being overwhelming and going beyond (spilling out of) what should normally be a small taped off scene.

I dunnno

please dont kill me, Im only young