Miggy D
War Child
Rank them in order of greatness. Explain your choices.
1. Until the End of the World
2. One
3. Stay (Far Away, So Close!)
1. UTEOTW is U2's best song of the past 15 years, bar none. Lyrically, it may be their best work. It strikes the perfect balance between religious metaphor and universal meaning. It also has one of the best lines of any song, ever:
"I reached out for the one I tried to destroy."
I get a lump in my throat almost every time I hear that line. No joke. It's one of those perfect lyrics I think everyone wishes they wrote. And Bono wrote it. Bono is the man. That lyric not only encompasses the entire meaning of the song into a tiny 10-word package, but also connects with everyone of the Christian faith who has ever doubted or tried to deconstruct/'destroy' the God they've been raised to believe in. I can't speak for non-religious or non-Christians, but as a Christian who has been both strong in his faith and wavered to the point of near-atheism, this line hits home so strongly that...well...hell I ranked it as my top lyric of all time, right here!
2. This answer seems obvious, but One stands the test of time simply because it's a fantastic song. The vocals, the lyrics, the instrumentals...they're all perfect. The way Edge ends the song is fantastic, and one of his best endings. The strings-backed live version from 1995 took this great song and made it even better. Bono's lyrical implorement of God:
"You hear us coming, Lord
Hear us call
Hear us knocking
Knocking at your door
You hear us coming, Lord
Hear us call
Hear us scratching
Will you make us crawl?"
...is even better than Bono's add-on to With or Without You, which pales in comparison to this heartfelt lyric. All told - fantastic song. Timeless.
3. For a song that was written specifically for a movie, Stay is bloody terrific. Featuring some of Bono's best lyrics ever, it's a moving story of a girl who's had her life turned upside down by domestic violence. It's a rare U2 song in that it is actually addressing a girl and not the religiously ambiguous "you" that Bono so often uses. As I said - lyrically, it's the tops. That makes it rank as number 3. I wish they had done the song without the severe echo/reverb on the voice, however. Regardless - classic U2 song.
As you can probably tell - lyrics are a big part of what makes a song great to me. These 3 songs were all great musically, but what put them above other U2 songs, at least for me, were there phenomenal lyrics. IMO, Bono wrote his best lyrics between 1991 and 1993. His lyrics outside of this period have been good, and sometimes great, but he was at his most inspired/genius during this time. They're introspective and epic at the same time, and are the most poetic lyrics he's written. And that's all I've got to say. I turn it over to you.
And please - don't respond to my choices - choose your own songs and simply explain them. I don't want this thread turning into a 'You're wrong, I'm right' battle.
Cheers,
-Mike
1. Until the End of the World
2. One
3. Stay (Far Away, So Close!)
1. UTEOTW is U2's best song of the past 15 years, bar none. Lyrically, it may be their best work. It strikes the perfect balance between religious metaphor and universal meaning. It also has one of the best lines of any song, ever:
"I reached out for the one I tried to destroy."
I get a lump in my throat almost every time I hear that line. No joke. It's one of those perfect lyrics I think everyone wishes they wrote. And Bono wrote it. Bono is the man. That lyric not only encompasses the entire meaning of the song into a tiny 10-word package, but also connects with everyone of the Christian faith who has ever doubted or tried to deconstruct/'destroy' the God they've been raised to believe in. I can't speak for non-religious or non-Christians, but as a Christian who has been both strong in his faith and wavered to the point of near-atheism, this line hits home so strongly that...well...hell I ranked it as my top lyric of all time, right here!
2. This answer seems obvious, but One stands the test of time simply because it's a fantastic song. The vocals, the lyrics, the instrumentals...they're all perfect. The way Edge ends the song is fantastic, and one of his best endings. The strings-backed live version from 1995 took this great song and made it even better. Bono's lyrical implorement of God:
"You hear us coming, Lord
Hear us call
Hear us knocking
Knocking at your door
You hear us coming, Lord
Hear us call
Hear us scratching
Will you make us crawl?"
...is even better than Bono's add-on to With or Without You, which pales in comparison to this heartfelt lyric. All told - fantastic song. Timeless.
3. For a song that was written specifically for a movie, Stay is bloody terrific. Featuring some of Bono's best lyrics ever, it's a moving story of a girl who's had her life turned upside down by domestic violence. It's a rare U2 song in that it is actually addressing a girl and not the religiously ambiguous "you" that Bono so often uses. As I said - lyrically, it's the tops. That makes it rank as number 3. I wish they had done the song without the severe echo/reverb on the voice, however. Regardless - classic U2 song.
As you can probably tell - lyrics are a big part of what makes a song great to me. These 3 songs were all great musically, but what put them above other U2 songs, at least for me, were there phenomenal lyrics. IMO, Bono wrote his best lyrics between 1991 and 1993. His lyrics outside of this period have been good, and sometimes great, but he was at his most inspired/genius during this time. They're introspective and epic at the same time, and are the most poetic lyrics he's written. And that's all I've got to say. I turn it over to you.
And please - don't respond to my choices - choose your own songs and simply explain them. I don't want this thread turning into a 'You're wrong, I'm right' battle.
Cheers,
-Mike
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