UNOS dos tres CATORCE

[crashpoets]

Alright... I have been asked this by a lot by people.. mostly
non-u2 fans... Question being:
1. Why 'UNOS'? In spanish you dont pluralize the number one, it doesnt make sense (as said by a spanish friend of mine). They also go on to ask if it is a mistake or if Bono just doesnt know spanish very well...
2. CATORCE? why are they jumping to 14?
Heck I dunno, people are asking me as if I know the answer to everything and perhaps everything doesnt have an answer!
BUT if anyone believes to have an answer.. by all means.. share.

 

[U2Kitten]

Look at the bottom of this page under similar threads, this is at least the 10th thread to ask this.

The answer is that Steve Lillywhite produced the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and fourteenth U2 albums.

You know, I saw a story on this in my paper the other day and all the theories were wrong. They should come here.

 

[ultrraviolette]

I personally don't think there is any special reason, it certainly gets your attention though & I think the boys are just having a bit of fun with it.

 

[one4u2]

ultrraviolette great avatar and signature!! How'd ya do it? I need a sig like that!

 

[TheBrazilianFly]

The answer is that Steve Lillywhite produced the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and fourteenth U2 albums.

Are you sure of that?


I think it's more of a punk rock thing but done in a U2 way. In the early 90's James (from Metallica) used to count Whiplash in different ways, like: 1, 5, 2, 9, 8. Then in the mid 90's he started counting it in Danish, sounds pretty cool.

 

[salim117]

Look at the bottom of this page under similar threads, this is at least the 10th thread to ask this.

The answer is that Steve Lillywhite produced the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and fourteenth U2 albums.

You know, I saw a story on this in my paper the other day and all the theories were wrong. They should come here.

Actually in the intreview U2 did with KROCK last week, Bono mentioned that the 1,2,3 was in reference to the bands first EP which had 3 songs in it. He also mentioned that Stories for Boys had a Vertigo reference.

 

[BonoFox1]

When I first heard the count down, I thought it was cute and funny, being Latin I know that *gringos* like to mess with the language and it's ok!...Take Terminator 2..When John Conner says *No Problemo* (no problem) The correct way in Spanish is
*No hay problema!* or when non-latins say *uno momento* (one moment) that is incorrect, you should say *un momento*...
I could go on but you get the idea...I just just thought Bono was being funny, and that they use Spanish through out the song is just FAB!..
If the reason for the 1-2-3-14 has a diffrent reason then so be it! I still like it!

 

[ultrraviolette]

ultrraviolette great avatar and signature!! How'd ya do it? I need a sig like that!

Hi there

I made my sig and the bono devil animated thingy. I have this animation program that I know how to do some things with haha. If you want, PM with what pic you'd like, any quote, your name or anything else and I can make one for you

 

[UnforgettableLemon]

Anybody notice that, in the live versions, Bono has been correcting himself on the "uno/unos" thing?

 

[TheBrazilianFly]

Anybody notice that, in the live versions, Bono has been correcting himself on the "uno/unos" thing?

Yeah, but I don't think that means anything. Plus he said "Unos" on the Top Of The Pop performance.

 

[UnforgettableLemon]

Yeah, but I don't think that means anything. Plus he said "Unos" on the Top Of The Pop performance.

That was a while back, though. My guess is someone has pointed it out to him, and he's trying to get it right. Either way, the only version most people are ever going to hear is the erroneous one.

 

[Macfistowannabe]

I think the Uno, Dos, Tres, Catorce symbolizes the confusion of the singer. You guys should check out This Thread for a great description, much more elaborated than mine. Although some think it has something to do with working with Steve Lillywhite. I like to think it has something to do with Bono's state of vertigo expressed in the beginning of it.

PS: Glad you Spanish speaking fans find our Spanish speaking errors funny rather than offensive.

 

[U2utah2U]

Hey,

I posted a thread a few days ago about Bono's attempt at Spanish from the Radio 1 interview with Jo Wiley.

http://forum.interference.com/t104099.html

Of course the other Spanish speakers will realize that this is not Spanish at all.

Oh, and has anybody put the bits of Spanish on Vertigo as an allusion to the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" (In case you don't know, I think on the last verse and chorus, the band is repeating the lyrics in Spanish. [Debo ir o quedarme] Pretty cool if you ask me.)

 

[UnforgettableLemon]

Oh, and has anybody put the bits of Spanish on Vertigo as an allusion to the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" (In case you don't know, I think on the last verse and chorus, the band is repeating the lyrics in Spanish. [Debo ir o quedarme] Pretty cool if you ask me.)

Indeed. What a brilliant song. It's helped me retain the little bit of four semesters of Spanish I can remember.

 

[BonoFox1]

PS: Glad you Spanish speaking fans find our Spanish speaking errors funny rather than offensive.

Errors like these are fine, I love to teach Spanish to anyone who is willing to learn.....My dream is to teach Bono private Spanish lessons
When he recited the Mothers of the Dissapeared lyrics in Spanish, I thought he did and excellent job!..I was so impressed, he did mess up on the word *lluvia* (rain) but it is a reasonable mistake because the double ll is pronounced like a Y....anyway...enough lessons for now.

 

[TheBrazilianFly]

Oh, and has anybody put the bits of Spanish on Vertigo as an allusion to the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go?" (In case you don't know, I think on the last verse and chorus, the band is repeating the lyrics in Spanish. [Debo ir o quedarme] Pretty cool if you ask me.)

Yes, I had pointed that ou in the past. That's one of the reasons why I say it's a punk rock thing.

 

[RademR]

it's a line that the u2 haters take shots at, but it's those same haters that when u2 put out a politcal song, they say "here we go again, why can't u2 just lighten up and have fun?"

 

[Aardvark747]

it's a line that the u2 haters take shots at, but it's those same haters that when u2 put out a politcal song, they say "here we go again, why can't u2 just lighten up and have fun?"

Agree. I have a lot of friends who dont really like U2, and enjoy telling me frequently how cheesy the "Turn it up loud/thar Captain" bit at the start is....