What was going on in Bono's mind?

[Dorian Gray]

What was it about the mid-late 90s that produced some of Bono's darkest ever lyrics?

So much of Pop seems so black, so desperate, in terms of its lyrics and music. And, to a degere, I'd argue that Zooropa was just as bleak. Thinking back to songs like Mofo, Wake Up Dead Man, Gone, The Wanderer, Please, etc....

There's a real emptiness there, not quite a loss of faith, but certainly a questioning of it.

Does anyone know what was going with Bono/U2 at the time? The tolls of long-term touring? Loss of faith in the human spirit? Jaded by troubled times? (Sarajevo, N. Ireland, etc) What brought this on?

Please, I'd love to hear your thoughts...

 

[Gickies Gageeze]

real good question.

i think you hit on a few of the reasons why.

 

[gherman]

Good observation and I do have answers but I don't feel like sharing them just yet

 

[Dorian Gray]

Good observation and I do have answers but I don't feel like sharing them just yet

waiting to see what others think first?

 

[dizzy]

I think there was a lot of doubt going on in his mind. Stating the obvious here, but it was probably a sort of mid-life crisis in the band. Political goings on have definitely played a big factor, but since time immemorial, Bono, or U2 for that matter have always been affected by politics and current events, so there must've been a lot of turmoil going on in their personal lives at that time.

 

[dsmith2904]

I think a lot of U2's music in the '90s was affected by them becoming actual adults and all the realizations that come with being a 30-something as opposed to a teenager (which they were when they made Boy) and 20-somethings. It's like realizing your personal limitations and having to resign yourself to the fact that there are some things you can't change, you can't make better and having to live with that. Plus, Edge, Bono and Larry were all parents by the mid-'90s and that completely changes your outlook on things, as Bono said being a father made him angrier.

 

[verte76]

Political events in Ireland and perhaps elsewhere, and probably some personal problems. Even rock stars have personal problems. I read in one interview (I think it was in RS when RS voted them best band for 2000) where he called Pop and Zooropa "paranoid". Maybe it was the press.