Who wants to help me with my U2 paper?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

EmilyBono

The Fly
Joined
Nov 5, 2002
Messages
103
This paper is for my senior English essay (college). The class is about the decadence movement from the late 1800s. It deals a lot with artificiality and contradiction and our professor said we could write a paper about a contemporary translation of decadence, so I'm writing about U2 and the ZooTV tour :) Does anyone still have that huge list of the sayings from the screens @ the concerts? Also I am looking for literary connections w/ their music, mostly w/ Oscar Wilde. I know a lot of this stuff is in the books Into the Heart and U2 at the End of the World - and it sucks because I have to drive back home this weekend just to get the dumb books! But if anyone has any other ideas or connections between U2 and the ideas of artificiality, parody, and contradiction, your input would be much appreciated!
 
literary connections with music? salman rushdie was around U2 durin the zoo tv tour (in the london show he appeared on stage even with that jihad on his head (was it a jihad? anhoo..))

they put one of his powems to music, too 'the ground beneath her feet'
 
Does anyone still have that huge list of the sayings from the screens @ the concerts?

You mean these, right?

car/future/is/a/fantasy/wife/victim/rape/food/sexy/war/the/media/is/
the/antichrist/bloody/kids/trash/mom/frenzy/fish/colour/******/everyone/
is/a/racist/except/you/ABBA/beano/just/do/me/bomb/whore/ultimately/
japan/chaos/i/want/it/now/death/is/inevitable/superficiality is god/avoid
conflict/ ignorance is bliss/cry more often/make friends/it's the real thing/
consume later/do not accept what you cannot change/ change what you can not
accept/remember what you dream/watch more tv/ cancer/do you believe me?/
you/are/a/victim/of/your/parents/your/tv/your/environment/
you/are/a/victim/of/your/self/faust/snot/kiss/milton'keynes/spasm/valve/
king/missile/tease/dump/alien/taxi/ orgasm/crude/nazi/bird/lager/is/this/
all/we/get?/massive/bus/stop/ bondage/hammer/futon/you'll/never/
walk/alone/ghetto/baby/secret/fear/secret/boom/urge/earth/junk/stop/
urge/to/survive/what/did/the/first/punk/rock/girl/wear/to/your/school/ fear/a
secret is something you tell one other person/ciao/cola/ca/plain/
pour/moi/je/ne/regret/rein/radioactive/glockenspeil/una/paloma/ blanco/jack/the/
lad/ca/plain/fire/friendly/fire/friendly/fire/una/
paloma/blanca/hell/cola/ca/plain/pour/moi/je/ne/regret/rein/ole/
croissant/crepe/hole/ work/is/the/blackmail/of/survival/ole/
croissant/crepe/glockenspeil/ donner/blitzen/bon/appetit/fatty/cum/
i/want/it/now/death/is/ inevitable/i/want/it/now/gun/pussy/school/
i/want/to/charge/it/debt/doubt/hope/hype/fake/wear/it/debt/
doubt/hope/hype/fake/wear/a/condom/tread softly/we/are/a/victim/
of/the/malaise/candy/napalm/flower/ attitude/hospital/panic/you/
are/all/part/of/the/problem/beware of the bull/urge/i/love/you/urge/
survive/soul/bear/disease/caviar/glib/instant/attack/shatter/illusion/
nervous/peace/suicide/damage/heaven/a/nervous/peace/damage/ignorance is
piss/luxury/ignore/speed/indulge/why/recycle/lust/love/
boxer/left/right/solution/vote/who/cares/flag/survive/soul/country/
disease/caviar/hyprocrisy/be gentle with me/this is not a rehearsal/ talk to
strangers/you/enjoy the surface/you/have/the/right/to/remain/
silent/oohlala/let/me/hear/you/say/yeah/walk/don't walk/free/pizza/
free/market/free/gift/free/nelson mandela/free admission/ hello cruel
world/pork/blind/ufo/bonk/cop/violence/sex/god/die/junk/spit/brain/
curse/bark/that's entertainment/freedom/slavery/riot/fascist/pig/ scratch/my
pleasure/weekend/mozart/bark/jesus wept/angel/cardboard/
jelly/war/boy/drug/high/head/ache/nervous/vous/voulez/six/sex/
sox/sux/sax/666/999/emergency/zumhaus/go/trip/loop/word/becomes/
flesh/bang/boom/dust/dig/wow/paranoia/fuzz/greed/seed/feed/ walt disney/on
ice/ambition bites the nails of success/believe everything/ watch more
tv/i/love/you/tv/believe/lie/manipulation is art/you are not immune/ every artist
is a cannibal/arm the unemployed/celebrity is a job/ death is a career
move/zooropa/us/fear/awkward/mock the devil and he will flee from
thee/si/oui/nein/rebellion is packaged/nobody/move/
and/nobody/gets/hurt/plutonium/pulse/deterrent/waste/proliferate/
krypton/secret/warhead/fastbreeder/halflife/windscale/genetic/
electronwinter/dustbin/M.A.D./reprocess waste/contaminate/chill/mutant/
Sellafield/religion is a club/reject your weakness/contradiction is
balance/shalabalom/bruce/kevin/john/bits/monica/willie/carol/alice/
dave/26/mark/eamo/hubert/bronwen/ned/richard/davis/hugh/jeff/jay/
michael/nueg/vasula/be/dig/wow/paranoia/artist manipulation/fake/
you/are/a/victim/of/zumhaus/thisisabust/idliketoteachtheworldtosing/
guiltisnotofgod/silence=death/rock&rollisentertainment/
thepastisafantasy/pesticide/jean/de/florette/home/sweet/home/
angel/candy/weekend/mozart/weekend/star/judge/joke/star/
it'syourworldyoucanchangeit.
 
One theory is that Mysterious Ways is based on Oscar Wildes play Salome.

(U2 also composed a song called salome during the achtung baby sessions which didn't find it's way onto the album, but was released as a B side, the sessions show that the salome contains elements of the song that eventually became zoo station.)


Mysterious Ways refers to the holy spirit, 'she'll be there when you hit the ground'. (god will be there when you die)

Johnny take a walk with your sister in the rain - again refers to baptism & john the baptist

Let her talk about the things you can't explain - could refer to the holy spirit's connection with speaking in tongues.

For the entire transcript of the salome play, go here.

http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/subjects/salome/salome.html


The extract below is from the U2Mol (meaning of lyrics site)

The story in Mt 14.3-11 is about the death of St. John the Baptist. St. John is known as Jokanaan in Oscar Wilde's play, and simply as Johnny in U2's version.
The opening line of Mysterious Ways introduces us not only to Johnny, but to the moon. The moon plays a prominent role in Wilde's Salome. This detail is given only as minor evidence of the links between the works of U2 and Wilde.
Now, the "she" that is referred to in the song's title, verses, and choruses, is Salome, daughter of Herodias, princess of Judea. In the biblical story, and the play, Herodias' husband, Herod, promises Salome anything if she will dance for him. Salome dances, and then demands St. John's head on a platter.
A quick summary of points connecting U2 with Wilde:
The "underground" that Johnny lives in is representative of the cistern in which he was kept in Salome.
Johnny running away from what he doesn't understand, love, echoes Jokanaan's refusal of Salome's advances in Wilde's play.
 
Back
Top Bottom