Lights of Home
- Thread starter Scorpionac
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Rachel D.
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
What statue of a gold guitar is Bono talking about?
gweeps
War Child
I've come around to the strings version. They add menace. I think it should be on the album proper instead.
I'm curious about that as well.
I thought for a minute that his bike accident, being in Central Park (?), left him lying in front of one of the many gold or bronze looking statues lying around. Or something to do with the Rock n Roll hall of fame, some sort gold guitar retirement trophy, or the Hard Rock Cafe.. didn't really come up with anything.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
This is the song that has really shot up the rankings for me. Both the message and structure of the song. I love the restraint from holding back from a big anthemic chorus as well. You can just sense the raw emotion. Nothing is forced.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
OP
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Scorpionac
War Child
Rachel D.
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
womanfish
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
Agreed. I just redid my SOE tracklisting and I can’t separate these two songs. Love is All with the imagery of Bono laying in a near death type state, looking down on himself and the other 7 billion stars inhabiting the earth from above. His body wanting to stay but in this world “ but you knew better”
Then into Lights of Home - “shouldn’t be here, cause I should be dead - I can see the lights in front of me... “
it just works as a pairing.
Here is the track listing I came up with, and it flows
nicely IMO.
1. Love is All
2. Lights of Home (St. Peters String)
3. The Blackout
4. Get Out
5. American Soul
6. Summer of Love
7. Love is Bigger
8. You’re the best Thing
9. Red Flag Day
10. Book of Your Heart
11. Landlady
12. Little Things
13. 13
I also had thought that getting a good whack to the head sends a splash of light to your eyes as well.
The song vacillates between just saying 'lights in front of me' and 'lights of home'. They're not necessarily the same thing. I hear both a sort of warmth and yearning - lights of a house, or lights of heaven, or light at the end of a tunnel - and a sort of fear, a danger - lights of the ambulance, the hospital, the near death experience, the shot to the head.
"One more push" also splits the meaning too - like he's a cat who's on his last life, and one more shot and he'll be in heaven. Or one more push of a mother to birth her child 'into the light of home'.
That's why this song perfectly follows Love is All We Have Left, where he sings, "A baby cries on the doorstep".
cseggleton
War Child
Strings sounded pretty epic live at BBC.
hasin73
Refugee
TinKnight
Refugee
Lights of Home with strings is so good. Why is this band incapable of putting the good version of songs on albums.
womanfish
Rock n' Roll Doggie ALL ACCESS
agreed. it totally changes the whole front end of the album for me. What great change in the tracklisting to put the string version in.
Why you ask? Remember - this is the same band that released Boots and Miracle as first singles, keep pushing American Soul, played AS and Get out on SNL, put yet one more remix of Ordinary Love on this album, left Book of Your Heart off SOE and left Crystal Ballroom off SOI... The list goes on...
baffling stuff.
The BBC version combines the best parts of the album and strings versions.
The album track is still better than the bonus track, though.
The album track is still better than the bonus track, though.
LemonMirrorSky
War Child
I don't know if anybody brought this up. I haven't skimmed the thread. But the intro to this song instantly reminded me of Soundgarden for whatever goddamn reason. Music can create funny associations sometimes. Great song anyway. One of the best on the album!
super fly guy
New Yorker
The opening riff on the album version kicks the album into gear after love is all we have left. I prefer it over the string version as well.
dazzledbylight
Blue Crack Supplier
It's like The Bass of DoomAdam's bass during the second verse.
Yeah, that was/is amazing, so raw! He said (liner notes) he had to fight to get his faith back to the level he'd had since childhood.
THIS
It's such intense, sublime song, and that chorus is like coming out of a storm in a plane and breaking into sunlight, clear sky above. But that chord change (I heard/felt it immediately) - was like transcendence. So many of you have pointed out such great things about this amazing song.
Oh, yes, Album for me. And I think the Strings version is excellent. Makes it into an urgent "movie score" experience for me.
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Reggie Thee Dog
Blue Crack Addict
I think this is the BEST song on this album...
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
It's like The Bass of Doom
Yeah, that was/is amazing, so raw! He said (liner notes) he had to fight to get his faith back to the level he'd had since childhood.
THIS
It's such intense, sublime song, and that chorus is like coming out of a storm in a plane and breaking into sunlight, clear sky above. But that chord change (I heard/felt it immediately) - was like transcendence. So many of you have pointed out such great things about this amazing song.
...and this is why it really doesn't belong in the #2 slot. This kind of moment has much more power at the album's conclusion.
dazzledbylight
Blue Crack Supplier
I could see that, laz
brooklynmike
Refugee
Holy shit, I finally got around to hearing the BBC version. THAT was awesome.
I'm torn between the two versions on the album. I love the strings version because as someone said earlier it adds menace. However sometimes I get the Transiberian Railroad Christmas sound in my head and it just annoys me. The other version is is lighter but isn't a moving force.
Thematically it works after Love Is All We Have Left, but the vibe set from track 1 is lovely sets me in a mood for more of that or a progression of that. I'm floating through the stars in space and suddenly I'm walking a desert trail in Arizona. It's like putting Trip Through Your Wires after Zooropa.
I'm torn between the two versions on the album. I love the strings version because as someone said earlier it adds menace. However sometimes I get the Transiberian Railroad Christmas sound in my head and it just annoys me. The other version is is lighter but isn't a moving force.
Thematically it works after Love Is All We Have Left, but the vibe set from track 1 is lovely sets me in a mood for more of that or a progression of that. I'm floating through the stars in space and suddenly I'm walking a desert trail in Arizona. It's like putting Trip Through Your Wires after Zooropa.
AtomicHorizon
The Fly
- Joined
- Dec 3, 2017
- Messages
- 52
Both versions of the song are tremendous! However, after almost two months of listens, the strings version is my favorite. It adds a dramatic tension that is a welcome addition. The Haim riff is very good, but it cannot beat real strings. However, I believe U2 chose the album version because they knew they would play this song every night on tour and did not have any intentions of bringing along an orchestra every night. My custom album playlist will include the strings version of Lights of Home as well as the single version of Get Out minus Kendrick's sermon.
However, after almost two months of listens, the strings version is my favorite. It adds a dramatic tension that is a welcome addition. The Haim riff is very good, but it cannot beat real strings. However, I believe U2 chose the album version because they knew they would play this song every night on tour and did not have any intentions of bringing along an orchestra every night. My custom album playlist will include the strings version of Lights of Home as well as the single version of Get Out minus Kendrick's sermon.
CosmoKramer
Rock n' Roll Doggie
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2004
- Messages
- 3,325
Both versions of the song are tremendous!
I’m with you: Strings version>>Album Version
Rachel D.
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
This is my favorite song on the album, and it’s on there twice! Even better!
TheGeekyU2Fan
War Child
Though I love both versions, I feel like the original version is better. I love that piano during the chorus.
ImOuttaControl
Refugee
The more time I have with the album, the more I find myself putting the strings version in the #2 slot. It's not that I don't like the final album cut, it just lacks the drama and the menace of the strings version. For a song about such a dramatic experience, an acoustic guitar riff just doesn't cut it for me and it really kills the atmosphere coming out of Love is All We Have Left. As another poster said, it's like hearing Trip Through Your Wires after Zooropa.
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