New York is the worst dong Bono ever wrote
New York, in my book, is completely irredeemable. Bono can't claim naivete, as he could in earlier songs, such as Shadows and Tall Trees. What Mrs. Brown's washing has to do with, I'm afraid I'll never know. But New York is awful. It's horrifyingly self-conscious and cheesy. It's rather depressing because I think the music is wonderful. But come on:
"The Irish have been coming here for years
Feel like they own the place
They got the airport, city hall, concrete, asphalt, they even got the police
Irish, Italians, Jews and Hispanics, religious nuts, political fanatics in the stew
Living happily not like me and you
That's where I lost you"
Lost who? And why aren't we happy? He's got two threads going on here, his own perspective and the history of the city. Unfortunately, they don't mesh well.
"In New York I lost it all to you and your vices
Still I'm staying on to figure out my midlife crisis
I hit an iceberg in my life but you know I'm still afloat
You lose your balance, lose your wife in the queue for the lifeboat
You gotta put the women and children first
But you've got an unquenchable thirst for New York"
Does anyone know what he's talking about? Okay, mid-life crisis...I thought he went through that four years ago with Pop. What iceburg does he mean, is this some Titanic reference? He really needs to be more clear about what he's getting at. There almost seems to be no point to the song except for some bittersweet nostalgaic thing that I fear may have to do with Sinatra's version. He bellows 'New York,' but I can't see why.
Maybe I'm being too critical, but I also really don't like Wild Honey. Somebody wrote a thread about Wild Irish Rose, which has always been one of their most intriguing songs, in my opinion. I think Bono should have done something with that rather than explore the realm of monkeys in trees. Wild Irish Rose is a much better image.
On the whole, however, I think Bono's lyrics are genuinely original and beautiful, if not always lucid. They show the listener his soul, and that's the most any fan can ask.
Jen