ULTRAVIOLET (LIGHT MY WAY)

[spanisheyes]

The other morning while all alone at home, and playing Achtung Baby very, very loud (which, by the way, is the only way to play U2) I was playing just 3 song before heading out to work: Zoo Station, Ultraviolet (Light My Way), and Acrobat. Before the beginning of Ultraviolet begin to reveberate through my speakers, I closed my eyes and experienced something I'd never experienced before, a visual imagery, that made this song even more powerful than it has always been for me.

At the moment I closed my eyes, I imagined myself in a dark, callous room, and all around I felt the presence of people, but they didn't speak, and yet, I felt their words, words of jealously, words of rejection, and it tore at the core of my being. At the same time gorgeous strings began to play and grow in intensity, and suddenly, a beautiful voice, like the voice of an angel begin to sing these word, which confused me at first because the words seemed foreign, but then the reality hit me that the words that were being sung were coming from somewhere deep inside of me...

"Sometimes I feel like I don't know
Sometimes I feel like checkin' out
I want to get it wrong
Can't always be strong
And love it won't be long..."

I felt ashamed, and yet defensive at the hearing of these words, and yet they haunted me, and it was at this moment that I no longer felt the strong presence of many, but only one, moving mysteriously through the others, and I knew instantly that it was the presence of a woman, a lover, a wife...and even though I couldn't see her, I felt her tears sting me, her hurt pierce me. Then suddenly, and with out warning, a bombastic symphony of instruments crashed my awful reality, and my heart started to resonate these balming words...

"Oh sugar, don't you cry
Oh child, wipe the tears from your eyes
You know I need you to be strong
And the day is as dark as the night is long
Feel like trash, you make me feel clean
I'm in the black, can't see or be seen"

Immediately upon ending, a breath of love fell on my face, as the presence of the lover grew ever closer, and why would I know it to be love, because the fear and shame I felt all at once begin to subside as her breath matched the warmth of her touch against my hand...again a voice deep inside of me whispered...

"Baby, baby, baby...light my way
(alright now)
Baby, baby, baby...light my way"

As she faced me, and still too dark to see, she took her other hand and begin to lightly run it against my face, tenderly, almost maternal in its desire to communicate to my wounded, restless spirit. She knew I knew her story, that her once hurts had long ago surrendered to love, and so again I felt this need to express myself, all the while these alluring rhythms and seductive, warm beats carried me...

"You bury your treasure
Where it can't be found
But your love is like a secret
That's been passed around
There is a silence that comes to a house
Where no one can sleep
I guess it's the price of love
I know it's not cheap"

I extended my hands in a pleading manner, the overwhelming sense that I needed the illumination she was offering, to see things more clearly, to escape the reasoning that had brought me to this dark place, a place to which I had become so accustomed to...

"(oh, come on)
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
(oh, come on)
Baby, baby, baby...light my way"

How easy it seems to sing these words, to sing of something so familiar, something in front of me...but what did I mean "that she buries her treasure, where it can't be found...were these words the mirror translucent...revealing the need for illumination beyond the visible, in the secret places that speak to me of tearing myself in two...an illumination that seers into my consciousness that to tear myself in two is to also tear my lover from our oneness...

"Oh...ultraviolet...
Ultraviolet...
Ultraviolet...
Ultraviolet...
Baby, baby, baby...light my way"

Her touch also light my subconscious with memories of uninhibited days and nights, unended moments and lingered times when nothing could tear us apart, when I felt safe in her...even when I didn't feel safe living in me...

"I remember
When we could sleep on stones
Now we lie together
In whispers and moans
When I was all messed up
And I had opera in my head
Your love was a light bulb
Hanging over my bed"

Where do we go from here, did I really go anywhere, did I make promises without the understanding what light can consistently bring to the surface, and not just light, but ultraviolet light...in my mind I have gone a thousand places, some beautiful, some dangerously close to loosing it all...but she takes me by the hand and we tread again on this promise land, not because I need to, but simply because I need her...like today, "when I'm in the black, can't see or be seen."...

"Baby, baby, baby...light my way
(oh, come on)
Baby, baby, baby...light my way

Ultraviolet...

Baby, baby, baby...
Baby, baby, baby...
Baby, baby, baby...light my way

Baby, baby, baby...light my way"

Opening my eyes...the calming sound of The Edge, Larry, and Adam's instruments lingering in my head wake me back to reality...and that angelic voice screaming for redemption is no longer at a crossroads, the bridge has been crossed, but has it been burned by the fires of love?, time will tell...and her?...she is still moving in mysterious ways in me, through me, all around me.

Chris




[This message has been edited by spanisheyes (edited 10-18-2001).]

 

[Autumn454]

I love that song, on a dark lonely but fast paced highway at night. Great observations!

------------------
*many dreams come true, and some have silver linings. I live for my dream, and a pocketfull of gold*
-Led Zeppelin

 

[SkeeK]

That was awesome!

I really like reading stuff like this.. it really makes me feel the song. it also is a good source of inspiration for my art project

 

[unforgettableFOXfire]

This song makes my world go round...

Ahhhh so relaxing... I love it.

 

[follower]

SkeeK, it?s amazing, I was thinking exactly the same while reading Chris?s essay, it?s like a painting, he?s painting the song, and what the song means to him. It?s not the usual lyrics analisys we?re used to read, it?s more than that, it?s like recalling a dream.

Chris,

Congrats, awesome work dear, I?m looking forward to read more about your ideas on your fave songs. You have a gift.

 

[SkeeK]

Originally posted by follower:
SkeeK, it?s amazing, I was thinking exactly the same while reading Chris?s essay, it?s like a painting, he?s painting the song, and what the song means to him. It?s not the usual lyrics analisys we?re used to read, it?s more than that, it?s like recalling a dream.

Exactly!! Because that is what I am trying to do, but actually in paint. Unfortunately, always the pessimist, I don't think I can capture the songs in paint the way Chris does in words.

 

[Mirrorball Girl]

That was awesome, Chris. I hope you do this for more songs!

------------------
"Those U2 songs, they seem to have a lot of big feelings in them."
--Bono, Details interview

"He...never...shuts...up."
--Sheila Roche, on Bono

"don't let go, you've got the music in you..."

 

[spanisheyes]

And I must be an acrobat To talk like this And act like that And you can dream So dream out loud And you can find Your own way out You can build And I can will And you can call
I can't wait until You can stash And you can seize In dreams begin Responsibilities And I can love And I can love And I know that the tide is turning 'round So don't let the bastards grind you down...What at Perfect song to follow Ultraviolet.

Chris

 

[Swan269]

The little thing I love about ultraviolet is when you can hear Larry lose his drumstick. I always thought that this was a part of the song and not a mistake that they decided to keep in the track. It sounds very cool to me without it.

 

[Crzy4Bono]

Chris,
You should just cut and paste this straight into your book!

------------------
She's gonna dream up a world she wants to live in / She's gonna dream out loud.
Visit my web page at www.u2page.com

 

[spanisheyes]

I'm in a broken dream I stare out into space.
You know I called you up cos nothing takes your place.
I've got a heart of stone and it's sinking deep inside.
I want to tell you love I'm too proud to cry.

If you can see the lights shine in front of me.
If you can see the lights shout out where you'll be.
Summers gone and I can tell you lies
Oh forgive me love I'm too proud to cry.

Chris

 

[follower]

Originally posted by SkeeK:
Unfortunately, always the pessimist, I don't think I can capture the songs in paint the way Chris does in words.

Don't be pessimistic SkeeK, it's not good for your health

I bet you can do it. As for myself, I can only admire the ability of people like Chris and you, I have no talent when art is concerned, any form of art.
But I have good taste on music

 

[SkeeK]

This song is utterly and completely amazing. I am just listening to it, and it's like it's speaking directly to me.

 

[shaun vox]

just wondering who went back to serch this thred caus its an old one

do you guys do this ? love the song though.

------------------
"BONO'S PRAYER HEAVENS AIR"

Dont believe the devil i dont believe his book.

 

[follower]

We can see that it was SkeeK who brought this thread to the top again, the boy has good taste.

Now I?m feeling like listening to Ultraviolet again!

------------------
"To me a rock and roll concert is 3-D, it?s a physical thing - it?s rhythm for the body. It?s a mental thing in that it should be intellectually challenging. But it?s also a spiritual thing, because it?s a community, it?s people agreeing on something, even if it?s only for an hour and a half." (Bono, as quoted in the book U2 The Road to Pop)

Brasil is the country of the future. And it will always be that way...(my translation of a popular saying)

 

[dougal55]

Hey!

Just wanna add something about Ultraviolet.....

If you can hark back to the days of that now famous Zoo TV tour, I went to see U2 in Earls Court. In that concert, I was dancing and listening to the music like any normal U2 fan when suddenly out of the blue...The Edge played the first chords of Ultraviolet while a video screen flickered to life and showed, to my utter disbelief, a lady using sign language to "sing" the song. I immediately stopped dancing and stared at it throughout the whole song. The reason I was stunned is that Im partially deaf and use sign language a lot here in UK while I can listen to the music very well.

Not only that, I also happen to have met the very lady who did that, her name, Rachel Bastikar is credited on the Zoo TV programme. She used to present a TV programme for the Deaf here in UK. Brian Eno spotted her on TV one day and called the TV studios and asked for her, the only problem was that he didnt know her name so it was through a description of her that the TV studios found out who he was talking about...

Anyway back to the concert itself, I loved the way she signed the song as it was giving visual meaning to the song, you know what I mean? I might be biased but I thought it was brilliantly done and I was so happy about it! So not only Chris had done wonderfully well with his story, Rachel has given it another dimension to the song Ultraviolet through sign language.....I saw it again during Zooropa in UK and I have Rachel a few times, she's a lovely lady and she got a free U2 tour t-shirt along with tickets to Earls Court gig for her efforts!

Another thing....when I met Bono at Wembley during Zooropa tour, when he was just signing autographs and hearing comments like "thanks for a great show" etc etc, I actually personally thanked him for showing sign language on the show. He stopped, looked up to me and asked "Do you like it?" I said "Yes" and he replied "Thats great" with his right thumb up. A week later, I met him again and he decided to sign my picture with the words "Chris, Your da man, Bono" with a small cowboy pic at bottom.....I will never forget that and it shows what a great guy he is.....

Anyway enough from me so in conclusion I just wanna thank spanisheyes for reminding me about how great the song is....

cheers

dougal

 

[follower]

So dougal, your name is Chris as well? It?s a beautiful name you both have.

I just wanna say I found very moving what you wrote above. Stories like these reminds me how blessed we are for having U2 and their songs in our lives, helping us to overcome our problems and difficult times. Thanks for posting, I?ve never heard of sign language in U2 concerts.

------------------
"To me a rock and roll concert is 3-D, it?s a physical thing - it?s rhythm for the body. It?s a mental thing in that it should be intellectually challenging. But it?s also a spiritual thing, because it?s a community, it?s people agreeing on something, even if it?s only for an hour and a half." (Bono, as quoted in the book U2 The Road to Pop)

Brasil is the country of the future. And it will always be that way...(my translation of a popular saying)

 

[spanisheyes]

Wow...I was shocked to see this thread back from the dead this morning, but also pleased since this is such a great song that has moved many fans in this forum. I also was pleased to read what I felt that day, and the inspiration that moved me to write these words, and I felt that I justified the song, and took nothing away from it.

Chris

------------------
"That's what's happening to U2 on tour in the United States at the moment - we're just a conduit for all this joy and hope and despair and it's all coming out - People say, 'Oh, Rock and Roll is great - just takes people's minds off of it' - No. That is not our job. Our job is to take people's minds through it." --Bono's take on the Elevation Tour since 9/11

 

[dougal55]

Follower....

Thanks for your kind words! and yes we are very blessed to have U2 and their songs in our lives.....

dougal

 

[Lemonator]

Where in the song deos Larry drop his drumstick? Is it at the very end?