Lent Day 20 - U2SDAY - The Under-Appreciated Songs

Happy Pi Day! We take Pi Day seriously round these parts. We had chicken pot pie for dinner. For dessert, we had homemade strawberry pie, apple pie, and key lime cream cheese pie. We also had cherry and blueberry from the store. That’s what you get with a family of nerds! Now, I’m not going to be writing about pie or pi. Since it is Tuesday, we have U2SDAY! I’m very excited because Friday will see the release of U2’s mega-collection Songs of Surrender. I will probably listen to it 872 times by next week, so I will be able to present my thoughts next week for U2SDAY. Oh, we are at the halfway mark on this writing project! With the exception of those two days when I was dead, I’ve managed to do something every day. Pretty exciting. 

Today, I’m going to tackle the topic of U2 songs that I feel are under-appreciated. I have eight songs that I have grown to love over the years that are not the biggest U2 hits. They are played a lot, but not on non-U2 stations. So, full disclosure: I listen to the U2 station on SiriusXM about half of the time in the car. I listen to a bunch of other stations, too, but the U2 one is the one I stop on a lot. Of these songs, I believe I have heard two on other stations - be it a mix station, a decades-based station, or a “classic rock” station (which, disturbingly, is where all of the music I listened to in high school and college is now relegated). I hear all of these on the U2 station, though. This isn’t a list of deep cuts or anything; it is a list of songs that I feel should have gotten more attention than they did. In selecting this list, I did not pick any of the big U2 hits. That means I automatically eliminated:

• Where the Streets Have No Name
• With or Without You
• I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
• Pride (in the Name of Love)
• 40
• New Year’s Day
• Sunday Bloody Sunday
• One
• Vertigo
• Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own
• Stuck in a Moment
• Beautiful Day
• Walk On
• Mysterious Ways
• Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me

If the song is on the album 18 Singles, then it can’t be under-appreciated. These are all pretty big hits that get more than their fair share of plays. There are also another couple dozen songs that get the right amount of play. They are in decent rotation on the U2 channel. They pop up once in a while on something else. So they get the attention they deserve.

This is also not a list of my favorite U2 songs, although a lot of these are also on that list. It would be really tough to actually come up with a list of my favorite U2 songs - I think that list varies depending on the day. It also changes over time, and that isn’t just because new stuff comes out. There are some songs that can wear out their welcome - no matter how good they are. I love Adele. I think her music is brilliant. But I have a really hard time keeping “Hello” on any more. It got played … to … death. That’s why some of the biggest U2 hits wouldn’t be on my favorite songs list. So, basically, the first four on the above list. I think they are all great songs. But I’m just kind of tired of them. I usually switch past them when they come on.

This list is eight songs that SHOULD have been huge hits, but that were either moderate hits or not hits at all. I keep saying eight, but you’ll notice only seven spots. There is a reason for it, which you will discover when you get to the fifth entry. These are not in any particular order other than the order they popped in my head. 

Electrical Storm - (The Best of 1990-2000s) - This song is brilliant. The concept is that there is a couple that is struggling. The struggle has been building and building, and there is eventually going to be some kind of rupture. Mirroring that is a storm outside. Just like the couple’s inevitable break, the rumbling storm eventually has to explode. When you read the lyrics with that set up, the genius shines through. The song itself builds too to it denouement. The couple hopes that they can salvage what they have. “If the sky can crack there must be some way back to love and only love.” It is sad and beautiful. This theme of couples decoupling or thinking about separating pops up quite a bit in U2’s music - ironic, since the guys don’t have a lot of breakups to point to. But even the strongest relationships have their rough patches. It is easy to picture a couple frustrated, misunderstood, and angry lying in bed listening to the storm raging outside, hoping they can fix things but unsure if that is possible. 

Crumbs From Your Table - (How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb) - I am a big fan of U2’s commitment to social justice. I also appreciate their willingness to confront institutions about their lack of compassion or willingness to help others. The gents have a religious background and still value their faith, but they aren’t afraid to call out the church when it needs it. This song is probably directed more at governments, but it fits perfectly into an all-too-familiar criticism of the modern church too. It is a devastating song. “Would you deny for others what you demand for yourself?” Bang. Right out of the gate. Calling out the duplicitous nature of those in power. The chorus is where I get the impression this is as much for the church as for any other group in power. “You speak of signs and wonders, But I need something other. I would believe if I was able, But I'm waiting on the crumbs from your table.” Oof. Like I said, devastating. Definitely a call back to Jesus’ ministry where He knew that people wouldn’t listen if their needs weren’t being met. Oh wait, it gets better. “With a mouth full of teeth, You ate all your friends. And you broke every heart thinking every heart mends.” Please Bono, don’t hurt ‘em. What a picture. I’ve been there, chewed up and spit out by people who were supposed to be on my side. “Whereyou live should not decide whether you live or whether you die.” Oh, man. That line is followed up by the picture of a orphanage where kids sleep three to a bed and are robbed of any dignity. I’ve been in a lot of mission weeks and evangelism emphasis weeks and other emotionally manipulative events. Save time; play that song for people. If you can get through that without a stab in your heart, you might not have one. 

Every Breaking Wave - (Songs of Experience) - Here comes another song about a couple with issues. Do yourself a favor: if you go to listen to this, find the acoustic version. There are a couple of version of the acoustic take - one is just a piano, one has some strings with it. Either of those works. It is heartbreaking. Bono himself when he introduces the song in a concert says he doesn’t know what happens to this couple; he hopes they made it.  This song treats the breakup as inevitable like the tides. One partner doesn’t want that to happen, but they feel helpless as the other drifts away. Whether it is out of fear or something missing, the gap widens. “If you go Your way and I go mine, Are we so, Are we so helpless against the tide?” The one person wants to fight the tide, wants to convince the other they aren’t helpless. “You know where my heart is The same place that yours has been. We know that we fear to win  And so we end before we begin.” Bono really delivers on the song, pouring desperation into his voice as the song builds. They could have something beautiful, but they are afraid of what that looks like, so they pull away. It is another beautifully painful song that we all can relate to. 

Kite - (All That You Can’t Leave Behind) - As a parent, I have grown to love this song. It is written from the point of view of a parent letting, helping, urging their child to leave the nest and head out. There is the dual feelings of excitement to see what they will do, and the sadness of knowing they have to leave to do it. The picture of a kite, blown around and buffeted by the wind, is a powerful one. With two now-adult children, I feel this so strongly. I want them to become the wonderful people I know they can be, but I’m also not ready to let them go. In a cruel twist of fate, I have to encourage them to do the very thing I don’t want them to do - leave. “I want you to know That you don't need me anymore. I want you to know You don't need anyone, anything at all.” The pain of having to tell a child they don’t need you - that same child who has ALWAYS needed you. The song acknowledges that the parent doesn’t know what is going to happen. There will be struggle; there will be pain. But it is necessary. And the parent will always be there - just watching from a distance. When my oldest graduated from high school, this song played often in my head. And those weren’t tears; it was dusty in the room. 

Song for Someone / 13 - (Songs of Innocence / Songs of Experience) - Here is why there are eight songs and seven slots. Just like the band released twin albums, there is a song on each of those albums that are tied together. “Song for Someone” was the first entry; “13” incorporates lines and musical themes from its sibling. The first song was written from the point of view of a new relationship. It touches on the fears and confusion of becoming a couple - with even a little religious symbolism included. It is a beautiful song, and one that anyone who has been in a relationship can relate to. “13”fast forwards to about the same place as where “Kite” is. That couple did indeed make it. Now they are facing their child who is about to go out into the world. The big scary dark complicated world. “I know the world is dumb, but you don’t have to be.” Haha. Love it. Yes, the world is stupid. People make stupid hateful harmful decisions. My kids look at the world and wish they could stay small forever. I don’t blame them! “Are you tough enough to be kind?” It is going to be a challenge to live in the right way, but it is possible. And “darkness gathers around the light.” Things will get better. We are the way it gets better. What a powerful lesson to pass on to our kids. I love how the two songs bring the relationship all the way around. Instead of a song for his special someone (future spouse), it is a song for the special child. Amazing. 

Love Rescue Me - (Rattle and Hum) - co-written by Bob Dylan - I know this does pop up from time to time on the radio. It just should be played more often. It comes from Rattle and Hum, which is awesome in and of itself. Live albums shouldn’t introduce new music, right? Yet, here U2 goes. Sliding this gem right in there. Oh, co-written by Bob Dylan? Sure, why not? No biggie. This roller coaster of starts before love has rescued the singer. He is fearful and ashamed and self-destructive. The song builds as he begins to see things differently. The fear he used to feel he no longer feels. The band is joined by a horn section as Bono releases the full power of a voice passed down from his opera-singing father. When it appears done, instead a soft endnote allows the singer to proclaim that he has left the ruins of his past and is entering a new bright world. It is an incredibly beautiful picture. The religious overtones are hardly accidental - the lyrics quote a large section of Psalm 23 verbatim. I can’t help but be swayed every time I hear this piece. 

Love is Bigger Than Everything in Its Way - (Songs of Experience) - This song also does get some radio play, but I think it should have been a massive hit. In U2 Live at the Apollo, Bono says this song is more than just a song - it is a promise. I hope he is right. This is another entry in the “parent talking to a child about to head out” genre. In this, the band is encouraging their offspring to change the world. “Write a world where we can belong to each other and sing it like no other.” Maybe it shouldn’t fall onto the next generation’s shoulders. Maybe it isn’t fair that they have had to experience so many terrible things. But even in the midst of all of the messes, there is the hope that love is bigger. It is bigger than prejudice, ignorance, hate. It is bigger than politics or economics or denominations. It is bigger than everything in its way. We just need to keep moving forward and fighting because love is bigger. I have found myself holding onto this song more and more over the last few years. The pandemic. The fractures in the US. The political minefield. This song reminds me of 1 Corinthians 13 - the great chapter about love. It ends with the message that this song preaches. “And now these three remain: Faith, Hope, and Love. But the greatest of these is Love.” Love is bigger than ANYTHING in its way. That’s a song worth singing, and a message worth preaching. And it is one of the best examples of why I love this band.