| U2 – The Unforgettable Fire Lyrics | 14 years ago |
|
This is my all-time favorite U2 song. I knew it was inspired by the bombing of Hiroshima. For years I've wondered what the lyrics meant in that context. It's only recently I've come up with an idea, but it's vastly different from the other interpretations posted here. I think this song is about the judgment of God. The Unforgettable Fire was the name given the atomic blast at Hiroshima. Fire from heaven. The lines "Walk on by, walk on through, walk 'til you run and don't look back for here I am" sound like God's command to Lot when he told Lot to leave the city and not look back. This song is a conversation between God and the believer about God's judgment of the world. God declares the world wicked: "Ice. Your only rivers run cold. These city lights, they shine in silver and gold dug from the night. Your eyes as black as coal". And later, "Carnival, the wheels fly and the colors spin through alcohol, red wine that punctures the skin". He tells the believer (as he told Lot) "walk on by, walk on through, walk 'til you run and don't look back". The believer asks (just as Abraham begged God, for the sake of his nephew Lot) that he spare the city the fire judgment, to "stay" his hand of judgment. But the believer also begs God to "Come on take me away, Come on take me home, home again" because of his weariness of trying to live for God in an ungodly word. And just as Abraham begged God to save the city, the believer in this song asks God, "If you save your love (meaning: the believer), then save it all (all of it)." God's response is "Don't push me too far." I think there is a lot of passion in the lyrics of this song, and it is the passion and hurt of a scorned lover. But it's not the passion between humans. It's the passion of God for his creation, and the hurt of God having been scorned by his creation and turning their backs on him. It's easy to think of a loving God, but no one wants to think of a God who's had enough and is ready to put an end to evil. When will he stop staying his hand of judgment for the sake of the believer? It's haunting. |
|
* This information can be up to 15 minutes delayed.