| U2 – Wake Up Dead Man Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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To understand WUDM you have to consider the entirety of the Pop album. Pop starts off full of wonder and a lovely rose-tinted view of the present and the future, you hear it in Discotheque, Do You Feel Love, and Mofo. Then there comes If God Will Send His Angels, which is like a massive slap in the face to this optimistic feel about the world which Pop at first tries to convey. But that sombre feel is quickly removed by Staring At The Sun, Last Night On Earth, and Gone. All of which are songs about denial, delusion and burying ones head in the sand to either the state of the world or ones own personal demons. Things take a rather Earthy tone with Miami's themes of consumerism and a good time, The Playboy Mansion's assertion that fame and money are the magic elixir and will give salvation to anyone who possesses these two things in abundance. Whilst If You Wear That Velvet Dress is about the desires of the flesh. With this in mind, Pop's tone turns to that of a funeral with Please, and while Please is primarily about the troubles in Northern Ireland, you could also argue that it is a criticism of people making the same mistake over and over again, and being bound to their mistakes and misdeeds (which explains the 'get up off your knees' lyrics). And so when we come to Wake Up Dead Man, this is rock bottom. The character described in this album, if there is one, has done everything possible to avoid responsibility and accountability. Now he turns to Jesus and God, but even then he is asking the wrong questions. I remain convinced that every word of the chorus and the third verse is spoken by some fictional messenger of God, one which is telling the person to wake up and stop punishing himself. |
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| U2 – The Playboy Mansion Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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This song is about consumerism and the hollowness of today's modern society. This person sees his only 'salvation' as passage into the Playboy mansion where all material worries and urges are supposedly quenched. But it's one long slog to get there and only a lucky few do. Supremely ironic! |
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| U2 – The First Time Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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This song is definitely about spirituality and healing, but the Biblical references are more symbolic of the person's beliefs and the three things he loves: his girlfriend, his brother and God (the father). Each of which show him aspects of his personality he never knew he had due to a troubled upbringing. With his girlfriend he finds romance, happiness and compassion. With his brother he finds friendship, companionship and devotion. And finally with God he finds faith, belief and hope. However he has a crisis of faith as he believes he is unworthy of God's love and unworthy of all the good things (referred to by the; 'I have many mansions, and there are many rooms to see') he (the person) has going for him; that is his brother and girlfriend. He throws it all away but the last four lines indicate a redemption of sorts, he's giving a second chance by his girlfriend, his brother and God thus explaining the last four lines. For it took him shunning everything he cared for to realise there are people who love for and care for him. Hence; 'for the first time... I feel love'. |
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| U2 – Stay (Faraway, So Close!) Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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A rather depressing song about a woman in an abusive relationship who the song's character befriends. This seems to be a secret friendship to make sure the woman's boyfriend doesn't find out and at first the woman finds release with her new friend. I also think our character and the woman love each other but they don't consummate their feelings because our character will only do what the woman feels comfortable with. However as time passes on, the woman, who wants something better, feels she is unable to leave her abusive boyfriend. Thus explaining the character's observations about how withdrawn and outwardly desensitized this woman is becoming. He knows something is very wrong and he would do anything to save her but ultimately knows only the woman can save herself. Finally the woman can't go on living any longer, torn between her attachment to the character and sticking it out with her abusive boyfriend, she decides to kill herself. It's unclear in the last few lines whether the character is with the woman or if is she is on her own. But that 'angel' reference is how our character sees the woman; someone with a nice personality who deserves so much better. Finally the 'just a bang and a clatter' refers to how she killed herself; she pulls the gun to her head, pulls the trigger and afterwards she falls while the gun falls to the ground with a clatter. |
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