In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
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...
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
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
(alright now)
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
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
(oh, come on)
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
(oh, come on)
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
Oh...ultraviolet...
Ultraviolet...
Ultraviolet...
Ultraviolet...
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
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
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
(oh, come on)
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
Ultraviolet...
[Repeat 4 times]
Baby, baby, baby...
Baby, baby, baby...
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
[Repeat 3 times]
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
Sometimes I feel like checkin' out
I want to get it wrong
Can't always be strong
And love it won't be long...
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
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
(alright now)
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
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
(oh, come on)
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
(oh, come on)
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
Oh...ultraviolet...
Ultraviolet...
Ultraviolet...
Ultraviolet...
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
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
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
(oh, come on)
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
Ultraviolet...
[Repeat 4 times]
Baby, baby, baby...
Baby, baby, baby...
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
[Repeat 3 times]
Baby, baby, baby...light my way
Lyrics submitted by Novartza
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The hidden lyrical gem of Achtung Baby. This song has always been a big motivator for me when trying to define love. It's something to strive for -- entrusting yourself to someone else, baring your inexperience in the hopes of finding a guiding light. It speaks to the truest trust, because before allowing someone to help you out of your weaknesses, you must first let her see your weaknesses.
To me, this song is about wanting to be with someone very wrong for you, yet the attraction being so strong between the two, that it doesn't matter how wrong it may end up in the end, and that it just HAS to happen, eventually. One day.
So, the guy lays his faults out bare boned for the girl to see, letting her know that he too isn't, or atleast wasn't perfect at a previous time in his life (and may even still not be so perfect). Basically letting her know that he knows how it feels to feel like life's at it's lowest and most confusing stage in itself.
He even recalls a time when he once knew her, and they were both stronger people than they are at present time. Like life itself wore them both down with time, and now they're both just somewhat lost but not yet too far gone to be saved.
It's a very sincere song. Admitting one's imperfections, realizing someone else too isn't perfect, but setting it aside and wanting to make things right for the both of them on the whole. A very "we can fix eachother, if we try hard enough" song. Almost like holding onto a hopeless situation, and trying to defy it's odds of it all crashing down and becoming worse.
There is not one bad song on AB, and the last 3 songs are so underrated, probably the best finishers to an album.
This is one of my absolute favorite U2 songs. If you haven't seen the live version from their U2 360 at the Rose Bowl video, you should check it out.
"Ultraviolet" refers to the part of the light spectrum that can't be seen by the naked eye, and an ultraviolet light can illuminate things that would otherwise be invisible. As such, I think this song is about a relationship between a man and woman that started out great, but has come upon hard times. They are both to blame, but the man is asking the woman to help him see the bad parts of himself that he is unable to see for himself so he can make things right.
Concerning the "opera" reference that others mentioned earlier, it's a reference to Bono's father. I remember watching a live show and before singing the song "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" where Bono described how when he was young, his father (who had a strong tenor voice) would take his mother's knitting needles and pretend to conduct an imaginary orchestra while singing opera - hence, the lyric, "You're the reason why the opera's in me..." In Ultraviolet, I think the lyric "When I was all messed up, and I had opera in my head..." is another reference to his father, how they were often at odds, and how his father would get inside his head. During those times, the love of his wife would help him through.
u2 has always been my favorite band. i think the lines "your love was a lightbulb/hanging over my bed" is just fantastic.
Desperation is the word that comes into mind hearing this song.
In times of despair you need someone to light your way.
The first few lines are just foreplay to the classic U2 guitar sound which breaks to start this melodic classic.
This song just makes you cream your pants
Yet another U2 song that could conceivably be sung to God. My favorite bit is in the beginning, where Bono basically admits just how tempted he is to sin ('I want to get it wrong/Can't always be strong'). This interpretation admittedly seems to make the 'whispers and moans' line a little awkward, but 'Your love was like a light bulb hanging over my bed' to me seems to express that God loves His children even when they don't know He does. And if anyone's 'love is like a secret that's been passed around,' it's Christ's (who also was buried for three days like a treasure that can't be found).
You can also interpret this as a run of the mill romantic love song. That's the beauty of U2 lyrics.
I love this song, it has almost a cry for help about it, yet seems so strong at the same time. The line "There's a silence that comes to a house/where no one can sleep" has such a creepy and yet illogical feel to it. Its almost evil, but there's something so intreguing about it.