I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
My love she throws me like a rubber ball
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
She won't catch me or break my fall
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Baby's got blue skies up ahead
But in this old rain cloud
You know she wants a dry kind of love
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
I'm losing you
I'm losing you
Ain't love the sweetest thing
I wanted to run but she made me crawl
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Eternal fire, she turned me to straw
Oh oh, the sweetest thing
You know I got black eyes
But they burn so brightly for her
Guess it's a blind kind of love
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
I'm losing you
Oh oh oh, I'm losing you yeah
Ain't love the sweetest thing
Ain't love the sweetest thing
Oh oh, yeah, oh
Blue-eyed boy meets a brown-eyed girl
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
You can sew it up but you still see the tear
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Baby's got blue skies up ahead
But in this old rain cloud
Ours is a stormy kind of love
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Oh oh, the sweetest thing
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
She won't catch me or break my fall
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Baby's got blue skies up ahead
But in this old rain cloud
You know she wants a dry kind of love
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
I'm losing you
I'm losing you
Ain't love the sweetest thing
I wanted to run but she made me crawl
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Eternal fire, she turned me to straw
Oh oh, the sweetest thing
You know I got black eyes
But they burn so brightly for her
Guess it's a blind kind of love
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
I'm losing you
Oh oh oh, I'm losing you yeah
Ain't love the sweetest thing
Ain't love the sweetest thing
Oh oh, yeah, oh
Blue-eyed boy meets a brown-eyed girl
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
You can sew it up but you still see the tear
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Baby's got blue skies up ahead
But in this old rain cloud
Ours is a stormy kind of love
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Oh oh, the sweetest thing
Oh oh oh, the sweetest thing
Lyrics submitted by Nuklear, edited by overthewall
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Tom Odell
I think the meaning is pretty clear. This person got really burned in a previous relationship, and because of this is unable to love and show care in his present one, even though he so badly wants to. It's lovely song, and very sad. You can really feel how defeated and frustrated he is with himself.
Personally, this is one of my favorite songs. It's not their usual sound, but I think that fact makes it very unique. And yes, I had no idea Bono's eyes were blue until I saw the music video!
anafashion so you say he was drunk when he wrote this. don't you think Bono should drink more then? it's amazing. it's so sad that his wife doesn't love him back as much as he loves her, Bono really deserves that
I think you will find out how difficult things are. How would you feel if you loved someone and they were always running around when all wanted was to be with them and then they forgot your birthday the one day you expect to spend with them?<br /> I don't know what happened but I do know loving is often not easy. From afar things are easy but the day to day is more complicated.
Bono sure seems to like the word 'crawling' a lot
As was said, there is irony in the line "ain't love the sweetest thing", and it so beautifully contrasts with the story he's telling about how much he's hurting. But I think it's even less of a contrast than just the boy saying "love is the sweetest thing, so I will pay this for her..." Kind of like how Jacob worked 14 years to get Rachel and it felt like no time at all, because she was all he wanted. That's gorgeous.
He seems to realise that though the feelings hurt, the truth is that she is meant for him, so that's what he uncompromisingly lives by: almost rejecting disappointment and unwaveringly chasing his goal. That's also what stops this song from being a little pity-party, and makes it so deep and full of dynamic feeling--remembering that these things, however intense, are fleeting compared to the things that will last.
i just love this song! seems like every song entitled "sweet(est) thing" i adore...or at least the 2 others i know by chaka khan and lauryn hill :o) anyway, i don't understand all of the "beautiful song, but sad that she treats him like shit" comments. to me it's apparent in the lyrics that the love and pain shared is two-way, that there is give and take between them. the woman (Ali) in the song definitely has her faults ("throws me like a rubber ball", "made me crawl" etc.), but he seems to be contributing to the storminess of the relationship as well and he acknowledges as much ("baby's got blue skies up ahead but in this i'm a rain cloud" "you can sew it up but you still see the tear" = he has pained her in the past). and keep in mind the song is from his perspective; despite what they BOTH do to EACH other in their relationship, there is nothing like the love they have together :o)
Okay - so I don't think that all of this song is about her not loving him as much as he loves her. When I first heard it I thought about a woman who makes a man work for her love. She makes him crawl before running, letting their relationship mature and deepen before going head over heels and keeping him together (catching him when he falls, etc).
A good love requires hard work and can be stormy - it survives the rain and the thunder but the pair see the blue skies up ahead. The man in this song is definitely the weaker of the 2, but the woman encourages him to strengthen himself. I really like it!
Just my opinion...
why are there no comments on this song? this is one of the best U2 songs! has anyone seen the video? it's so sweet.
i agree. this song is beautiful... it's kinda sad though. how she treats him bad, and he still loves her... but the song is still good. ohh. and about the video... when he sings "blue-eyed boy meets a brown eyed girl..." and he takes his glasses off, he has the prettiest blue eyes! just a random though. =]
this a very sweet song, the unusual U2. But i kew why. Bono made this song for his wife ten years before the singlewas released. He forgot her birthday and she got mad with him. he drank a lot and made the song. Even so un-U2, i loved it, and the clip is really nice.
I love the random elephant in the back too. Awesome video for an awesome song. It always makes me smile. I'm sure his wife does love him, it was just a momentary thing probably. I don't really know....I listen to music not news.