Shadows And Tall Trees

Yep, I also heard that this song got its name from Lord of the Flies. It certainly wouldn't be the first time, especially on the Boy and Joshua Tree albums, that Bono took inspiration from his favorite books and works of literature: Hence the mention of Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray in "The Ocean."

I have always and probably will always think that the Boy album packs more punch than any other album by any other band I've ever heard. It was written when U2 were only teenagers, seventeen and eighteen years old and the whole album seems to have a recurring theme: growing up and trying to find a place in the world.

Shadows is beautiful song. When I think of it, I think of a young man (Bono) walking home late at night, wondering what life and love are going to be like. Will life always be predictable? (Mrs. Brown's washing is always the same), Will there be a specific purpose for his life? All questions we ask when we're young and trying to adjust, uncomfortably, into adulthood.

Also, I agree with everyone else's theory. That he's wondering if what he sees is the real thing, or if everything's just a facade. He wonders if everything will change or if it will all stay the same.

Once again, a beautiful song. Like most of the Boy album, it's about change, confusion, and an almost paranoid curiosity about the world and a young boy's place in it.