Sunday Bloody Sunday

This is my favorite song by U2, ever. It WAS written by U2, it IS about Northern Ireland. British troops openned fire on a civil rights march in Derry, on January 30, 1972. That was the 'Bloody Sunday' this song refers to.

But this song took on a new meaning on Remembrance Sunday (The day that remembers the afore mentioned Bloody Sunday), November 8, 1987. On that date, the IRA exploded a bomb at a War Memorial parade in the town of Enniskillen... Thirteen people were killed that day...

In January this year, I bought the Rattle & Hum DVD. There is a recording on that DVD of Sunday, Bloody Sunday, which was performed live in Denver, Colorado on the day on the Enniskillen bombing. If you want to know for yourself, what this song is about, do yourself the favor of watching that performance...

"There's been a lot of talk about this song- maybe, maybe too much talk" - Bono

the drumline in this song is off the chain

what about 'bloody sunday' in salma, alabama? couldn't it be about that? and when that happened, the blacks (and some whites(NOT TO BE RACIST)) were singing songs of freedom... 'how long must we sing this song' get it?

or what if it's about all of the 'bloody sunday's' that ever happened?

but that's just my opinion.

I understand the historical meaning of this song, but reading the lyrics it applies so much to today. How long must we sing this song? Iraq. Darfur. Myanmar. New Orleans. The Mid-East. And countless others...It's an on going war and the millions cry out for help and we just eat and drink while tomorrow they die. Its a song for the world today, not just a bloody Sunday that happened before. It's about everyday that's bloody for so many innocent people while some of us choose to look away

The Song is about 'Bloody Sunday' in the bogside of Derry NI. It was written years before the events in Enniskillen! A young Bono was a politicly active Irish lad, as many were and still are! This song was a direct angry attempt at describing the situation in the north at the time. 13, then a fourteenth, innocent people were killed by the British Paratroops, during a peaceful Cival Rights march, organized by a Protestant politician. This event and others, almost single handedly was responsible for the number of new volenteers that joined the Provisional IRA in the following years, to attempt to fight the British occupation of NI. Although thought of as a Rebel Song, after the the Enniskillen incident and with Bono's new reputation of the 'Champion of World Peace', he started the song live by proclaming, "This is NOT a Rebel Song", which upset many North Irish and Irish people! In 1997 Sinead O'Connor released, 'This IS a Rebel Song' as a response to Bono!

Although not as thought of, since the release of the U2 song in 1983, John Lennon wrote and sang the origonal song titled 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', released in 1972 on the heals of the event in Derry. the songs lyrics are much more directed toward the occupation of Northern Ireland and very anti British, which was surprising to many, as obviously, he was English! He and Paul McCartney had much sympythy for the Irish plight at the hands of the British people! McCartney followed with his own song,'Give Ireland back to the Irish' after! The Irish Nationalists have always prefered the Lennon song over the U2 one, as Lennon never wavered in his support, unlike Bono in '87! The lyrics are also right to the point and very harsh, describing the British actions!

What's powerful about this song isn't its war images, but its demonstration of Christian hope and faith. The singer realizes that the conflict is ultimately within his own heart, and he refuses to heed the battle call. Instead, he claims the victory that Jesus won.....inspite of the horror he has witnessed. I thought of this song on 9/11/2001. Too bad more people didn't/don't understand its point.

Yaya! Claim the vicory Jesus won! Bono is always talking about Jesus. :D

Bloody Sunday refers to the notorious incident in Derry on 30 January 1972 when British Army paratroops open fired on Catholic demonstrators, killing thirteen, with another dying months later as a result of wounds. It's not exactly known why this happened; the Saville Inquiry concluded in 2010 that none of the demonstrators who were killed had posed a threat to the paratroopers and one of them had even been shot after already being wounded. The result of the shootings was that IRA membership swelled and the violence continued to escalate.

Around that time, John Lennon wrote a heavily pro-Republican song called "Sunday Bloody Sunday". This might have inspired the name of U2's better-known song. However, this song's lyrics don't actually mention the incident. Really, they could any of the killings or bombing that took place in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. The narrator doesn't take sides and resists the urge to get involved or join in retaliation ("but I will not head the battle call") - he just wishes and prays for the violence to stop.

The Rattle and Hum documentary features a particularly famous performance 8 November 1987 in Denver. Earlier that day, 11 people had been killed by an IRA bomb attack in Enniskillen. Bono launched into a tirade against the Irish Americans who ignorantly supported the IRA from their armchairs. In later performances, he would ready out a list of the 29 people killed in the 1998 Omagh bombing, the worst terrorist attack during the whole Troubles.

"This is not a rebel song, this is Sunday bloody sunday" (under a blood red sky) what more needs to be said