Per the FAQ on Keane's website, Keane's drummer Richard Hughes, stated the following:
"We've been asked whether "Somewhere Only We Know" is about a specific place, and Tim has been saying that, for him, or us as individuals, it might be about a geographical space, or a feeling; it can mean something individual to each person, and they can interpret it to a memory of theirs... It's perhaps more of a theme rather than a specific message... Feelings that may be universal, without necessarily being totally specific to us, or a place, or a time..."
With the nostalgic sentiment and the overall tone of the song, I think Keane is attempting to express a Portuguese term known as 'saudade', which does not have a direct English translation but roughly means "that which we remember because it is gone."
One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One man come he to justify
One man to overthrow
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
One man caught on a barbed-wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed on an empty beach
One man betrayed with a kiss
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
Early morning, April four
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
One man come and go
One man come he to justify
One man to overthrow
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
One man caught on a barbed-wire fence
One man he resist
One man washed on an empty beach
One man betrayed with a kiss
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
Early morning, April four
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
In the name of love
What more in the name of love?
Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira, edited by meganJls
Pride (In the Name of Love) Lyrics as written by Dave Evans Adam Clayton
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Gandhi certainly resisted, but so did many others: Abraham Lincoln, why not? Edith Cavell? OK, she was a woman, but so what? MLK, and JFK; and Albert Luthuli, who also came to overthrow out of love..
One man washed on an empty beach: Normandy beaches weren't exactly empty, but at other times and places in WW2 it would fit. Not Casement, though: he was put ashore on a beach, arrested a good distance from it, and tried and executed in London.
@jayschif i believe the song lyric is "what more" in the name of love, not "one man" as you describe in your analysis.
The same lyrical phrases in the song are inherently ironic and represent contrary positions. "What more in the name of love" refers both to the evil men do while justifying it, and the prices some men have paid in their quest to better humanity.
For instance, both the Loyalists and Republicans in Ireland's struggle for self-determination believe their side is in the right and are willing to die for it. The second verse literally refers to armed conflict. I would consider Ireland's "Troubles" are an example of the kind of conflicts U2 is referring to. In this context, when U2 writes "what more in the name of love," they are criticizing warfare and terrorism and asking how many more people have to die in this needless fashion.
The 3rd verse is obviously about MLKJ. In this context, "what more ..." obviously refers to the price he had to pay as he pursued his just cause.
Pride (In the Name of Love)" is a song by Irish rock band U2. The second track on the band's 1984 album, The Unforgettable Fire, it was released as the album's lead single in September 1984. Written about Martin Luther King, Jr., the song received mixed critical reviews at the time, but it was a major commercial success for the band and has since become one of the band's most popular songs. "Pride" appeared on the compilation The Best of 1980-1990 as the opening track, and on the 2006 compilation U218 Singles.
The song ranked number 388 on the Rolling Stone list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.[2]
Beyond, 'what more in the NamE of love?' it seems to say little. Unless MLK became prideful... i don't know, like I said. Mystery.
Sorry hit submit to quickly.
One man on a beach - Jesus stood alone the beach John 21:4 " but when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus"
The barb wire is an interesting one, many different possibilities here. I lean towards the Bush of thorns, which is what the original barb wire was developed (thorn bush) . Eden did not have thorns, they were created by God after the original sin Genesis 3:18. And then Jesus refers to burning bush (thorn bush) that the dead are raised Luke 20:37.
Just a thought.
A great song, a gifted artist and a man who has received many gifts from God :-)
Peace!