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.
You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
You say you want
Your story to remain untold
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You say you'll give me
A highway with no one on it
Treasure just to look upon it
All the riches in the night
You say you'll give me
Eyes in a moon of blindness
A river in a time of dryness
A harbor in the tempest
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You say you want
Your love to work out right
To last with me through the night
You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
Your story to remain untold
Your love not to grow cold
All the promises we break
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You all I want is
You all I want is
You all I want is
You
Diamonds on a ring of gold
You say you want
Your story to remain untold
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You say you'll give me
A highway with no one on it
Treasure just to look upon it
All the riches in the night
You say you'll give me
Eyes in a moon of blindness
A river in a time of dryness
A harbor in the tempest
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You say you want
Your love to work out right
To last with me through the night
You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
Your story to remain untold
Your love not to grow cold
All the promises we break
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You all I want is
You all I want is
You all I want is
You
Lyrics submitted by yuri_sucupira, edited by diskiller
All I Want Is You Lyrics as written by Dave Evans Adam Clayton
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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It is a love song, sure, but everyone writes love songs. It tells of the intensity of desire and lust, the desire to be everything to someone, when really these promises are unfulfillable. So, it comes to the question of whether we can love within our limitations, or whether it will all end when our own human weaknesses are exposed.
It's about love, but a fragile love, a love where the 'promises we make' are too grand to support. The narrator hear's all these promises from his lover, and they all sound wonderful, but they're unnecessary. He only wants her, everything else is a distraction.
That's all well and good, but The Edge and the violin are really what brings this song from mediocre to great. The musical leads parallel the story, through miniature peaks and lulls, to the stirring climax after Bono shouts "You --- all I want is you ... ", as if the person is confronting the demons and choosing between love and lust, then into the gentle but restrained denouement, which seems to signify a comfortable satisfaction with intense feeling restrained below the surface.
excellent response.<br /> <br /> I would only add that in wanting "you", the lover wants simply 'to be', to exist, in the state of love with the other, not in a state of commitment, not in falsity or in pretense, but to truly be with the other. A song that is similar is "Come as you Are" by Nirvana where the singer begs the other to be oneself, friend or foe, to let go of ego and all that prevents us, gets in the way of true communion.<br /> <br /> What brings meaning to the song, however interestingly, is not the composer, but the presentation of it, Bono's performance, Bono's ability to convey those sentiments makes the song so compelling, I believe, as well as the music, as you say.
@ballzofsno I would actually disagree a bit with this a bit and at the same time I would also look a bit at what JKP writes which is not entirely how I see it either (but he is closer).<br /> <br /> I tend to take a step back from things and look at the pictures rather than the details. JKP hits the nail when he talks about the way Bono performs the song, sentimental, loving and filled with desire. In fairness, the melody doesn't actually bring that voice justice in this case.<br /> <br /> But back to my point, you mentioned that you think about the song as a way to taking a step down from seeking the perfect love which is unobtainable, but how about flipping the coin on that?<br /> How about that rather than giving up on perfect love and settling for something less, it is about never quitting. Im thinking more along the lines that it is a question about realization. The person knows what you suggest, but at the same time, we can all relate to the notion that love is anything but rational, but rather a mess most of us happily jump into because it brings something new to us that we want above anything else.<br /> My point here is that the person knows that this perfect love can't happen, but he is so madly in love that he will keep going because to settle would be like quitting.
"Obsessive love"... isn't love at all. Bono addresses that in this song. The definition of true love is ultimate selflessness, living to make another person happy in any and every way that you can. Bono realizes that when it is the desire for another that governs us, it isn't love at all... it's lust. Infatuation is so often confused with love in our society, and U2's "All I Want is You" confronts that issue. The final stanza, "You/All I want is you (repeated)" is nearly screamed by Bono, and Edge's guitar intensifies as well, both symbolizing the desire, rage, jealousy, and potential destruction lying in wait just under the facade of lust.
Unlike most other people, when I hear this song, I don't imagine it being about obsession. The video would paint that picture more than the actual song does, but even still I have never considered this to be a song about obsession.
I've always imagined that "All I Want is You" is a pretty straighforward and simple song. The lyricist's frustration is pretty evident throughout and the outcome is a sort of haunting, raw, and beautiful love song.
I think it's about a man and a woman who are deeply in love, but both have quite different ideas of what love and a relationship are supposed to be. She believes that love is measured by material objects and she seems to be concerned with how love can benefit them as individuals while he is simply saying he doesn't care about all the glamour she seems to be caught up in. All he wants is her and their love, and everything else is trivial. The lyric of the song makes the man sound frustrated because it would seem that he can do nothing to please her and keep her happy while he is perfectly happy just being with her. So in a way, he has to jump through hoops for this woman while none of that means a damn thing to him.
It's an epic song and what I love most about it is that it's a very common relationship problem. Two people with two completely different ideas of what love is and how it should be. A very bitter sweet and beautiful song. I have to add that this is the song that got me hooked on U2. I fell madly in love with this one years and years ago.
ballzofsno described this so perfectly, that there is not much to add. I'd just like to say that if I had to pick ONE song and only one, and that song would become the only piece of music that I could listen to for the rest of my life...this would be it.
This song is about a man (married/not married?) having a long affair with a married woman.
She wants to remain married to her rich husband, who offers her material things and status that the singer cannot afford but she craves. Her story (affair) must remain untold.
She promises him sexual pleasure and may really love him but really is sex that she craves with him.
A highway with no one on it Treasure just to look upon it All the riches in the night Eyes in a moon of blindness A river in a time of dryness A harbor in the tempest
But he wants all of her, without sharing. He needs all of her. But all the promises (wedding vows). All he wants is her.
@jeff100146 the only inclination to me that she is married would be the line "Your story to remain untold" ... implying their love / relationship needs to remain a secret.<br /> <br /> I think the lines about the highway etc. are implying more that he just wants it to be her and him (which could be implying their are complications to them ... such as marriage too).
This song reminds me of my summer in upstate NY. It is such timeless song and is is so much more than a love song...I think we have all come to that conclusion. It's like passion, that sometimes can't be fulfilled. Yeah.
jdappleton, I desperately wanted this song for the first dance on my wedding night, but I was over-ruled in favour of Bryan Flippin' Adams. I guess she just didn't get it the way I did. Anyway, we are separated now, so maybe next time...
All I will say is her wanting material things and me just wanting her love is just how it ended up.
hey albanyankee funny you mention this as a wedding song because its what my husband and i had for ours. a lot of people found it strange as they thought it was more fitting for a funeral! Anyway, i think what really makes this song special is lines like "your story to remain untold", to me it was like saying i dont care where you have been, what mistakes you have made, all i care about is who you are now and i love you and all i want is what you are, right here and now. thats how i feel about my husband :) and i must say that my diamonds on a ring of gold were simply the icing on an already divinely perfect cake :)
Personally, I'd like to have this song for the very last dance at my wedding reception some day. A wedding is a day on which a lot of vows are made which will almost certainly be broken at some point, given our frail humanity. I mean, honestly, "for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part"? That's a lot to live up to and I'd imagine almost everyone fails to in some small way each day of their lives, even when couples "remain faithful" to each other in the sense of not committing adultery. And when those promises fail, or rather when we fail the promises, the only thing left is us in our frail humanity. When two people can continue to embrace each other in those circumstances, that's likely as close as they'll get to divine love in this life. Having never been married I have no idea what it's like to live that kind of love day in and day out, but when I hear this song I always think of how much I want to.
I just wanted to tell you that I DID have this song as the "closing song" at my wedding. Just my husband and I danced, it was the most special moment of the day. As for the vows... well we wrote our own, because we didn't want to make promises to each other that #1 we couldn't keep, and #2 we didn't believe in. We have been together for nearly 8 years and are expecting our first child... it is fantastic!
I talked my hubby in2 havin
I talked my hubby in2 having this as our 1st dance an every1 seemed 2 think it strange at 1st, but then on the day when it was just the 2 of us dancing nearly every1 said it was a perfect choice. That was 7 years ago an I still get goosebumps now when I hear it. Our last dance was very appropriately Loch Lomond (we got married on top of a tower over looking Loch Lomond)an with most weddings in Scotland the finale was Auld Lang Syne. Which makes me bawl like a baby every time, but totally perfect!