This is one of my absolute favorite U2 songs. If you haven't seen the live version from their U2 360 at the Rose Bowl video, you should check it out.
"Ultraviolet" refers to the part of the light spectrum that can't be seen by the naked eye, and an ultraviolet light can illuminate things that would otherwise be invisible. As such, I think this song is about a relationship between a man and woman that started out great, but has come upon hard times. They are both to blame, but the man is asking the woman to help him see the bad parts of himself that he is unable to see for himself so he can make things right.
Concerning the "opera" reference that others mentioned earlier, it's a reference to Bono's father. I remember watching a live show and before singing the song "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" where Bono described how when he was young, his father (who had a strong tenor voice) would take his mother's knitting needles and pretend to conduct an imaginary orchestra while singing opera - hence, the lyric, "You're the reason why the opera's in me..." In Ultraviolet, I think the lyric "When I was all messed up, and I had opera in my head..." is another reference to his father, how they were often at odds, and how his father would get inside his head. During those times, the love of his wife would help him through.
This is one of my absolute favorite U2 songs. If you haven't seen the live version from their U2 360 at the Rose Bowl video, you should check it out.
"Ultraviolet" refers to the part of the light spectrum that can't be seen by the naked eye, and an ultraviolet light can illuminate things that would otherwise be invisible. As such, I think this song is about a relationship between a man and woman that started out great, but has come upon hard times. They are both to blame, but the man is asking the woman to help him see the bad parts of himself that he is unable to see for himself so he can make things right.
Concerning the "opera" reference that others mentioned earlier, it's a reference to Bono's father. I remember watching a live show and before singing the song "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" where Bono described how when he was young, his father (who had a strong tenor voice) would take his mother's knitting needles and pretend to conduct an imaginary orchestra while singing opera - hence, the lyric, "You're the reason why the opera's in me..." In Ultraviolet, I think the lyric "When I was all messed up, and I had opera in my head..." is another reference to his father, how they were often at odds, and how his father would get inside his head. During those times, the love of his wife would help him through.