Edit: I've listened to it a few more times, and I am liking the song a lot more. It content quite a bit heavier and more emotional than I realized. This one is most likely about the passing of Bono's mom. He has written many songs about her, and everyone knows that already. But I think this one has a very different message.
In this one, he is imagining meeting his mother on Judgment Day. He wants to give her a loving embrace when he next sees her ("hold me close and don't let me go")
He feels that she is still very much with him in spirit. She is the "light inside" of him. And she is giving him strength and confidence to be brave in this world without her. Yet, he is also reminded that the physical world he is currently living in is an illusion (like a dream, a "nightmare" even) and the afterlife is actually what's real.
He also acknowledges that because her spirit goes on, she, too, has experienced the pain of their separation (as if to have to bury her son beneath the sand).
The "meeting up again when the stars go out" refers to Judgment Day. Most Christians believe that when Judgment Day comes, the stars will all fall from space.
A big part of the song are the themes of time, space, and the universe. I believe this is because as we change from world to world, we seem to forget things. Here in the physical world, we "forget the very reason we came." And once we pass on, we may also forget what happened here, and possibly forget things about our family and loved ones ("someone that you might know" / "you, I am sure I met").
Very beautiful song... becoming a favorite now I think.
Edit: I've listened to it a few more times, and I am liking the song a lot more. It content quite a bit heavier and more emotional than I realized. This one is most likely about the passing of Bono's mom. He has written many songs about her, and everyone knows that already. But I think this one has a very different message.
In this one, he is imagining meeting his mother on Judgment Day. He wants to give her a loving embrace when he next sees her ("hold me close and don't let me go")
He feels that she is still very much with him in spirit. She is the "light inside" of him. And she is giving him strength and confidence to be brave in this world without her. Yet, he is also reminded that the physical world he is currently living in is an illusion (like a dream, a "nightmare" even) and the afterlife is actually what's real.
He also acknowledges that because her spirit goes on, she, too, has experienced the pain of their separation (as if to have to bury her son beneath the sand).
The "meeting up again when the stars go out" refers to Judgment Day. Most Christians believe that when Judgment Day comes, the stars will all fall from space.
A big part of the song are the themes of time, space, and the universe. I believe this is because as we change from world to world, we seem to forget things. Here in the physical world, we "forget the very reason we came." And once we pass on, we may also forget what happened here, and possibly forget things about our family and loved ones ("someone that you might know" / "you, I am sure I met").
Very beautiful song... becoming a favorite now I think.