The Dublin, Ireland-born rock band U2 are known for their epic songs that display the big, soaring voice of lead singer Bono and the inventive, multifaceted guitar playing from lead six-string artist, the Edge. The sonic combination the band provides bridges heartfelt music with classic rock oomph.
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Yet, despite the band’s success and decades together (the group has its origins way back in the mid-1970s), there are some out there who hate on U2. Even lead singer Bono has expressed surprise the group is still together despite its near breakups. But the music is just that good.
Here below, we wanted to dive into three songs from the Irish rock band that are too good to deny. Indeed, these are three classic rock songs for people who say they don’t like U2.
[RELATED: Bono on U2’s Near Breakups: “I’m Amazed We’re Still Going”]
“One” from Achtung Baby (1991)
Released on the band’s 1991 album Achtung Baby, this song has been covered a plethora of times and, despite its content, is a popular love song often played at weddings. It’s the sound of passion incarnate. It’s a giant beating heart, a pulsing soul of music. The song is artfully delightful in that it talks so poignantly about someone who does not act lovingly, despite saying they do. So, by comparison, the listener knows what love really means. It’s like learning about light by seeing shadow. On the track, Bono sings,
Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you now
You got someone to blame?
You say, one love, one life
When it’s one need in the night
One love, we get to share it
Leaves you, baby, if you don’t care for it
“With or Without You” from The Joshua Tree (1987)
Released on the band’s 1987 album The Joshua Tree, this ode showcases Bono’s big heart. He’s one of those people who feels everything deeply. He probably cries when he loses a sock in the laundry. But like the song above, it’s not a straight love song. It’s one that talks about a deep adoration for its subject but also is an acknowledgement they have tension, too. Nothing is easy in life, love especially. Passion is born of tension at times, too. And that’s the subject of this classic, nuanced number. On it, the lead singer croons,
See the stone set in your eyes
See the thorn twist in your side
I’ll wait for you
Sleight of hand and twist of fate
On a bed of nails, she makes me wait
And I wait without you
With or without you
With or without you
Through the storm, we reach the shore
You give it all but I want more
And I’m waiting for you
With or without you
With or without you, ah, ah
I can’t live
With or without you
“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” from The Joshua Tree (1987)
Another from the band’s classic 1987 LP The Joshua Tree, this is the third song on our list here to showcase Bono’s desire for a person with an unclear outcome. Here, he sings about overcoming obstacle after obstacle to be with someone. But then, once there, he says he still hasn’t found what he’s looking for. Leaving it a bit ambiguous, does he mean the person isn’t who he needs or wants? Or does it mean that, with the other, there are still new heights to achieve. Or perhaps he decides that true love is only with one’s self. No matter the actual meaning, as listeners we can land on our own. That’s the beauty of art, after all. So, we can be philosophical as he sings,
I have climbed highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you
Only to be with you
I have run
I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
These city walls
Only to be with you
But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for
But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for
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