U2 developed a reputation as a band that wasn’t afraid to speak their truth when it came to the issues of the times. Songs like “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “Pride (In The Name Of Love)” combined the band’s rock power with incisive, topical lyrical strikes.
But U2 hasn’t exactly shied away from matters of the heart. Here are four songs that deal with relationships with just as much potency as the band’s more political material.
“Two Hearts Beat As One”
Released on the band’s 1983 album Boy, “Two Hearts Beat As One” thrills on the instrumental end, to the point that Bono’s lyrics are almost an afterthought. The interplay between The Edge’s pinging guitar and Adam Clayton’s skittery bass provides thrills. Meanwhile, Bono sings every lyric, even those in the verses, pitched quite high. That tactic plays into the song’s sense of momentum and urgency. This is one of those sets of lyrics where you can sense Bono intermingling the personal with the political. But when you get to that refrain, you definitely feel the heartfelt emotion behind it. Not quite a ballad, but a sort of love song nonetheless.
“With Or Without You”
Because it’s become an anthem, you might think that “Pride (In The Name Of Love)” was a smash single. But in the US, it barely squeaked into the Top 40, U2’s first-ever advance that high in America. As such, “With Or Without You”, which previewed the band’s smash album The Joshua Tree in 1987, absolutely busted down the doors for the group in terms of their stateside mainstream popularity. You can sense the impact of the production techniques of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, as they found clever ways to heighten the drama. Bono’s lyrics capture the fragility and futility of love. And lo and behold, U2 went from alternative darlings to No. 1 hitmakers in one fell swoop.
“Sweetest Thing”
U2 has always done a nice job with their B-sides. These songs often presented roads not taken in the bulk of their work. “The Sweetest Thing”, which popped up in 1988 as the flip of “Where The Streets Have No Name”, epitomizes that approach. Instead of the intense earnestness of the music that appears on The Joshua Tree, you have a song here that plays it a bit lighter and off-the-cuff. Even so, you can occasionally sense the pain behind the lyrics, as when Bono sings, “You can sew it up, but you still see the tear.” He was referencing a bit of a marital row that he’d just undergone. His falsetto gets a nice workout on this track, one of the most beloved non-album songs in their catalog.
“So Cruel”
On Achtung Baby, U2 seemed bound and determined to shake up their previous way of doing things. Tracks like this one took on more of a Frankenstein-monster feel, with disparate parts assembled for maximum impact. Then, when the familiar elements arrive, such as The Edge’s anguished guitar here, they really hit home. Bono wrote the words for “So Cruel” as a way of assessing the problems in The Edge’s marriage. He pulls no punches. The narrator details all the ways that his significant other has betrayed and disappointed him, even as he is still lured into these traps. Love-gone-wrong songs aren’t common for these guys. This one makes the case that they should go to that well more often.
(Photo by Patrick Ford/Redferns)
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