U2 singer Bono turned 64 today. One of U2's defining characteristics is Bono's lyrics in his songs. His lyrics resonate with millions thanks to their accessibility. And yet, the songs don't feel too general.
So, in honor of the singer's birthday, I wanted to take a moment to highlight the best lines from each album.
Bono's best U2 lyrics
This list will begin with U2's debut album, Boy. It will continue through to their 2023 album, Songs of Surrender.
Boy (1980): “I Will Follow”
The line: “A boy tries hard to be a man / His mother takes him by the hand / If he stops to think, he starts to cry / Oh why?”
On the surface, “I Will Follow” is an upbeat song. However, it has got darker undertones hidden in the subtext.
U2 fans are aware of Bono losing his mother, Iris. In that context, “I Will Follow” sounds more like a suicide note of sorts, with Bono saying he will follow his mother. And if he stops to think about his mother, he cries.
His mother was his guiding light, something he alludes to in “Iris (Hold Me Close),” and Bono was turned from a boy into a man quicker than expected thanks to this loss.
October (1981): “Gloria”
The line: “I try to sing this song / I, I try to stand up / But I can't find my feet / I, I try to speak up / But only in you I'm complete”
October, U2's sophomore album, opens with “Gloria.” The song can be interpreted in several ways, and I'd like to think that Bono is acknowledging his struggle with integrating his faith into his music. After all, U2 was a punk band at this point. It's not very punk-rock to sing about God.
It also could be about his fear of combining politics in his work, a fear he shook off by the time War came around. Either way, “Gloria” is a song about faith of some kind, whether it's religious or political, and how to be unashamed of it.
War (1983): “Two Hearts Beat As One”
The line: “I don't know, I don't know which side I'm on / I don't know my right from left or my right from wrong”
In the age of political divide, Bono hits it right on the head on War's “Two Hearts Beat As One.” Overall, it's one of U2's strongest songs on War, an incredible album as it is. This particular line sees Bono not knowing which side of conflict or politics he is on, a feeling relatable to anybody.
The Unforgettable Fire (1984): “Bad”
The line: “If I could, yes I would, if I could, I would let it go / Surrender, dislocate”
“Bad” is an incredible song. Live performances are a sight to behold when U2 breaks it out.
The song is written about someone close to Bono that he lost to overdose. In the song, he's almost beating himself up over not being able to save him. “If I could through myself, set your spirit free I'd lead your heart away, see you break, break away,” he sings.
Bono enhances the lyrics with his vocal performance. He wails out the “wide awake” refrains throughout, adding emotional power to it.
The Joshua Tree (1987): “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For”
The line: “You broke the bonds / And you loosed the chains / Carried the cross of my shame / Oh my shame, you know I believe it”
The Joshua Tree is a rich album full of great choices. “Bullet the Blue Sky” and “Mothers of the Disappeared” were other top choices.
“I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For” once again pits Bono against his religious beliefs. The whole song is about searching for fulfillment in his relationship with God.
But even if you don't want to read into the religious subtext, “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For” can serve as a song about longing for love. For some, it takes years to find the love they're looking for. It can even feel like you're stranded in the desert landscape that The Joshua Tree paints.
Rattle and Hum (1988): “All I Want Is You”
The line: “You say, you want your love to work out right / To last with me through the night”
Unlike “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For,” which talks about yearning for love, once you've found it, it creates an undeniable feeling. That makes it the perfect song to propose to, as the lyrics aren't overly corny as most love songs these days are.
Bono can be dramatic, but there's an earnestness and innocence to “All I Want Is You.” He re-contextualized it during the Sphere shows, describing it as a song written from the woman's view.
And sometimes, falling in love is like a fairytale. What this U2 song does is acknowledge those feelings. “You say, you want your love to work out right” and to “last with me through the night” is a feeling all who have fallen in love have felt.
Achtung Baby (1991): “So Cruel”
The line: “She wears my love like a see-through dress / Her lips say one thing, her movements something else”
Like The Joshua Tree, U2's Achtung Baby had a lot of song choices. “So Cruel” ultimately beat out “Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses.” It's a song about withheld and lost love.
Something is haunting about the love Bono describes in the song. U2's Achtung Baby is an album all about heartbreak, and yet, a flame that went out is the scariest imagery painted on the album.
Side note: Say what you want about U2's decision to play the Sphere, hearing “So Cruel” made the price of admission worth it.
Zooropa (1993): “The Wanderer”
The line: “I stopped outside a church house / Where the citizens like to sit / They say they want the kingdom / But they don't want God in it”
“The Wanderer” was the perfect song for U2 to collaborate with Johnny Cash on. It pokes fun at the religious moguls who want to earn their ticket to Heaven without doing the hard work.
The song also paints the portrait of an old-school Western. This Clint Eastwood-like wanderer goes through these towns as he searches for “one good man.”
Pop (1997): “If God Will Send His Angels”
The line: “Hey, if God will send his angels / And if God will send a sign / And if God will send his angels / Would everything be alright?”
Amid the chaos seen in the world daily, people turn to the comfort of their religious beliefs to reassure them that everything will be alright. But what if it's not? U2's “If God Will Send His Angels” is almost as if Bono is questioning if God will ever return.
All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000): “Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of”
The line: “Don't say that later will be better now you're stuck in a moment and you can't get out of it”
One of U2's classic ballads, “Stuck In a Moment You Can't Get Out Of” is the tough love everyone needs when they're stuck in the mud.
I remember feeling trapped during my freshman year of college. I didn't want to be at the school I was at, I was heartbroken, and I was hours away from family. But crying about it didn't help — well, maybe a little — and I had to pick myself up and get it together.
The metaphor “making chicken salad out of chicken s**t” never resonated more. It wasn't always easy, but with a little help from my friends, I got through that year. U2's “Stuck in a Moment” was in constant rotation during that time as well.
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004): “Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own”
The line: “I don't need to hear you say / That if we weren't so alike / You'd like me a whole lot more”
The above line is sung by Bono after he says, “We fight all the time.” “Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own” is written about his late father, whom he fought with.
There are times when I am reminded how similar I am to my father. After all, he introduced me to the bands I love and is responsible for my love of film.
That doesn't mean we didn't clash. At times, our personalities are similar, and as an angsty teen, that didn't mesh well. I'd get frustrated before realizing that so many of my traits came from him. Years later, it's not always perfect, but there's a greater appreciation on both ends — so I'd like to think, at least — of our similarities.
No Line on the Horizon (2009): “Magnificent”
The line: “I was born, I was born to sing for you / I didn't have a choice but to lift you up / And sing whatever song you wanted me to / I give you back my voice”
“Magnificent” is one of U2's most underrated songs. After years of Bono singing about the struggle of his relationship with God, he seems to be thankful for it now. The line above is seemingly sung to God, whom Bono gives his voice back to. He has a gift, and Bono has largely used it for the greater good throughout his career.
It's such a nice bookend to Bono's previous works like “Gloria” and “I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.”
Songs of Innocence (2014): “Every Breaking Wave”
The line: “We know that we fear to win / And so we end before we begin”
Commitment is a scary thing. I remember being terrified before starting my relationship with my now-fiancée. It wasn't because of her so much as my past.
Before we began officially dating, I had to come to grips with what had happened. If I didn't, it'd be far too easy to sabotage a relationship before it really can begin.
It all just seemed too magical. We fell in love and there weren't many conflicts. In turn, I created some (stupidly) after getting into my head and overthinking — my fear of winning, as Bono sings, almost got the best of me.
At the end of the day, it has worked out. But Bono is onto something in “Every Breaking Wave.”
Songs of Experience (2017): “The Showman (Little More Better)”
The line: “The showman gives you front row to his heart / The showman prays his heartache will chart”
I've always been fascinated with U2's “The Showman (Little More Better)” from Songs of Experience. Weirdly, it's a sequel to “With or Without You.”
Think about it — in “With or Without You,” Bono sings about “giving himself away” to U2's audiences. On “The Showman,” he croons about how showmen, like himself, “give you front row to his heart.” At the same time, they hope that the “heartache” that they sing about will chart.
“The Showman” is such a clever collection of tongue-in-cheek lyrics from Bono. It hasn't gotten its due, though.
Songs of Surrender (2023): “I Will Follow”
The line: “A boy tries hard to be a man / His mother lets go of his hand / The gift of grief will bring a voice to life”
Songs of Surrender was a challenging album to choose from. Mostly because the album consists of 40 re-recorded songs from U2's back catalog.
The band didn't take the lazy way out, though. Bono rewrote some of those songs to varying degrees. “Walk On (Ukraine)” is a complete revision of the All That You Can't Leave Behind track.
That brings us back to “I Will Follow,” the inaugural song on the list. While an older, wiser Bono didn't drastically rewrite the lyrics, a subtle change comes in the second verse.
This time around, Bono tackles the loss of his mother head-on. In turn, that tragedy brought Bono to U2 and thus gave him a career.
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