Ireland unplugged: the roots of Irish folk/trad. (Con)Fusion

“Flowers of Fire”: Sociopolitical Issues in U2’s War and The Joshua Tree

“…I wanna reach out And touch the flame Where the streets have no name. (lines [1][2][3][4][5][6] Certainly, the symbol is full of meaning: it refers to the place where the two sides of the country separate, but it is also where the two sides meet. Thus, the song creates, out of words and music, a big, open image of what the country could sound and feel like at its best.…”

“…I have run, I have crawled I have scaled these city walls These city walls Only to be with you. (lines [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] This time, the narrator goes off in search of something else, but he does not know what because he appears to be searching in the same old material world, mistakenly. Given that the lyrics are written in the first person definitely brands this as Bono's own search, and whatever he is searching and yearning for is clearly desperately personal.…”

“…Jacob wrestled the angel And the angel was overcome. (lines [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] These stanzas refer to the fact that in El Salvador, Bono was witness to the US government fighter planes flying overhead on a mission, and tried to render that sound and feeling. The musical result is impressive, as are the lyrics, notably the improvised spoken lines the singer came up with during the recording:…”

“…Music is in fact always already "political". […] What the music "means", above and beyond that, depends upon your own political persuasions 3 .…”