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See it driving nails
Into the souls on the tree of pain
From the firefly, a red orange glow
See the face of fear
Running scared in the valley below
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue
In the locust wind comes a rattle and hum
Jacob wrestled the angel
And the angel was overcome
You plant a demon seed
You raise a flower of fire
See them burning crosses
See the flames higher and higher
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue
This guy comes up to me
His face red like a rose on a thorn bush
Like all the colors of a royal flush
And he's peeling off those dollar bills
Slapping them down
One hundred, two hundred
And I can see those fighter planes
And I can see those fighter planes
Across the mud huts where the children sleep
Through the alleys of a quiet city street
You take the staircase to the first floor
Turn the key and slowly unlock the door
As a man breathes into a saxophone
And through the walls you hear the city groan
Outside is America
Outside is America
Across the field you see the sky ripped open
See the rain through a gaping wound
Pounding on the women and children
Who run
Into the arms
Of America
How many Irish men does it take to screw in a light bulb?
To play from start to finish & no shuffle
A while back, U2 played a show in Belfast. The band paused and Bono had the crowd start to clap their hands. He then told the crowd : "every time you clap, a young child dies"! ...then a young kid jumped up an screamed: THEN QUIT CLAPPING YOUR FOOKIN' HANDS!
TOO FUNNY! LOL!
Still gives me shivers up my spine every time I hear this.
GREAT TUNE!!
1973 these Tres Hombres were touring the Tres Hombres album. I was a freshman at a small college in Georgia and had never been to any kind of concert. These guys played the basketball gym, maybe 2k people there. Just three guys laying down the finest sound I ever heard. Within two months I was at Univ. Ga. to hear Elton tour Yellow Brick Road.
College was very, very good to me!!!!!
Hey, buddy! Did you mean to post this in a ZZ Top thread? (heh, heh, Those UGa boys seem to have trouble with techno stuff ... <chuckle, chuckle>)
With respect,
Uncle Hud
Georgia Institute of Technology
Class of 1985
Together with RUTTLE & HUM where you can hear a powerful live version of this song !
LOL. RUTTLE & HUM is the favorite album of elk everywhere.
College was very, very good to me!!!!!
'MERICA.
"..am I buggin' ya?" [he meant to]
No, this is where they jelled and matured making their sound unique to them. Achtung Baby is where it went forward from there
All That You Can't Leave Behind is where they became 'rock stars'
Anything from this album could be their best!
Together with RUTTLE & HUM where you can hear a powerful live version of this song !
LIVE means IN PERSON, ya seen them that way? It's Rattle, btw.
Together with RUTTLE & HUM where you can hear a powerful live version of this song !
"Where the Streets Have No Name" is my vote for their best song, but I agree about the album.
No. It's not. So there.
'MERICA.
+1 Exactly. U2 are boy-zooropa. Everything after that is pure garbage.
Subscribing to this statement
Nope, not today, not anymore.
+1 Exactly. U2 are boy-zooropa. Everything after that is pure garbage. With the exception of Hold me Thrill me Kiss me Kill me.
Threw some ? marks into the bargain.
Threw all the statements out.
Afterall, they say it's a doing word.
Agree
Sonic and lyric power in spades.
But this album (The Joshua Tree) is quite good all-in-all. To me a classic.
Give it a listen
Perry, is there something you'd like to share with us about...addiction?
marvelous...
Well said, friend... miss you...
U2 is a good band, this song is really good. No one in their right mind has ever compared them musically to Led Zepplin though they may end up selling more records than Zep. Selling records and good music only occasionally hang out together though and are not really good friends.
I came of musical age with the Beatles and the Stones and my high school was definitely a stronghold of the Zeppelin, Who, Floyd fanatics.
Really love Zep and the Who - Floyd not so much, but as I moved on to first Bowie and then punk and on the Elvis Costello, U2s arrival on the rock radio scene were welcome breaths of fresh air - that I inhaled in massive quantities - so my affection for them still exceeds mine for Zeppelin.
And really its for one main reason - and if you see who my mainstay's were you can tell - its the songs. The tunes. The well crafted musical stories. Zep was a mind blowing Blues/Rock/Hardass kicking quartet with fantastic players and an incredibly charismatic front man. Floyd was a mind blowing Blues/Prog/Atmospheric/ neo-Classical bunch of amazing players.
But in my humble opinion, U2, like the Beatles and Stones, the Who, Bowie, and Elvis - just wrote - and occasionally sitll write - better songs than Plant, Page, Waters, Gilmour et al.
Absolutely —- a show stopper live.....
I agreee !!!!!!!!!
Absolutely —- a show stopper live.....
Didn`t kill me, I liked it.
stations to play. Bono,you sold out years ago.
In general I'd agree, but this particular song sounds very much like Zep, particularly the bass/drums. (Try playing it back to back with "When The Levee Breaks".) Not saying that's good or bad, it just is.
That's what rock and roll is about. I had a similar experience the first time I heard Nirvana's Smells like Teen Spirit. Was working at a Best Buy in the computer section. Somebody in the stereo section next to us cranked up Nirvana so half the store could hear it. I was working two ailes down and should have went over there and turned it down, but instead, I was like, "Wow"... that freakin' rocks... and let it play LOUD.
YEAH!
U2 is a good band, this song is really good. No one in their right mind has ever compared them musically to Led Zepplin though they may end up selling more records than Zep. Selling records and good music only occasionally hang out together though and are not really good friends.
Everybody in my hotel room loves this song, and this whole album...
I think I need to join your party! Third Album I ever bought. Still makes my heart skip a beat hearing it.
I agree!
great album! don't "diss" bono!
The Joshua tree is a plant in the southwestern United States, with sword-shaped leaves and greenish-white flowers grouped in large panicles...
a group of Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid-19th century named the plant the Joshua tree, after Joshua of the Old Testament— the forks of the tree reminded them of Joshua's hand raised as he prayed, and also the shape of the leaves reminded them of Joshua's spear...
the name of U2's album, The Joshua Tree, is complicated... first, the entire album has a religious theme... second, the title is a tribute to the global power of the United States... third, the album also shows U2's fascination with American culture, politics, and forms of music...
this is a great song...
YES IT IS!
In the howlin' wind
Comes a stingin' rain
See it drivin' nails
Into the souls on the tree of pain.
From the firefly
A red orange glow
See the face of fear
Runnin' scared in the valley below.
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue.
In the locust wind
Comes a rattle and hum.
Jacob wrestled the angel
And the angel was overcome.
You plant a demon seed
You raise a flower of fire.
We see them burnin' crosses
See the flames, higher and higher.
Woh, woh, bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue.
Now this guy comes up to me
His face red like a rose on a thorn bush
Like all the colours of a royal flush
And he's peelin' off those dollar bills
(Slappin' 'em down)
One hundred, two hundred.
And I can see those fighter planes
And I can see those fighter planes
Across the mud huts as children sleep
Through the alleys of a quiet city street.
Up the staircase to the first floor
We turn the key and slowly unlock the door
As a man breathes into his saxophone
And through the walls you hear the city groan.
Outside, is America
Outside, is America
America.
See across the field
See the sky ripped open
See the rain comin' through the gapin' wound
Howlin' the women and children
Who run into the arms
of America...
These guys are tiresome. Let them RIP.
That said, this is a great song off a great album. The United States really is that frightening to the rest of the world! Trust me on this. I have seen our country thru the eyes of others, and they are often wide and full of disbelief.
I stay; want to hear the screaming guitar.
SaintPeter wrote:
These guys are tiresome. Let them RIP.
What? And miss out on "Spider Man, The Musical?"
These guys are tiresome. Let them RIP.
Before they got religion and lost their edge.
That's not true. They always had a religious (read: Christian) undertones to their music, owning to the active faith of most members. Many of their songs touch on this, going all the way back to "I Will Follow". From what I understand, that song is loosely written from Jesus' point of view as he calls out to a wayward soul "Walk away, walk away - I will follow." In other words, grace.
but there is a great U2 song named Bad ;)
Back when they were awesome!
Yes! Before they got religion and lost their edge. Glad to know it's not just me.
Patty Griffin - "Blue Sky"
U2 - "Bullet the Blue Sky"
Pink Floyd - "Goodbye Blue Sky"
How 'bout "Sky Blue Sky" by Wilco in your set?
Patty Griffin - "Blue Sky"
U2 - "Bullet the Blue Sky"
Pink Floyd - "Goodbye Blue Sky"
Yes. Then end it with Billie Holiday - "How High is the Sky".
Patty Griffin - "Blue Sky"
U2 - "Bullet the Blue Sky"
Pink Floyd - "Goodbye Blue Sky"
Back when they were awesome!
Barely play, huh? Nobody, that I've heard, has even reomotely come close to sounding like The Edge. Maybe he's just over your head, pal. I'm truly sorry you don't get it.
Bono once said that notes are expensive and the Edge is the master of knowing when to use them. I agree. Sometimes less is more. And sometimes the true measure of a guitar player, or any musician for that matter, is knowing when NOT to play.
Excellent comment and I agree completely. I love how guitar players love to cut down Edge about his playing. Too many guitarists think that the song is about how fast they can play a scale or finger tap their way through the solo. Edge has an ear. A lot of players don't.
If you work too hard at the mechanics of guitar playing, that's how you play, mechanically.
How many Irish men does it take to screw in a light bulb?
NONE! They'll drink in the dark!