SOS
Active topics
U2 - Songs Of Surrender (2023)
 Tracks: 40
  1. Originally posted by enoone:Bono's new lyrics are awful. I had a nightmare that he will now and forever sing these songs with his new lack-luster re-writes. It was always one of my favorite U2 tracks and now I skip the new track entirely. Huge bummer. Bono's granny glasses phase is not a literary one.
    I like many of his new lyrics personally but I agree that on this song it feels contrived and unnatural. I think my problem is that in the original, the reference to Aung San Suu Kyi was quite subtle – to most people it probably did not strike them as a political song (I did not think of it that way initially at least). This rewrite is so on the nose that there is no room left for interpretation, it's just a vapid sermon.
  2. Originally posted by God_Part_III:[..]
    I like many of his new lyrics personally but I agree that on this song it feels contrived and unnatural. I think my problem is that in the original, the reference to Aung San Suu Kyi was quite subtle – to most people it probably did not strike them as a political song (I did not think of it that way initially at least). This rewrite is so on the nose that there is no room left for interpretation, it's just a vapid sermon.
    I think this is a smart take. I don’t mind them taking the side of Ukraine that much because it’s not really a controversial take, it’s a pretty morally clear-cut decision. But yes, this is a much less subtle lyric.
  3. Is Bono still miffed w/ Aung San Suu Kyi?

    Given what happened to her....
  5. Seems petty.

    I mean, there's way more to admire than revile about her.

    BTW - no need to be a wiseass w/ the ellipsis.
  6. A nice final third. Some of the new lyrics kinda ruin the melody a little but it was obvious that Bono wanted to erase any association with Sui Kyi so we should be happy that this isn’t too bad.
  7. Originally posted by germcevoy:A nice final third. Some of the new lyrics kinda ruin the melody a little but it was obvious that Bono wanted to erase any association with Sui Kyi so we should be happy that this isn’t too bad.
    I still can't get over this part:

    "Home
    You don’t know what it is
    Until you’re force(d) to flee one
    Home
    Til I know where it is
    I will have to be on(e)
    Home
    That’s where the hurt is"
  8. Originally posted by kris_smith87:[..]
    I still can't get over this part:

    "Home
    You don’t know what it is
    Until you’re force(d) to flee one
    Home
    Til I know where it is
    I will have to be on(e)
    Home
    That’s where the hurt is"
    Overall I've never been a huge fan of this song, neither in its original album format or here on SOS. It also didn't really connect with me live on 360, either, though the "hallelujah" ending on Elevation was excellent.

    But yeah - I really do appreciate that re-write that you quoted here. I also like that Bono changed it from "all this you can leave behind" to "all that you can't leave behind". Even though the Ukraine connection comes on maybe a bit too forced I appreciate these subtler ways of changing the song's association while still retaining some of its original meaning.