I have finally done it. I’m now in Week 6 of my 52 Weeks with U2 series and for the first time I have gone with one of the big ones. So far my inspirations have come from newer albums and the songs may not immediately be known by a less than serious U2 fan. This week my inspiration comes from With or Without You — a song known by virtually everyone. It’s U2′s second most covered song and Rolling Stone listed this song at 132 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of all Time.
My ears are trained to hear U2. I’ve listened to every album and all the hidden stuff so much that I can hear it when nobody else can. I was once in a crowded market with Monica and told her I could hear U2 playing. She thought I was crazy but a few minutes later, just before the end of the song, I finally found the vendor who had the little radio with the U2 song playing.
How many chords do you have to hear before you recognize the song of one of your favorite bands? For me, with U2, it’s not many. Especially with a song like With or Without You. But when you hear those first few chords live the avid U2 fan might find himself immediately asking another question.
Will we get the extra verse?
The song was originally released as a part of the epic Joshua Tree album — which by the way Rolling Stone lists as number 26 on their list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. On tour, the band introduced an extra verse that’s sparingly been a part of live performances.
We’ll shine like stars in the summer night,
We’ll shine like stars in the winter light
One heart, one hope, one love
It’s the climax of a great love anthem. It’s as if the climax itself is so sacred — the words so powerful — that Bono has determined they can only be uttered sparingly. I know the feeling Bono is singing about. Anyone who is madly in love with their epic life journey partner knows the feeling. When I hear Bono bellow those sacred lines I want to triumphantly stand arm in arm with my wife with our heads held high.
With or without you.
Earlier in the song there’s this line, “Through the storm we reach the shore, You give it all but I want more…” and you get the picture of this couple going through life together, struggling together, dealing with difficulty and hard knocks together. But doing it together.
I love going to weddings. I’m a guy that watches football and drinks beer but I love going to weddings. I love going to weddings because I get to be there right at the beginning of this great journey. I’m able to witness the miracle of two becoming one. I never buy a gift for the bride and groom. I bring cash. (I wonder if I’m going to start getting invitations to more weddings after writing this). I bring cash because I don’t want to buy more stuff that’s just going to clutter up the bride and grooms life. I think that my sincere hope is that they’ll spend the money on tequila shots on the first stop of their honeymoon.
I never put my gift with the other gifts. I always subtly hand the cash to the groom with a note that reads: “I don’t wish you a life of happiness or success or prosperity. I wish you a life of adventure. Together.”
When you’re on that adventure together — the good times and the bad — there comes a moment while the music plays that you can say…
We’ll shine like stars in the summer night,
We’ll shine like stars in the winter light
One heart, one hope, one love
This post is the sixth in a 52 week series through 2012 on meditations drawn from U2 lyrics. To find out more read this intro to the series.
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