Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses

This song is about a woman who is dangerous and amazing at the same time. The protagonist falls in love with her... but eventually things get too wild and the protagonist eventually finds himself in emotional quicksand.

They are an emotionally dangerous person:

"You're an accident waiting to happen You're a piece of glass left there on the beach Well you tell me things I know you're not supposed to Then you leave me just out of reach"

All the while, the protagonist loves this person, her love for him is genuine, but tainted in a way that is hard for the protagonist to deal with. This woman will do anything for love, but she's very damaged:

"Well you stole it 'cause I needed the cash And you killed it 'cause I wanted revenge Well you lied to me 'cause I asked you to Baby, can we still be friends"

I mean, it's all pretty self-explanatory. She's a wild woman who doesn't know any stability at all in her life, and when love comes along she tries her best but things ultimately FAIL for our protagonist and he's left wondering how she can possibly fill the void he reluctantly has left behind. He's worried.

My favorite lyric is "who's gonna taste your salt water kisses"...

salt-water = tears

for me this is a prime example of a song that could be about anything that has deep personal meaning. my best friend and i have bonded over this song countless times. without question this is our song...

This is my all time favourite song - U2 are my favourite band and this song means so much to me. I think it's a masterpiece - it's very powerful. It doesn't neccessarily make me cry, it's just makes your heart pound because of the way it builds to the chorus. Truely a work of art

I believe this is simply a beautiful song where he pleads to the "wild" woman he loves who repeatedly leaves him ("gypsy heart"), but repeatedly comes back to him because essentially no one ("who's gonna?") can ride her "wild horses" like he can. Who else can do the things that he's done for her? No one. The part where he essentially leads up to the scream of "Don't turn around, and don't look back. Come on now love, don't you look back" is probably the most mesmerizing part of the song. It's like he's using reverse psychology because he knows once she looks back, he'll be entranced again to do her bidding: "the doors you open I just can't close."

It's a kind push and pull type of thing, thematically similar to "With Or Without You".

The song is amazing.

My take...

You're an accident waiting to happen... She has obviously hurt him in the past by leaving him and he knows she will do it again

You tell me things I know you're not supposed to, then you leave me just out of reach... She confides in him, loves him, but won't commit to him

Who's gonna ride your wild horses... Who is going to be that guy that sweeps her off her feet, the guy she would never leave?

The deeper I spin, the hunter will sin for your ivory skin... He is in over his head and is willing to "sin" (cheat on his spouse???) just to be with her

Took a drive in the dirty rain...the river was laughing at you and me... He snuck away to be with her and is metaphorically being mocked by the river that they can't keep away from each other yet aren't together

Heaven's white rose, the doors you open, I just can't close... Clearly he looks at her like an angel and when she comes looking for him, he just cannot say no to her

Don't turn around, don't turn around your gypsy heart... He's asking her to stop coming back to him, she is a wild woman who is off running here and there but comes back to him and he doesn't want her to because he cannot stop himself from wanting to be with her

Come on love, don't you look back... He calls her "love" because he still loves her, but he's telling her to move on with her life and forget about him

Who's gonna taste your saltwater kisses... Kissing her face after she has been crying???

Who's going to tame the heart of thee? He knows she is carefree and he couldn't keep her tied down so he wonders again, who is going to be the guy that gets her to commit

pretty simple actually. The guy falls in love with this free spirited girl who cannot commit to him. He always knew the reality of the truth, because she was honest about it BUT he was HOPEFUL that she would change. At the same time she would do anything for him. She was too wild for him, he too tame for her. They both knew it. Her world "mocked" the two of them together. "Took a drive in the dirty rain To a place where the wind calls your name Under the trees the river laughing at you and me"

"Whose going to ride your wild horses" refers to who will be the one to live in her “free spirited” world and give her what she wants. He tried, but not his world either. He is hurt, but he knows he cannot be the one to ultimately make her happy. "Don’t turn around", He is asking her to keep going, because if she did turn around, he won’t be able to resist knowing that it is the wrong thing to do. "Who’s going to drown in your blue sea, whose going to taste your salt water kisses" Has nothing to do with tears, he refers to the one who will fall in her world (her blue sea) and taste her salt water kisses (her salt water lips from her blue sea). Who will be the one she will fall in love with. He is hurt it is not him, but he always knew it never was. "Who is going to tame the heart of thee" (who will she commit to?)

I think this song is completely about breakup. A really, really nasty one. Almost like the breakup of a marriage... and y'know how one of the band members had gone through a divorce at the same time of the Achtung Baby writing, maybe this song came out of that. I love to listen to this song when I'm angry or unstable. It's quite an angsty song, and I always calm down listening to it. "Took a drive in the dirty rain, to a place where the wind calls your name Only the trees and river laughing at you and me Hallelujah, Heaven's white rose The doors you open I just can't close" That's sheer poetry. It evokes quite vivid images in my mind- a man driving down a watery, glistening black street in a dirty red pickup truck, rain beating down in sheets... and then he and the girl, "Heaven's white rose", are sitting by the river, a churning brown river, making love in the mud- and her hair is black, her dress is white, and it's getting stained from the mud they're rolling in, and the trees provide little shelter, and wind is whistling through the branches... I get so caught up in this song. I love it to death.

I believe this song is about a married man and his mistress. I think the song is about him having to give her up but not wanting to. I think the

You're dangerous 'cause you're honest You're dangerous, you don't know what you want Well you left my heart empty as a vacant lot For any spirit to haunt

Hey hey sha la la Hey hey

You're an accident waiting to happen You're a piece of glass left there on the beach Well you tell me things I know you're not supposed to Then you leave me just out of reach

is him worried about the trouble to his life this woman could cause, and that she is also has issues.

The next bit is him missing her and still wanting her even though he knows he can't go there. The doors u open I just can't close means to me that he can't get her out of his heart and although he says go he doesn't really want her to.

Oh, the deeper I spin Oh, the hunter will sin for your ivory skin Took a drive in the dirty rain To a place where the wind calls your name Under the trees the river laughing at you and me Hallelujah, heavens white rose The doors you open I just can't close

Don't turn around, don't turn around again Don't turn around, your gypsy heart Don't turn around, don't turn around again Don't turn around, and don't look back Come on now love, don't you look back

This bit to me says he's telling her to go as he knows it's for the best, even though he still wants her.

This last last bit of the song for me (see below) is him saying, who are you going to love next, who is going to have you next, and have what I am missing out on, what I love.

Who's gonna ride your wild horses Who's gonna drown in your blue sea Who's gonna taste your salt water kisses Who's gonna take the place of me

Who's gonna ride your wild horses Who's gonna tame the heart of thee

You're dangerous 'cause you're honest You're dangerous, you don't know what you want Well you left my heart empty as a vacant lot

--> She is a previous lover, that she "left my heart empty as a vacant lot"

For any spirit to haunt

--> Refers to whoever he is with now

You're an accident waiting to happen You're a piece of glass left in a beach Well, you tell me things I know you're not supposed to Then you leave me just out of reach

--> She comes back to him, but he is in another relationship - its "an accident waiting to happen" if he falls in love with her again.

Who's gonna ride your wild horses? Who's gonna drown in your blue sea? Who's gonna ride your wild horses? Who's gonna fall at the foot of thee?

--> He wonders who will she ultimately end up with. Blue sea = blue eyes

Well you stole it 'cause I needed the cash And you killed it 'cause I wanted revenge Well you lied to me 'cause I asked you to Baby, can we still be friends?

--> When they were together, she would do anything for him. When the initial relationship ended - she lied to him saying that they could still be friends, because that's what he wanted to hear

Oh, the deeper I spin Oh, the hunter will sin for your ivory skin

--> He is admitting to being tempted by her at the expense of his current relationship

Took a drive in the dirty rain To a place where the wind calls your name Under the trees the river laughing at you and me

--> poetic recall of being together again. River laughing = can't separate 2 streams/rivers that have joined into one

Hallelujah, heavens white rose The doors you open I just can't close

--> He wants her, if she offer an opportunity, he won't say no

Don't turn around, don't turn around again Don't turn around, your gypsy heart Don't turn around, don't turn around again Don't turn around, and don't look back Come on now love, don't you look back!

--> He's pleading with her (and himself) to go, because he cannot resist her.

Who's gonna ride your wild horses? Who's gonna drown in your blue sea? Who's gonna taste your salt water kisses? Who's gonna take the place of me?

--> He wonders who will take his place - I think this line is filled with bravado, sadness, regret, jealousy.

This song is on the surface about sexual jealousy. However, Larry made the comment once it is about a clandestine affair one band member had with a fan that turned potentially risky.