The one and only interview I did see with Bono said the song is an interpretation of Christ's love on the cross and is Christ talking to us from the cross. Follow along for a bit.

See the stone set in your eyes
See the thorn twist in your side
I wait for you

(Christ wore a crown of thorns that were twisted into his skull to make him feel the pain even more. He had stones cast upon him and saw the mis-guided hate in his captor's eyes...yet...he waits for them.)

Sleight of hand and twist of fate
On a bed of nails she makes me wait
And I wait without you

(The reason this song gets the confusion it does is because of one word "she", she is the mother Mary who watches her son be crucified on the cross...he knows God made her his mother and there he waits because of fate and a sleight of hand (Judas)...on a bed of nails without her.

With or without you
With or without you

Through the storm we reach the shore
You give it all but I want more
And I'm waiting for you

(This is a very common statement from Christ/God's message to us. Through all of the bad and horrible times we live through...we get through them...giving your all inside of you BUT not to Christ...not to God...you give it for yourself while ignoring all along that it is Christ who was with you the entire time...but he waits...he waits for you to give your love to him...and he waits while he continues to give)



With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you

(Christ can't live without you believing in him and his love...with you believing in him or without you believing in him...he wants you to love him...he can't live in the middle of it)

And you give yourself away
And you give yourself away
And you give
And you give
And you give yourself away

(The release of his love by dying for us on the cross and the double meaning of us giving ourselves to Christ)

My hands are tied
My body bruised, she's got me with
Nothing to win and
Nothing left to lose

(This is the easiest part of the song. Hands are tied. Body bruised, she's got me with nothing to win and nothing left to lose. Tied to the cross, body beaten and whipped for hours on end and there he is...nothing to win and nothing to lose...he gives himself TO US)

And you give yourself away
And you give yourself away
And you give
And you give
And you give yourself away

With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you

With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you
With or without you

(Christ waits for your love)

There you have it. Hope it helps.

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Oh... Does nobody think this song is directly refering to the Death of Jesus? "see the stoneset in your eyes" his determination to obey his faith, "see the thorn twist in your side", he was stabbed in the ribs when he hung from the cross "On a bed of Nails", The cross perhaps, "through to storm we reach the shore you give it all but I want more" he calmed the storm a perfect symbol for all the miracles he worked, but how even though he obviously proved himself the world want more(his life), "And you give yourself away" how he offered himself up to the world even though he knew he'd undergo great tortures? Its just an idea but I thought for once that it might be nicer to not look at every single song as a love song...

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I think this song is truly inspirational and a masterpiece! There are many different meanings brought up and as this is my first post i thought i should be for my favourite song. In my opinion, I think that it is a love song written from one perspective. I think the song is about a guy and a girl who obviously mean lots to each other but the girl isn't sure yet how she feels. This could be because they were friends previously. However, the guy knows what he wants and loves her, probably more than she loves him. I think that they finally get together (throught the storm we reach the shore) but the guy thought it was all he wanted but she's not giving it to him, (you give it all but I want more). I think that he actually can't live with her because it hurts too much knowing that she will never feel as strongly about him as he does about her. But on the other hand he can't live without her because that hurts too much too. He will wait forever but at the same time he knows that she 'gives herself away'. This could be taken in two ways in that she is literally giving herself away and falling for wrong people when it should be him, or that she gives herself away in that he can read her like a book. Whatever interpritations people have of the song, it is truly wonderful and will never be forgotten! x

The way I interpret this song and how it relates to my life is this: The Yin & Yang of life, of relationships, of love and of basic human nature. It is a song about conflicting values, the constant and never-ending compromises we must juggle in our intimate relationships being - privacy vs transparency, novelty vs predictability, autonomy vs connectedness. Human beings are, by our very nature, creatures of contradiction. What do you do when your partner has a need that in order for you to satisfy means you sacrifice something fundamental to who you are? And does making this sacrifice for the one you love mean you diminish the love and respect you should have for yourself? The risk of losing yourself becomes very real, where do you draw the line between being true to yourself but being alone, or giving yourself away for the benefit of being in a relationship? Ask yourself this question: "Would you sacrifice all that you are, to keep all that you have?"...

I think this song is simply about loving someone so much it hurts too much to be with them (in a good way like John Mellencamp's lyrics "it hurts so good") and it hurts too much to be without them. That is what makes this song one of the ultimate love songs. He has her, he knows she's given him her all, but he wants more because that's human nature. We want more and more of a good thing and this desire can never be satisfied. In a sense, the desire, want, and satisfaction of the desire, becomes self-rewarding. There's nothing left to win, and nothing left to lose. This is what true love really is.

Your first hit of heroin is essentially your last - you can wait your whole life, shoot up until your body can't take it anymore, but it will never give you the answer you are looking for. No matter how much you give yourself over to it, no matter how much you want it, no matter how much of that cruel love you inject into your veins, your next hit will never, ever bring you closer to freedom.

And before you know it, you won't be able to live with or without it, despite the fact that it can't give you what you are looking for and is destroying you in the process. There's nothing to gain and nothing to lose and there appears to be no answer. You don't want to take heroin anymore but she won't let you go without a fight. And some part of you doesn't want to let go of her, either, because it's simpler to let her win.

You're addicted.

There is no easy way out of her grasp. You will have to suffer, you will have to wait on that bed of nails without relief. Time will not stand still for you, and you will have to ride the journey out without her.

Bono found a way out of his addiction with faith. Maybe there came an answer one day, maybe he realised how ironically similar his relationship with drugs were to God, to humans, even. Heroin can only give you so much, it can only give you temporary relief.

Heroin cannot give you love.

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Wow! This is one of the greatest tunes ever. There seem to be a lot of different opinions about what it means, all of which seem to have merit. It certainly has a lot of metaphors. I think this song, like many, has different levels of meaning. Bono & other members of U2 are in fact Christian & this comes through in their lyrics. It can be understood from the viewpoint of Jesus suffering for human kind ("...a bed of nails", "see the thorn twist in your side.") & waiting patiently for them to turn to Him. It can also be taken as a love song to someone who causes the singer great emotional pain & confusion. "And you give yourself away" could refer to infidelity. He "can't live with or without" her. That's something I can personally relate to, since I went through a painful separation & divorce. I think it also refers to a struggle to overcome a drug addiction. ("See the stone set in your eyes", "On a bed of nails she makes me wait.", "You give it all but I want more.") Bono once stated that he personally fought & overcame an addiction. In any case this is a very powerful, emotional song, rich in meaning. It makes me a little misty whenever I hear it.

I think this song could possibly be about a person who's heart is telling them they want to be with the person they love but their head is telling them not too. They feelit makes more sense not to be with this person because maybe they fight alot or have alot of problems to work out but yet they feel like they love them and they always will so they're torn. They can't live " with or without" this person.
I've been going through something like this lately. My girlfriend of a year and four months broke up with me and now that I look back on our relationship in my head it makes sense that we broke up but yet my heart wants to keep fighting for what we had so I don't know what to do.
Just my humble opinion =) God bless

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I think this song shows the love hate relationship he has with a girl. He's insecure with himself, because even though this girl is trying it still doesn't feel enough, he wants more. So it hurts to be with her but also to be without her. Reminds me of how I was insecure about a relationship I had with a guy when I was 15. Even though he obviously cared about me, it didn't feel like it, and I was never satisfied.

mmmh...
BDSM anyone?

Man what I Gotta tell you is that this song reminds me of spending some time with my mom.

I have no problem with the metaphysical interpretations out there, but for me, this song is much more visceral, much more poignant.

It speaks of me because I've been in that type of relationship, where everything seemed one-sided. I gave everything, and she seemed to give what she could, which never seemed enough. Long distance helped compound my pain. I had no idea what she was feeling, what she was doing, even if I was a thought in her mind as she handled her day to day issues.

"With or Without You" described the trap that I was in, that I'm still in. I live every day on my own "bed of nails" and wonder if the woman that I love will be enough for me when we finally can be together.

Well done, Bono.

To me it sounds like loving her is hell. She has stony looks and personal problems (thorn twisting in her side). She makes him believe she loves him as he her (sleight of hand, twist of fate) but she never gives herself fully to him (she makes him wait for her on a bed of nails, tortured). After all the struggle she's finally with him but now he's not satisfied with her love because he doesn't believe she loves him completely (she gives it all but he wants more) So in a way he's still waiting for her to be ready to love him (and I'm waiting for you). She's easy to read (you give yourself away) He's got nothing to gain and she already has everything he has to give. He can't live with, or without her. Very simple lyrics. Beautifully written and composed.

Great song, absolutely brilliant. He really expresses emotion through music and vocals amazingly. Meaning is pretty clear.

I am so passionate about what I think this means so me. The chorus especially... I'll admit this may not apply to the verses, but anyway.. I am always reminded of a scripture passage in Mark 8:

"And [Jesus] called to him the multitude with his disciples, and said to them, 'If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it; and whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man, to gain the whole world and forfeit his life?'"

I interpret the chorus in reference with these verses. It's like Bono knows he can't live the life Jesus calls him to when he's living in the world. And Bono can't live his fleshly, sin-desiring life with God.
*So Bono can't live (fleshly) WITH Jesus (" with you"), and he can't live (for eternity, abundantly, and with hope) WITHOUT Jesus.

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I do not disagree with some of the interpretations that i have have just read. However, for my own reasons, i like to come at this song (mainly the chorus) from a different angle. I sing these lines "with or without you" in worship to my God. As some of you may understand, the christian relationship with God is a paradox. I can't live with him because of my sin, wickedness, and evil nature, but i simply cannot live (life as the new testament describes it) with out him because "he who does not have the son does not have life" I am not trying to press my beliefs. I only want to share something about this song that i think is cool.

This song helped me stand up for myself. Essentially there was this guy I liked and he seemed to like me. We dated for a brief time span, and he kept allowing me to think that his feelings for me were growing. Abruptly after 3 weeks or so he just bluntly told me he wasn't into me, and that he didn't want to see me anymore. I was upset, but I knew I deserved better treatment than that and promised myself that I wouldn't open my heart to someone unless they really earned it. We went about a year and half without seeing one another and I randomly ran into him while he was out with a mutual friend. He invited me to go with them out to the fair and rodeo and I thought this could be an interesting opportunity to sort of get back at him. The entire rest of the night we had a really great time, and I could tell he was definitely feeling something towards me beyond the complete disinterest he had last shown toards me. We were about to leave the fairgrounds when we came upon a live band playing this song. It was a gorgeous, star-filled sky and us just standing side-by-side listening to every word of this song being played live right in front of our faces. We got back to the car and he opened the door for me (new behavior) and then he drove me back my car. At the point I was about to exit he stopped me and said, "I want to take you out on a date." I sort of froze out of shock that he was showing interest in me, and then I remembered what a jerk he had been to lead me on the way he did. At that point I told him that I don't resume dating people who are so willing to drop me and who take me for granted. He begged me to give him a second chance, and I told him no, should've never let me go.

You know why I consider this song perhaps the greatest song ever concieved. The lyrics is universal, everyone could relate to it. Bono doesnt describe about specific people or events, its quite generalized. It deals with the struggles of contradictions. And life is full of contradictions. Everyone in a certain degree feels an inner turmoil within themselves. At times you cant live with or without you, that could be yourself or some other entity or perhaps just a generalized feeling. Its sheer genius how Bono interwined all the facets of just pure human understanding. And also you could interpet it in so many ways. Religiously, introspectively, spiritually, romantically, scientifically. Even though the words seem so simplistic at face value, when you look deeper, the words become more complexed, the meaning becomes intensified and the truth of it manifests.

I think this is a song about unrequited love. In this case, the singer loves the woman more than the woman loves the singer. He can, and has given his whole heart to her, but she cannot to him, no matter what either of them try. The singer is aware of this tragedy, but cannot do anything about it. He won't leave her, because to lose her would destroy him as much as it destroys him to be with her, knowing his love is not totally returned. So when they are together, and when they are not together, he will always be waiting for her to reciprocate his love, even though he knows that it's futile to do so.






Here's my line by line interpretation:

See the stone set in your eyes (this woman appears certain in whatever decision she has made, hence the “stony” look, perhaps leaving him for someone else, perhaps a refusal to commit to him)
See the thorn twist in your side (but he can tell that something is torturing her. She’s not as certain as she thinks and is torn about her decision.)
I wait for you (he’ll wait for her to make up her mind, even though the healthy thing would be to move on and forget her. And he does this because he’s totally in love with her and is unable to stop feeling this way)

Sleight of hand and twist of fate (he’s saying that when she entered and disappeared from his life it changed him forever.)
On a bed of nails she makes me wait (beds are supposed to be restful, but not his. His dreams are tortured, and every waking and unconscious thought revolves around her)
And I wait without you

With or without you
With or without you (he’s saying he’s going to wait whether she comes to him or not. Essentially, he has no choice in the matter. his heart has made up his mind for him.)

Through the storm we reach the shore (after their hardships she comes to him, perhaps after leaving the other man and deciding she belonged with him instead)
You give it all but I want more (she gives all she is capable of giving but perhaps she still can’t give her whole heart to him. It seems she is incapable of completely loving and committing to him. It seems he loves her more than she loves him.)
And I'm waiting for you (and so, he is still waiting for a conclusion that he knows will never come)

With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you (he can’t live knowing she’s not as in love with him as he is with her, but letting her go would totally destroy him)

And you give yourself away
And you give yourself away
And you give
And you give
And you give yourself away (I feel like this line could be about either of them. He’s given himself away totally and she gives too but it’s not perfect reciprocation. I think it’s more tragic to think that the singer feels he’s given himself away, all the while knowing the futility of his actions, because she’ll never completely be his.)

My hands are tied
My body bruised, she's got me with
Nothing to win and
Nothing left to lose (being with her has stripped him of everything. There’s nothing more he can get from her. And because he’s given everything of himself, there’s nothing left but sorrow. So that even if he did manage to leave her, he couldn’t love someone else, because he’d given everything to her.)

And you give yourself away
And you give yourself away
And you give
And you give
And you give yourself away (Again, I think this refers to himself. He’s bemoaning the unfairness of unreciprocated love.)

With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you

With or without you
With or without you
I can't live
With or without you
With or without you (He reiterates that a scenario where she is with him or not with him is a painful one. And even when she is with him, he is still waiting and will never be sated)

truly embodies the contradictions of love; yet, we as humans can't live with or without it.

I am going to have to agree with amanda, I love it to bits, no matter what it's true meaning is. Personally I think its the guy/girl interpretation. It's a chilling song.

11 hr 42 min ago

Rated 0 Over the years I have wondered what are the meaning of these lyrics. I am new to this site and have been looking back over some of the opinions, and they are all interesting. But, has anyone ever suggested this song might be about domestic physical abuse? Several years ago, I heard an individual send in one of those "dedications" to Casey Kasem on Top 40 countdown, explaining how the words of this song described exactly how individuals might feel in a once loving-relationship turned abusive. It might sound odd, but the words here do fit.

Knowing U2's reputation of crafting songs of political flavor, religous overtones, and native loyalty to their country, I have never really thought of the song as another "deep" love song. Other views such as drug abuse recovery, maybe. I can see some reference to the idea about discontent with God in this life. However, I think most Christians would see this as a horrible attitude to have, because your relationship towards God is meant to be satisfying and full!

The use of words: "she" and "you" have always been interesting. U2 has used "she" before in other songs meaning the "world" (or environment, culture, or relationship someone lives in). "You" I think is the big question mark for this song. If you take the idea about spousal/physical abuse, it means the person who was/is loved, but is now inflicting abuse/pain.

There is a clear distinction here between the characters "you" and "she".

The openings lyrics illude to God, so I take this song as somewhat of a continuation of the conflict in "I still haven't found what I'm looking for".

At the start he's waiting for God, but after the next lyrics "sleight of hand and twist of fate" He's compromised (no sexual inuendo intended) by a relationship or a love interest. So deciding that his waiting has been in vain, he falls deep into the snare of temporal love with "she".

The next verse is tricky, but it seems to express a dissatisfaction with God and what he's been dealt despite "reaching the shore". I see this to be the main jist of the song. In that, God keeps giving, but it never seems to be enough, so he falls into the ails of earthly pleasures (where he is left on a bed of nails, his hands tied and body bruised) and in turn needs to be rescued by God.

This is just one take of the song of course, but the famous chorus "with or without you" may refer to the friction between his discontent with God's gifts alone, and his inability to survive and live by seeking life and love elsewhere.
So he can't live with God (because "You gave it all, but I want more"; note the similarity to the previous song), and he can't live without God because he becomes victim to "she", who takes advantage of his vulnerability and search for more. (My hands are tied, my body bruised, she got me with nothing to win and nothing left to lose.")



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I love the concept. We've all had someone that we love so much, and that we can't live with, nor without. In very few words he defines love. I especially how he says his hands are tied and his body's bruised and if he leaves her, he neither wins nor loses. Fucking awesome lyric

From the moment I heard those first immaculate chimes as the song began, I knew that this is what love is, was, and always shall be, and, despite the immense pain that we all endure, we always know that love ironically always prevails. Sorry for that non-parallel structure rant, I just really teary for a moment :')