Lyrics for With or Without You as interpreted by Novartza

With or Without You Lyrics
See the stone set in your eyes
See the thorn twist in your side
I wait for you

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Jayps
08-13-2002

Rated 0 
The best thing about U2's music is that it is always personal to the listener. Sure many of their songs have definate meanings, but many are so that the listener can live into the songs and make it their own. With or without you is one of these open ended spectacular masterpieces of the best band in the WORLD. - my humble opinion

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Tikitavi13
08-15-2002

Rated 0 
i read in a book that this song is about an abusive relationship, because she can't live with the guy, but she still loves him, so she can't live without him.

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PoserChick57
08-18-2002

Rated 0 
Best U2 song ever written and possibly the best song ever written, period. Interpret it anyway you want.

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Little_Baby_Nothing
08-19-2002

Rated 0 
hmm, I'd go with the guy/girl thing because being in that kind of situation is lonely and thats the major theme of the album, hence the title The Joshua Tree - the joshua tree is a tree that stands completely alone in a desert in north america. Best song ever.

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deathbear
08-24-2002

Rated 0 
and this song is easy to play on bass just 3 notes :D

U2 is just awesome.

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U2babe
08-28-2002

Rated 0 
Ok, being a U2 fanatic, for my birthday I was given a U2 book called "Walk on - The spiritual journey of U2." If anyone has ever wondered where their inspiration comes from I would recommend it.

Here's a direct quote from the book written by Steve Stockman:
"Even with or without you is not a plain-sailing love song. There are moments when it appears that it is focusing on the old cliche "Women, you can't live with them, and you can't live without them". But the lyrics twist and turn and deal with a whole lot more than a relationship between men and women. Weaving two or three themes into one song is another trait of U2's song writing. Niall Stokes, in his song-by-song account of the bands entire back catalog, is accurate when he sees erotic love and agape love mixing around here, also another great U2 theme of surrendering the ego in the lyrics 'give yourself away' (Luke 9:24). Of course, a person does give himself away in love and marriage, but this kind of surrender could be spiritual or even in opening up to hundreds of thousands of fans everynight."

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meremortal
09-11-2002

Rated 0 
Like most everyone here, I think this song is awsome! Bonos just amazing, really the lyrics can mean so much to so many different people. It's a tallent that Bono has, he can connect so many people just to one song and make that same song, that holds everyone to it, so powerful that it in so many ways is so deep to those who listen to it. am i makin any sense? :)

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MetalKronic
09-12-2002

Rated 0 
I think this about a girl that he loved so much but he couldn't manage to get that love back, and he was dying because of it

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Jillikins
10-06-2002

Rated 0 
I'm in the middle of a terrible break up with a guy that I love so much. He's breaking up with me (probably rightly so), I'm just trying to hold onto him best I can. One night when I was by myself I had the urge to listen to "The Joshua Tree" and found myself transfixed by this song. It had never had so much meaning in it until that moment. No other song portrays my feelings so well. I don't care what Bono meant by this song, just what it means to me.

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WishYouWereHere
10-14-2002

Rated 0 
Amazing...

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USPOAHZMSF
03-08-2003

Rated 0 
ultimatley it comes down to, uhh, two people who love eachother, but they could nevery be happy together... it sounds like my friend and me.

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USPOAHZMSF
03-08-2003

Rated 0 
ultimatley it comes down to, uhh, two people who love eachother, but they could nevery be happy together... it sounds like my friend and me.

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jenelle182
03-15-2003

Rated 0 
GOOSE BUMPS all the way!! I mean, to me, this song sums up the feeling of love all to well that it is FREAKY WEIRD! all of these meanings are so well thought out! I say just enjoy it!! :D

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BadMojo
03-19-2003

Rated 0 
God = Love = Addiction
You = Me = She

Every love song is about God, especially when it's U2. Just ask Bono, it's his musical theory.

Since God is love, the focus of your love IS your God, whether it's a man, woman, child or drug, or even your favourite rock star.

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kerkergurl
03-27-2003

Rated 0 
totally reminds me of my friend joe. it's one of his fave songs and i can't live with or without him-real love/hate. he calls it the friends song, cuz they had it on friends one time. ignorance!

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meradyth
03-29-2003

Rated 0 
In high school, I fell for a guy who lead me on and then started dating someone else--but told me that he could see himself with me forever. He said this to me and started to play this song--my first exposure to U2 and it's still my favorite song, though I don't think of him anymore. I do, however, put this song on whenever I need quiet music, sad music, unrequited love music...and it can still make me cry like no other.

Two other notes:
Bono's vocals are agonizing enough on Joshua Tree, but the Rattle and Hum version just gets me when he sings the additional lyrics.

And live....dear goodness...if you get the chance, see it live. I hope they never stop playing this song in concert.

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utasteadrenaline
04-18-2003

Rated 0 
this is my favorite song ever
watch the emotion bono has when they play it on the rattle and hum dvd

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xiath
05-06-2003

Rated 0 
Based upon my interpretation and my personal experience, here's my interpretation on the song. A great paradox indeed :)

Two lovers, a man to a woman:
See the stone set in your eyes
> she slowly stops loving him
See the thorn twist in your side
> it's a very painful experience for her
I wait for you
> he still wants to be with her, even though she is now a totally different person, not the person he fell in love with... reality: you just have to move on

Sleight of hand and twist of fate
> "things" happen that are out of their control
On a bed of nails she makes me wait
> he waits for things to get better while he suffers in pain
And I wait without you
> he's away from her and still hurting

Through the storm we reach the shore
> you go through great adversity to try to build a life together
You give it all but I want more
> she gives him all her love, but she can't love him the way he wants
And I'm waiting for you
> he wants to love her back, but he can't

And you give yourself away
> she just keeps giving him love

My hands are tied
> you're powerless
My body bruised, she's got me with
> emotionally bruised (not a body full of bruises)
Nothing to win and
Nothing left to lose
> it feels like there's no escape from the situation, how can you ever recover? a real tragedy.

there's no hidden meaning to songs guys, it's like a book you read... everyone has a different interpretation :) it's that the beauty of song lyrics and poetry? and no flamers please :)

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*green*eyes*
06-17-2003

Rated 0 
this song is my favorite of all time! just to share...it was number one on the charts the day i was born!... and xiath..you sound like an awesome guy! i love your interpretation of the song.

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lizka
06-23-2003

Rated 0 
My first ever U2 song, so it holds alot of memories for me. Being around age 2 and 3 and being obsessed with Bono [which was one of my first words, haha!]

A very beautiful song. I think the meaning is simple. Just listen to the song.

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miss_opinion101
06-26-2003

Rated 0 
I can't live with or without him, cause he's ruining his life everyday "you give yourself away"... but I love him soooooo much at the same time and want to be with him.

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dinger
06-28-2003

Rated 0 
Love xiath's interpretation, especially of the first two verses. They confused me but what you said makes sense. Thanks!

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dreamevil3
06-29-2003

Rated 0 
its like being friends with someone you eventually fall in love with but you know you cant tell the person because you dont know how they feel or how they'll react

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thestamp
07-03-2003

Rated 0 
xiath's interpretation:

And you give yourself away
> she just keeps giving him love

Doesn't that rather mean something like
> you are silent and don't want to speak, but your expression reveals what you are thinking/feeling

"You just keep giving your love" seems to contradict and be rather unconsistent with the overall situation of incommunicability between the 2 lovers. What do you think?

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beforeromancedies
07-07-2003

Rated 0 
the song is so simple yet its simplicity makes it beautiful

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