There are so many interpretations of this song that...I can't really agree with just one. I think that any song can mean something to someone. I think thats the magic that artists/bands give out to their fans.

I just know that this is a very beautiful song and U2 is an amazing band.

One of the greatest songs ever, IMO. Along with Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here, and Shine On You Crazy Diamond (all parts).

I'm sure this song is about drugs. I read someone that it was second to The Police's 'Every Step You Take' in being the most misinterpreted love song of the 80's.

well, i haven't read all the other posts so this might have been mentioned, but i always figured it was about jealousy:

"see the thorn twist in your side" - normally refers to jealousy, no? i could be wrong, but everytime i've heard the expression of a thorn twisting in someones side it's been to do with jealousy.
the "and you give yourself away" could also support this.
However i could be totally off the mark.
I'd never considered the God theory, feeling let down and waiting for God's help, but it makes sense; again it would make the "with or without you" line fit.

Whatever the meaning, i love this song. So atmospheric and moving. Especially because i'm not normally a U2 fan.

Apparently Bono said that this is about his relationship with his fans...but I really get the impression of an intensley religious meaning.
I think its about God/Jesus. The 'she' is sin.
'On a bed of nails she makes me wait'
'She's got me with nothing to win and nothing left to lose'

It's also on the album 'joshua tree'. Joshua is the english translation of the hebrew/aramaic name yehoshua (Jesus is the greek translation). And 'cross' and 'tree' seem to be used interchangeably in scripture at times to refer to the crucifixion.

'My hands are tied, my body's brusied'

'See the thorn twist in your side' - This is obviously reffering to the thorn thrust in the side of Jesus that is sin.

'See the stone set in your eye' - This just reminds me of old, wise, authorative, eternal eyes that will never stop watching. Set in stone.

'And you give yourself away' Is reffering to Jesus who offered himself to die for us.

i think that it is a prayer about a girl

i also think it has a religious meaning..i just thought it was a plain out lovesong until i read what was written (mainly on the first page..)

awesome song, whatever it does mean..

This song is the story of my life, I'm not sure if anyone has already done a similar interpretation but here goes. I met the most beautiful, amazing wonderful girl when I was about 16 and we got to know each other. Over about two years of talking late nights on the phone and at school, I realised that I was in love with her, but I never thought I deserved her. And she felt like she didn't deserve me, so she went and got a boyfriend.

One day I got up the courage to tell her what she meant to me. She said that she'd always loved me and that she wanted to marry me, and that she'd never loved her boyfriend. And we talked about how in th near future we would be together and in love. But six days later she lost her virginity to him and told me that she hoped it didn't change our relationship.

We talked and after a lot of fighting she told me that she still wanted to marry me but I would have to wait for her to be finished with her boyfriend. She admitted that what she did was selfish and a mistake but she didn't know any other way. Anyway, here's my interpretation:


* See the stone set in your eyes
> After she lost her virginity to this guy, I told her I couldn't look her in the eyes anymore for fear that she had lost her soul (I believe the eyes are the window to the soul). Being soulless, her eyes would be lifeless (stone set).
* See the thorn twist in your side
> I could tell from the things that she told me that as much as I hated the situation, she hated it more, because she hated herself for what she did (thorn twist in your side).
* I wait for you
> She was the only girl who I could ever truly love so I told her that I would wait for her no matter how long it took.

* Sleight of hand and twist of fate
> I always blamed fate for what happened, for I knew that I never thought that I deserved her and she never thought she deserved me (twist of fate).
* On a bed of nails she makes me wait
> As I said earlier I told her I would wait for her no matter how long it took, but this waiting game tore me to pieces, and I found myself as a depressed insomniac (bed of nails she makes me wait)
* And I wait without you
> Of course she couldn't be mine at the time so I waited without her.

* Through the storm we reach the shore
> Even through everything that was happening (the storm) I could still see an eventual happy ending (the shore).
* You give it all but I want more
> She was trying her hardest to deal with the situation but I still wanted more from her (and I think deservedly so).
* And I'm waiting for you
> And so I waited...

* I can't live
With or without you
> I was mighty pissed off with the way that she had fucked me over (I can't live with you) but still I had to go back for more because the was the only girl I could ever love (I can't live without you).

* And you give yourself away
> The most important part, she was so beautiful but she never believed it when I told her so she felt the need for a momentary feeling of importantness, and she gave herself away to a guy she didn't love, she sold herself short.

* My hands are tied
> I had absolutely no control over the situation, the power was completely in her hands.
* My body bruised, she's got me with
> I relate to this part of the song in a strange (possibly very weird) way. While I loved her (even while thinking it was unrequited) I gave up masturbation seeing it as a way of cheating on her. When I found out she'd lost her virginity I wanked for the first time in two years (body bruised).
* Nothing to win and
Nothing left to lose
> I had nothing to win because we could never be pure, but nothing left to lose either because everything we had had been destroyed.


Six months later and she's still with him, and she says she still wants me, and so I wait...

Well, i've now spent a considerable part of my morning reading through various and equally tangible interpretations of this song - obviously it has deeply touched the hearts and souls of so many people...
I find myself pondering the different meanings. Mostly i'm inclined to agree with the she/lover and you/god idea. The evidence is all pointing towards this being the ultimate underlying message of the writer of these amazing lyrics. And like so many others, i of course have my own meanings that i think of each time i hear this song.
I think that the only way i can describe the vocal qualities bono displays in this song is to say that they are agonisingly beautiful. They are wrought with emotion - and if you listen to this song, if you throw yourself into it, it is almost as if you can feel your own heart ripping to shreads... this is a quality many singers are unable to portray.
But anywho, on to my interpretation. I know that many people have described how this song is reminiscent of past relationships, or even current relationships that they have been involved with. this for me is similar, but not quite so.

I was not in love as such. The boy who i had grown up with as my brother had reached the ripe old age of 19. and i was at the time about 12. This boy who had been an integral part of my childhood, the same boy who carried me on his back through endless feilds, had done something that i will never forgive him for.
through the years, he hadn't had an easy life, but can anyone trully say they have? And his constant depressive ways were wearing everyone down until the final stand - until the day that he was found dead in the bathroom, after taking his own life. And so many questions can be asked of this. Why would someone be so blind as to think that there was no hope? Why would someone give up the most precious gift they have? The gift of their own life.
For so long i looked for the answers to my questions - my pain nearly unbareable - until one day i heard a song - and in that instant i knew that it was an exact depiction of what i felt.

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

To me, this is the feeling at the end - to stare into my brothers soul, and see that he was empty... to see that he felt nothing anylonger. To see that this was his doing, because his eyes were lifeless. Because he couldn't go on. Because the pain he felt was to extreme. And i know that i will wait for him.

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

The twist of fate that brought things to the way they were. They way that time lapsed. And the fact that he left me here, alone, always waiting to walk in through the door.

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

And this storm - is life itself. The twists and turns it takes, the way it wraps itself around people, and forces them to see what it is in there soul. The one thing that can make you look at yourself and realise that its all that you can do not to be what everyone wants you to be. To think that no matter how much you give, you will never get anything back again. And now im waiting for you. I'm waiting to know why. I'm waiting for the day that might never come to pass.

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

I saw the anguish that he went through, and could do nothing to ease the pain. And now im left on my own - and don't know which is better...

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

This to me is the way that it felt. Nowhere to turn. Nothing that can be done about it. The moment when he realises that nothing is worth it anymore.

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

This signifys his demise. this is the moment that hope trully is lost. The moment where you can no longer turn back.

And everyday i see your face. and it haunts me. and all the pain that you left in your wake. Will i ever learn to smile once more?

This song was best ever performed in the movie Looking For Alibrandi. They played it at a funeral after one of the main characters committed suicide due to having too much pressure put on him to follow in the family footsteps and to become a politician. I love this song, makes me cry everytime.

I as the above reader posted, am waiting for my soul-mate. I haved loved her since I was 12. I went out with her but she broke it off with me, I think we were both immature (when were 12). I used to text her "Streets have no name" and this song. I too am waiting for that special moment, I am willing to wait for a lifetime, if I knew the time was right. I believe she still has feelings for me as every photo we appear in, we are very close.to each other. Their is a Killers' song "Under The Gun" which describes everything that has happend between me and her. To others this may seem strange but I totally agree with onlyofyou, you can have songs be biographical-like,

This song is about Bono and a psychological break with his mother.

well i loved this song before i saw the movie looking for alibrandi.. but now i just appreciate and love it soo much more! makes me teary when i listen to it

this song is based on the movie "SHANE"
watch the movie, listen to the song, watch the video
song is from the perspective of "SHANE" himself...his thoughts toward the mother of his friend

I could sort of see the "spiritual" side of this song. Just some of the lyrics about giving yourself away etc. But I dunno.. it's one of those songs where you can possibly interpret many meanings from the lyrics, and adapt to your own meaning or understanding of the song.

This Is without a doubt The Best Song In the World! This song Can change the way I am feeling in a second. If I ever feel like down or just Crap, This song can make me feel myself again. It is truely Beautiful Bono has been blessed these lyrics from God there is no question, Its just too beautiful to be from anywhere else. In my opinion it is about a girl, but i read somewhere that it is about the love of Christ. Which fits with what I have previously said. The thinking behind it is - That it is too hard for God to Live with us (us being flawed humans with Sin) but that God Loves us so much, and that as Gods Love is perfect and completely unconditional He stick it out with us as he is also unable to let us Go!
For Me this song apllys to a Girl that I am Very much in Love with, But you have heard stories like that you get the point!
Again - The BEST SONG IN THE WORLD!

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

-Means you can see her intention in her eyes. She wants to be with you.
The thorn symbolizing agitation, she is waiting for you to make a move so to speak.

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

-Now he feels guilty for something he has done because he see's how agitated she is. The tables has turned.

With or without you
With or without you

-He feels empty but must go on with or without her.
A new day in hopes to get a reaction from her.

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

-Meaning after all the troubles they managed to still have feelings for each other. She still is giving him signals and gestures but he wants more to verify her love? Maybe she is with a guy? So he waits.

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

-He starts to get stronger feelings for her and is getting more depressed without her.

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

-He see's her with another guy and they look happy together, but when she notices you her mood changes and she glances your way a few times. She wants to make you jealous or get a reaction from you.

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

-He is helpless to do anything. His body is bruised from all the pain and emotional stress he endured. Now he just doesn't care, she still is giving herself away. He waits for a new day to see what it will bring him.

hey, all u2 fans! vote for u2 as the best band ever at http://www.wanderlist.com/bestrockbandever

I think this is the best song on the Rattle and Hum dvd. It's finally in colour, which is nice. And this song is so powerfull and Bono sings it very well. I especially like the 'Yeah, we'll shine like stars..' part.
I also like the guitar part after he said thank you: Bono starts playing his guitar so enthusiastically! This version is the best I've ever heard.

What a fantastic song!!!

This is a great song, I first heard the cover of this by Keane, and that also is very good.

This song is about a car wanting gasoline, or maybe about a mosquito love affair... oh please! how can you be so sure your interpretation is THE interpretation? should the lyric be "he came, he saw and then he left", one would say it's about Jesus Christ because he came from heaven, saw the evil that was among men, then he died and left our world. One other would say it happened to him when he was 16 to come to a place, see something and then leave (I do believe he did!), or, finally, that's a song about Julius Caesar (who used to say Veni Vidi Vici = I came, I saw I won). As long as the way you read something is basically consistent with what the text actually says, your reading may be acceptable. That doesn't mean the others are wrong. The guy who sees Jesus Christ in every corner of this song would see Him in any shape of a kaleidoscope, I'm sure. But please let the others see in it 2 lovers, a car or a mosquito love affair

this was a great song...it had a lot of meaning as Bono writ it for his wife, Alison Stewart

the greatest u2 song ever written, 'i cant live, with or without you' shoulda won vh1s best lyric, its so simple yet complex and can be interpretated in so many ways... for me just those two lines mean that he cant live with her cos she wont allow it, she doesnt lvoe him, but he cant live without her either. not at all what the song actaully means but its gr8 that u cna draw a first impression by listening to it and stick with it

U2 is my favourite band. I would say for me, that music has to have a "soul" element to it, and U2 definitely has it. I think With or Without You, agreeing with many who commented before me, has to distinct persons being sung about. You and She. I belive the You in Christ, and the She coudl perhaps be Bono's mother. His mother died when he was very young and it left him scarred. In Mofo, a song on his albumn Pop, he also sings about his mother. He passionately misses her and often I think he mentions her in his songs. Just a thought...