Lyrics for Acrobat as interpreted by Novartza

Acrobat Lyrics
Don't believe what you hear
Don't believe what you see
If you just close your eyes
You can feel the enemy
When I first met you girl
You had fire in your soul
What happened your face
Of melting in snow
Now it looks like this

And you can swallow
Or you can spit
You can throw it up
Or choke on it
And you can dream
So dream out loud
You know that your time is coming 'round
So don't let the bastards grind you down

No, nothing makes sense
Nothing seems to fit
I know you'd hit out
If you only knew who to hit
And I'd join the movement
If there was one I could believe in
Yeah I'd break bread and wine
If there was a church I could receive in
'cause I need it now

To take a cup
To fill it up
To drink it slow
I can't let you go
I must be an acrobat
To talk like this
And act like that
And you can dream
So dream out loud
And don't let the bastards grind you down

Oh, it hurts baby
(What are we going to do now it's all been said)
(No new ideas in the house and every book has been read)

And I must be an acrobat
To talk like this
And act like that
And you can dream
So dream out loud
And you can find
Your own way out
You can build
And I can will
And you can call
I can't wait until
You can stash
And you can seize
In dreams begin
Responsibilities
And I can love
And I can love
And I know that the tide is turning 'round
So don't let the bastards grind you down

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u2elevation
04-05-2003

Rated 0 
I think this one of the more under-rated U2 songs. It's one of my favorites on Achtung and it's just a clever, witty song. I love the lyrics.

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caitsith01
11-03-2004

Rated 0 
"And I must be an acrobat
To talk like this
And act like that "

Best lyrics on Atchung Baby for mine. I agree with u2e, this is a very underrated song and one of the best on the album, and therefore best ever by U2 because AB is one of the, if not the, best U2 album.

Great ending too:

"And I can love
And I know that the tide is turning 'round
So don't let the bastards grind you down"

I like it because it gives me a bit of hope. Like tonight, when it looks like Bush just won the election... tough times indeed.

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FullDevilSoccer
11-16-2004

Rated 0 
I can understand what acrobat means in this context but who are the bastards? For a christian to use a word like that is pretty disrespectful

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Barnum
11-21-2004

Rated 0 
Argubliy the greatest U2 song ever. The song is about coping with the everyday terror of life.
And you can swallow
Or you can spit
You can throw it up
Or choke on it
How do you cope with the truth that there is no greater meaning? How do you keep on going when there is no no purpose. Well, you "can throw it up",

If you only knew who to hit
And I'd join the movement
If there was one I could believe in
Yeah I'd break bread and wine
If there was a church I could receive in
For one of those few atheist U2 fans this describe the fealing of not belonging to anything, not knowing where to peticipate, nevertheless having a great desire to find something to belive in. It`s about the hopelessness of beliving and the quest of wanting someting out of reach.

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padmewan
11-24-2004

Rated 0 
FullDevilSoccer: The phrase is better known in its pseudo-Latin translation, "Non illegitimus carborundum." See http://alt-usage-english.org/excerpts/fxillegi.html, "The phrase seems to have originated with British army
intelligence early in World War II. It was popularized when U.S. general Joseph W. "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (1883-1946) adopted it as his motto. Various variant forms are in circulation."

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wwbd
01-12-2005

Rated 0 
FullDevilSoccer: You are young so I will withhold the harsher criticism I had for you when I first read your post. I would just say this; that if you are a Christian, then the faster you get past the falicy of equating your country's cultural taboos with Christianity the sooner you will be able to think and act in a manner that is helpfull to mankind and pleasing to God. Saying that there are bastards in this world that want to "grind you down" is not equal to calling someone a bastard (ironicaly a word that would not have much meaning without the existence of organized religion)

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bill_the_pony
03-08-2005

Rated 0 
This song kicks ass!!!. I love U2 and Achtung Baby is the greatest album of all time. Practially every song on it is a masterpiece. I agrre with caitsith01

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clarity1122
05-27-2005

Rated 0 
I read somewhere that Bono wrote this song about the life of celebrities and how they have to "cope" with being a star.

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busy
06-03-2005

Rated 0 
When I listen or play this song, I feel like it talks about how difficult it is to stay in a world like this one when you have ideas that conflict with the majority ..... sometimes I myself feel like an acrobat ...

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rover
06-07-2005

Rated +1 
This is just my view, and I know Bono and U2 aren't pro-IRA, but I think the lyrics seem to be about Irish nationalism. The woman in the song is Ireland itself or the nationalist movement. "And I'd join the movement
If there was one I could believe in" seems to indicate that the singer doesn't buy into the IRA or any other terrorist type way of trying to unify the nation but the line "Yeah I'd break bread and wine If there was a church I could receive in" seems to indicate that the singer isn't exactly innocent either. That seems to be a pretty direct reference to the fact that people committing terrorists acts in the name of religion disqualify themselves from participating in holy communion. It could be about frustration with the peace process all together, the bastards being the people that perpetuate violence. Don't know for sure. But thats my two cents. Great song.

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1 Reply
KrOnicK
07-29-2005

Rated 0 
love the verses

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beau99
10-03-2005

Rated 0 
I heard a rumor that "Acrobat" was written for Sinead O'Connor.

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Marquez
10-19-2005

Rated 0 
"In Dreams Begin Responsibilities" is a book by poet Delmore Schwartz

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Marquez
10-19-2005

Rated 0 
I don't think I can really shed some light on this song but I always though the line "and I'd join the movement, if there was one I could believe in" was song from the perspective of a young Irish boy, meaning that he would join the IRA if there was just someone who had a great and positive idea, not just the purpose of reaching goals through violence

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_ellie
12-23-2005

Rated 0 
Who's to say that the metaphors don't use religion & politics to mirror love?

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camohatman
03-29-2006

Rated 0 
Well i think Acrobat is about people who always say O I can do THAT but never do, like an acrobat who says, I can go on that tropeize, but im not goin 2

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achtungbaby02
05-18-2006

Rated 0 
first verse ["don't believe what you hear, don't believe what you see, if you just close your eyes you can feel the enemy"]. in the rollingstone interview with bono last year, it was said that achtung baby was a break from U2's previous themes of the injustice in the world, and the war and the povety, and a move onto the realisation of "the havoc you are able to wreak in your own life if you follow your hearts desires". this verse reflects this idea of youself as your own enemy, more so than what is on the outside.

"what are we going to do now its all been said? no new idea's in the house and every book has been read" - i didn't hear this wen i listened to the song, only when i read the lyrics did i see it. but i can completely relate to this line, it seems we live in a world where everything has been said, there ARE no new idea's in the world, everything HAS been said before, what else IS there left to do?...

As for the rest of the song, i dont really know what to make of it, but it is one of U2's best: the desperation in bono's voice and in edge's guitar is heart-wrenching. i'm not usually one for imagery like spitting or throwing up, but bono makes these seem so beautiful and deep. the lyric is arguably, one of achtung baby'###### beautiful and haunting. the song ideally represents one of achtung baby's key themes - desperation.

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Keyser Sushi
08-17-2006

Rated 0 
In 1993 I was a senior in high school and I had to read George Orwell's 1984, which turned out to be one of the best books I've ever read.

Anyway, at the time I'd been reading a lot of William Gibson and between Gibson and Orwell and the U2 I'd been listening to at that point (Achtung, Zooropa) I realized that there was sort of a thematic thing happening that I could not have planned any better if I had tried.

Anyhow, "Acrobat" reminded me of Winston and Julia's clandestine sex romps that were, in that world, completely illegal. Because this song is about taking chances and doing things that are generally considered ill-advised but which seem quite necessary to your well-being in spite of the rules.

It's about the freedom to be different, the freedom to write, to dream, to dance, to fuck, to laugh.

Plus, it's got one hell of a great rhythm. It reminds me of a spiral, a gyration, a controlled dive that picks up momentum until things start to bust off in the inertia and you go ass-over-elbows into a new world. A total destruction of the established order.

BOOM.

And don't let the bastards grind you down.

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UZeroHead2
12-18-2006

Rated 0 
I think that he's saying that he's not practicing what he preaches (I must be an acrobat to talk like this and act like that). I think that he is specifically talking about his faith.

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PencilNeckedGeek
01-04-2007

Rated 0 
Great song, great album. Not sure what it means to me, but has anybody else out there noticed the references to oral sex throughout "Achtung Baby?" This one is the capper, with the lines:

You can swallow
You can spit
You can throw it up
Or choke on it

Any thoughts?

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stormbono
01-06-2007

Rated 0 
beau99 ure rite.... bono wrote this song about sinead and her contr. way of dealing with live...

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1 Reply
Banjaxed08
01-07-2007

Rated 0 
PencilNeckedGeek- I noticed that, too. Where else are there oral sex references in Achtung Baby? I'm curious.

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2 Replies
Vicaroni
02-14-2007

Rated 0 
This song is about total cotradiction. When I hear it, I think of how life itself is contradicting. We build up this amazing life for oursleves, but in the end, we die and it goes away.

"And I must be an acrobat
To talk like this
And act like that
And you can dream
So dream out loud"

For each line above, the next one contradicts it. The lyrics are amazing.

"Don't believe what you hear
Don't believe what you see
If you just close your eyes
You can feel the enemy"

It shows you can't trust anything. You can feel safe, but will never be able to actually trust anything, not even yourself. Anything can be a trick.

I love this song. It is one of the most underrated and underappreciated. It seems forgotten sometimes...

And how many U2 songs actually say "Bastard"?! Not many...
Question: Do any other songs by U2 say "bastard" or some other form of a swear?

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Zephos
04-25-2007

Rated 0 
Other U2 songs with swears?
Wake up Dead Man from Pop has "fucked" in it.

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keysy1
04-28-2007

Rated 0 
Banjaxed: In Miami "She tastes Chlorine"....Spunk tastes like that...so I've heard.

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