Lyrics for Vertigo as interpreted by Lyra

Vertigo Lyrics
Unos dos tres catorce!

Lights go down, it’s dark
The jungle is your head
Can’t rule your heart
A feeling is so much stronger than
A thought
Your eyes are wide
And though your soul
It can’t be bought
Your mind can wander

Hello hello
I’m at a place called Vertigo
It’s everything I wish I didn’t know
Except you give me something I can feel, feel

The night is full of holes
As bullets rip the sky
Of ink with gold
They twinkle as the
Boys play rock and roll
They know they can’t dance
At least they know

I can’t stand the beats
I’m asking for the cheque
The girl with crimson nails
Has Jesus round her neck
Swinging to the music
Swinging to the music
Oh oh oh oh

Hello hello
I’m at a place called Vertigo
It’s everything I wish I didn’t know
But you give me something I can feel, feel

Check mated
Oh yeah
Hours of fun

All of this, all of this can be yours
All of this, all of this can be yours

All of this, all of this can be yours
Just give me what I want and no-one gets hurt

Hello hello
We’re at a place called Vertigo
Lights go down and all I know
Is that you give me something
I can feel your love teaching me how
Your love is teaching me how, how to kneel
Yeah yeah yeah yeah

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Idi
09-26-2004

Rated +1 
well, this song rocks! (literally). Of course it is not the usuall u2 song and it lacks the depth of lyrics (i think all u2 fans were expecting sth more poetic that could rival Joshua tree or Achtung baby). However weird as it might sound, it has a nice tune that is enough to get you on your feet jumping around "singing swinging to the music". A really nice song to cheer you up!

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Squirrly
09-27-2004

Rated 0 
Though this song lacks the deep meaningful lyrics we are so often blessed with from U2, it's a fun song to sing along with and a great first single to attract attention! And how sexy is the line
Just give me what I want
And no one gets hurt.

Thankkkkk you BONO!

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U2takemehigher
09-27-2004

Rated 0 
the holas do kinda iritate me though.
it reminds me of boston elevation tour dvd. "you walk into a sports hall, the lights go down, it's a whole different scene, light and motion..."

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Lyra
09-28-2004

Rated 0 
The hola's ain't that great but I love the Dond' esta's and the spanish countdown followed by the "Turn it up loud... captain"!
Btw, the "All of this can be yours" part reminds of an older song of theirs but i can't really point a finger on which...

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manzur
09-29-2004

Rated 0 
This is a song that the band is meant to be a shared experience, a shared experience between the fans and the band. Its about being at the top of their career. The first part of the song tries to capture the energy at a rock show, in this case a U2 concert. The chorus is saying how great stardom can be but it comes with baggage that you don't want to deal with but have to coz it comes with the job. And then he goes into this imagery that reminds me of fireworks going off. It is the next part of the song where we the fans come in. The band recognizes our love for their music and everything that they stand for and its a very humbling experience because they are just like one us and it could very easily be one of us who is up there in place of them. Furthermore, this is something that the band accepts as a gift and they are greatful to god for it. As for the music, its very much like an 80s rock that U2 never ventured down coz they were doing stuff like Joshua Tree and very American influenced music on Rattle and Hum. The closest thing to Vertigo that I feel the band has done that I know of is Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me. My opinion as far as the lyrics and idea being conveyed (now this is based upon my interpretation) is that this could have easily been two songs. The first part could have been one song and the bridge where he is singing "all of this can be yours" could have been a song by itself alone. Nonetheless, I like the song. In the interim, I'll be listening to this song on loop as I wait to hear more from the album or for the album to hit the stores.

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fen
09-29-2004

Rated +2 
I find it hard to believe that people can, in such a short time say this song has no depth. I will admit it has taken me years to fully appreciate Bono's lyrics but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

I think this song is about the alure and draw of temptation on ones life. Temptation is a meaningless concept to someone that does believe in God but I clearly think that Bono has been driven in his life to find his place in the world that God created for us.

The meaning of this song clicked for me in the bridge, "All this can be yours..." which is a close paraphrase of Matthew 4:9 when Christ is being tempted by satan in the wilderness. All he was asked to do is to bow down and worship satan and everything that they saw would be given to him. But of course... Satan was speaking to the creator so, not much of a deal huh??

Verse 1, "and though your soul it can't be bought your mind can wander" What an image of fighting with what you know to be RIGHT and moral and what you feel will be more fun.

Verse 2, beautiful image of the night sky and the heat of a wild club with many things that a 40 something married man may want to partake in but he decides to step back and ask for the check and head out... the girl with the red nail polish and the guilt inducing imagry of a crucifix hanging around her neck.

and of course the bridge... as mentioned above.

BUT the last verse. when the lights go down the grace and love of God give him something "I can feel"

and

"your love is teaching me how to KNEEL"... in prayer

I think it is an honest struggle to understand the world that we live in as a believer that longs to honor the All Mighty and yet enjoy the world.

The VERTIGO is the not the just the fear of heights but the fear of the FALL, the fall from grace and maybe even the fall into sin.

Of course that's just my opinion.

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2 Replies
ubermax
10-01-2004

Rated 0 
Lyra said: "Btw, the "All of this can be yours" part reminds of an older song of theirs but i can't really point a finger on which..."

It reminded me at first listen of the bridge in "I Will Follow", the part where Bono repeats "your eyes...your eyes..."

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Lyra
10-01-2004

Rated 0 
mmmm, no I don't think that's it. It feels like sth newer, at least after Joshua Tree, I think it must be the background voices that ring a bell...Damn, I just know I'm going to spent the entire weekend listening to all of their past songs again just to find which one it is.

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donallie
10-02-2004

Rated 0 
The beauty of U2's songs to me is the fact that they are 'open': they leave room for one's own interpretation. That way songs get to grow on you. This applies to this song as well: the lyrics are as deep as you want them to be.

But people saying the the content (lyrics) lacks depth and meaning shouldn't be misled by the form (music). U2 almost always combine these in a way that they strengthen each other. Because it's rock music, it might distract from the lyrics a bit. Especially since the lyrics seem to be on another 'level'. Actually, the message of the lyrics itself probably could have been conveyed much easier if they were sung to a more gloomy line of music.

But they aren't and that's what takes the song to a higher level: the music serves as the background noise of 'a place called Vertigo' 'as the boys play rock and roll'. To the rythm of this rock and roll music, the 'soul' and 'mind' struggle with each other.

To me, this struggle is made more 'tangible' by the struggle, or even clash, between the music and lyrics. But as I said: it's all open for your own interpretation of course.

One last remark about lyrics and music enhancing each other: if you picture the girl with the 'Jesus 'round the neck' and listen to this line being repeated and flowing into the swelling 'whoa's', this sure paints a strong Vertigo image to me!

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utasteadrenaline
10-02-2004

Rated 0 
The most important thing when looking at this song is to realise how easily U2 can make their music do anything they want.
theres no point complaining about them making uncomplicated music since it always evens out in favor of the deeper stuff that their fans are used to.
also the 'turn it up loud captain' reminded me of 'Edge, play the blues', a similar oddly inserted musical stage direction. the song, like elevation, makes more sense if you don't think about it than if you do.

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U2takemehigher
10-02-2004

Rated 0 
yeah... it kind of reminds me of elevation, too, actually.

it definately has something to do with playing live and the rush that it gives.
"Your love is teaching me how
How to kneel
Kneel"
--> about revering an audience perhaps?

"But you give me something I can feel
Feel"
---> another audience reference. him being attached to what's going on.

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firthelement
10-11-2004

Rated 0 
They know that they can't dance
At least they know...

how odd is that line...i like it
wat ya rekon the 'Jesus round herneck' is rferring to... a chain with crucifix most likely? why would they put that in?

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killick
10-13-2004

Rated 0 
Lyra said: "Btw, the "All of this can be yours" part reminds of an older song of theirs but i can't really point a finger on which..."

Lyra, I thought the same thing when I heard the song for the first time. Listen to "Surrender" on War. I'm sure that this is the song.

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mrclean
10-13-2004

Rated 0 
The only thing that bugs me about this song, is that catorce is not Spanish for 4. It should be uno, dos, tres, quatro. I don't know if that was intentional, because I think they're saying 1, 2, 3, 40?

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Bodester
10-13-2004

Rated 0 
I think catorce might be italian.

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Lyra
10-14-2004

Rated 0 
I think catorce is 14.And yes killick, you're right!It's definately Surrender!Thanx a lot!

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2861U2
10-14-2004

Rated 0 
I cant wait to hear this song live. I can totally picture Bono singing "Hello Hello" and then the crowd singing back to him "Hola!" Same goes for the "Donde Esta" Thats perfect for the crowd. My new favorite song by the way. I think the "1, 2, 3, 14" refers to the albums. This is their 14th album I beleive. Outstanding song!! Woot Woot!!!

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balzachertz
10-20-2004

Rated 0 
I am thinking the song is a refernece to the Club Vertigo that was THE velvet rope club in late 80's Los Angeles. It was a downtown club VERY popular with celebrities, the song struck me immediately has a rumination on the perils of fame, celebrity and riches. The songs Spanish references allude to LA, which the band was fascinated by in the late 80's. I could be totally wrong, but I think the song is more lieral than people are thinking.

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joeytheboy
10-20-2004

Rated 0 
some ppl need to 'low the long explanations here...
bono said on CD:uk that the reason its the first single from the album is partly the "hello hello" bit.

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Bertxx
10-24-2004

Rated 0 
its cool

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apettythief
10-31-2004

Rated 0 
catorce IS 14, ..
and I think (but) the internet game, t-shirts, apparel etc for one song is a bit much seing as there's almost nothing dedicated to the rest of 'atomic bomb...but thats just me.

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Golgotha
11-01-2004

Rated 0 
This isn't classic U2, but I like it!

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clairebaby
11-02-2004

Rated 0 
oh god i love the espanol in this song.

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The Ravenmaster
11-04-2004

Rated 0 
Being a writer, I can appreciate the fact that lyrical things are meant to be interpreted for and by the individual... but let's review with some logic- as religion and logic are very prominent in Bono's lyricism.
The song begins in Spanish (perhaps with some mispronunciation for impact as I haven't yet had time to research this)-
Once, Doce, Trece, Cataorce-
not Uno, Dos, Tres, Catorce...
This would be Spanish for 11, 12, 13, 14.

I believe that U2 has produced 11 albums and 2 greatest hits before "How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb"...therefore 11, 12, 13, 14.

The rest of the lyrics acknowledge both the fans and life situations, with an overtone of respect for God, of course.

And, I was never much of a U2 fan before this, but I will say this tune ROCKS (I am also a drummer and vocalist). Although they definitely preach a unity and preservation aspect, with the current establishment of a U2-based Apple iPod, I must wonder what the "how to kneel" line at the end is supposed to impact us, as another phrase involves selling "beats", and "asking for the check"...

BUT- I love this track.

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1 Reply
The Ravenmaster
11-04-2004

Rated 0 
OOPS! Please forgive my misspelling of "catorce" in my previous addition....

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