Lyrics for City of Blinding Lights as interpreted by Lyra

City of Blinding Lights Lyrics
The more you see the less you know
The less you find out as you go
I knew much more then than I do now

Neon heart dayglo eyes
A city lit by fireflies
They’re advertising in the skies
For people like us

And I miss you when you’re not around
I’m getting ready to leave the ground….

Ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh

Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

Don’t look before you laugh
Look ugly in a photograph
Flash bulbs purple irises
The camera can’t see

I’ve seen you walk unafraid
I’ve seen you in the clothes you made
Can you see the beauty inside of me?
What happened to the beauty I had inside of me?

And I miss you when you’re not around
I’m getting ready to leave the ground

Ooh ooh ooh
Ooh ooh ooh

Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

Time… time
Won’t leave me as I am
But time won’t take the boy out of this man

Oh you look so beautiful tonight
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
Oh you look so beautiful tonight
In the city of blinding lights

The more you know the less you feel
Some pray for others steal
Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel… luckily


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floris79
04-15-2005

Rated 0 
AT his concert at the brooklyn bridge for MTV he explained itt partly written in and inspired by NY.
My favorite line is defenetly the last
"Blessings are not just for the ones who kneel… luckily "
It does remind me of the line in "mysterious ways"

" If you want to kiss the sky
Better learn how to kneel

(on your knees boy) "

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pfinarffle
04-27-2005

Rated 0 
"A city lit by fireflies
They’re advertising in the skies"

i see a metaphor: city lights + stars = mating fireflies. female fireflies climb onto blades of grass (skyscrapers) and shine responses to the males, who're in turn "advertising" their desire to mate by flashing signals while flying in the sky above (stars)...

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websurrfrr
05-10-2005

Rated 0 
Someone before said "Personally I feel like they are coming to peace with the realization that "The more you know the less you feel."

Now I was really bothered by this and could'nt explain why but in the course of some deep thinking I had a Eureeka moment! I think I have discovered the true hidden meaning of this song from a purely mathematically perspective. Maybe God is trying to tell me soemthing, but I believe this song holds the key into explaining U2 and the world's fascination with God.

If we accept the following statements below as the axioms of the system:

The more you see the less you know
seeing > Knowing
The more you know the less you feel
Knowing > feeling

Then We can conclude that the more you see the less you will feel as well.
Thus,
Seeing > Feeling
knowing > feeling
And therefore because we don't see and know God (no one does), we have alot of that something extra for feelings of God.

And in conclusion where as most people will become conformtably numb following God into the pews of organized religion, Bono blazes his own path challenging the world around him ( Aids, Poverty, War, Debt, injustice, even the faith he professes to follow).

And it's all because, not for seeing or knowing, but feeling.

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loveu2
05-28-2005

Rated 0 
I thought advertising in the skies referred to something like the blimps that fly over stadiums at night all lit up w/advertising.

I like the Time bit because it's about holding onto to the good part of naivete (the idealism) as time changes you.

I love this song. Right after I first got the cd, I was driving home from Brooklyn one night as it was playing & I could see the harbor and the city lights.

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micjamsym
06-19-2005

Rated 0 
As a Brit who loves the band and NYC, this is the stand-out track from Atomic Bomb. Saw them on Vertigo tour last night in London and this was the highlight in what otherwise was (and it really pains me to say this) a disappointing gig. I really really hope Bono comes back to the day job.....and I'm willing to bet so do Larry, Adam and Edge. He's fighting for an admirable cause but I love them for the music, not the politics or preaching.

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dave_1987
06-24-2005

Rated 0 
I dont want to think of it as a NYC song..

I think of it as someone who really loves a girl, but that girl is in stage of doubting herself. the song reminds me of "The Scientist" by Coldplay, where the line
"You don't know how lovely you are" is sang...

Its all about trying to raise confidence in a girl of who the singer really loves and cares for. Just telling her to release herself a bit, start enjoying herself and enjoying life a bit more, live life and stop getting caught up in things that dont need to be caught up in.

as for favourite lines, the
"oh you look so beautiful tonight"
x3

is the best for me, so passionate and easy to sing...love it.

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sick-girl
07-05-2005

Rated 0 
this song is so lovely.
it makes me want to cry everytime i listen..
the beginning is really beautiful.♥

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kit_kat_nut
07-30-2005

Rated 0 
I recall Bono saying that this song as much as it does relate to NYC and that its also about youth and innocence and about being young and lively and living life once...you know that kidna thing but i luv some ppls meanings!! awesome

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u2_lover
08-11-2005

Rated 0 
Id say one of U2's best so far. Bono's voice absolutely soars in this song. Just a downright amazing song.

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pappy05
08-22-2005

Rated 0 
My favourite song ever. Period. Hopefully always will be too.

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lupalmieri
09-01-2005

Rated 0 
I'm new here, so be patient. I love this song, "...I miss you when you're not around"; SO TRUE! But I have a doubt: does anyone know if there's a real city that is called "the city of blinding lights"? Sorry if look like foolish...

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hobbes67
09-04-2005

Rated 0 
when i first heard this song i was half asleep layin in bed listenin to the radio and loved this song, but it took me awhile to find it... but i like it

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Brightestcrayon
09-10-2005

Rated 0 
This is the song that inspired me to buy How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. In a way I wish I'd bought the album before I'd heard the song, because now I can't seem to view it as 'just a song from the album' and I can't decide whether or not I like it more than the ones I hadn't previously heard.

It's one of those brilliant feel-good songs that you find yourself singing along to no matter where you are (won't go into any related stories about me singing in public places totally unaware that I'm doing it until it's too late...) and you just can't help but smile to yourself. I've heard this song so many times and it just doesn't lose its magic. The lyrics and tune together.. i just can't fault this song at all.

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nethinmusical
09-18-2005

Rated 0 
its a really neat song... since i'm utterly facinated with NYC n wanna go there one day, its its how iimagine that place.
n that line... 'i've seen u walk unafraid' its tellin people that they can pick up the pieces and walk on as they have done b4... makes a lot of sense in todays world...

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wackydeli3
10-20-2005

Rated 0 
i heard this song on the radio. fell in love with it. sounds like one of the old u2 songs

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thepuppydog26
12-05-2005

Rated 0 
Ah, I love this song so much. So so so much. I saw U2 live about 3 months ago, and I still remember this song vividly. It's really quite the magical song, makes me cry sometimes. Gives you the sort of feeling that everything can be beautiful if you just let yourself appreciate it.

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dxman
12-10-2005

Rated 0 
Great inspiring song

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IanIJM
12-23-2005

Rated 0 
It's really cool to see everyone's opinions on what this song means. What's even more telling to me is the fact that we're all so interested in it ... it reinforces my opinion that it's one of U2's all time best (in a catalog that includes some real classics).

My favorite line in the song is definitely, "Time won't leave me as I am, but time won't take the boy out of this man."

I think that's an unbelieveable profession of optimism. It's like saying, "Yeah I know time is gonna wear my body down, but it's never going to break my spirit."

In fact, I like that line so much I use it as my sig line on most discussion boards I belong to.

As far as some of the other lyrics discussed here, I sort of thought the line, "Don’t look before you laugh, Look ugly in a photograph, Flash bulbs purple irises, The camera can’t see" might be a reference to Bono's Achtung to Pop persona. In other words, "Yeah I know I was kind of a pretentious jackass back then ... don't laugh ... I had those Fly sunglasses on ... "

That may be a shallow observation, but then again I'm a shallow person so that's probably okay.

In general, I've always sort of taken this song to be a bit of an anthem to U2's resurgence. Kind of a mea culpa to an extent that says, "Yeah we went away for awhile, but damn it's great to be back. I forgot how powerful this shit really was. And by the way thanks for being the best fans in the whole world."

Let me tell you, though ... I've been seeing U2 shows since the Unforgettable Fire tour in '83/'84 ... I've got more than 20 shows under my belt ... but when they walked out on stage this year (saw 4 shows in Philly, NYC, and Atlanta) and just JAMMED on COBL I got chills ... it was total flashbacks to the opening of the Joshua Tree shows. OUT-FRIGGIN-STANDING!!!!

Someone earlier used the word "soaring" to describe it and that fits it perfectly. It's one of those songs that, when you listen to it, your heart seems to break away from the rest of your body and just rise up. Not many musicians can acheive that with their songs, but for U2 it almost seems routine.

This song is anything but routine.

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aquasky
01-09-2006

Rated 0 
off-topic-
this song reminds me so much of my ex-boyfriend....he sang to me the refrain, when we were together...and then he broke up
stupid really stupid:'(

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white shadow
01-11-2006

Rated 0 
its interesting that Bono said that this album (HTDAAB) is most like BOY, as they both deal with the loss of innocence...

Can you see the beauty inside of me?
What happened to the beauty I had inside of me?

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saygoodbye041
01-24-2006

Rated 0 
I'm suprised no one mentioned that the line in the chorus "oh you look so beautiful tonight" was what bono had yelled to the crowd post 9/11 at madison square garden.

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iloveu2
01-28-2006

Rated 0 
hey, all u2 fans! vote for u2 as the best band ever at http://www.wanderlist.com/bestrockbandever

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NYC
02-11-2006

Rated 0 
This song is Bono looking back on his life and realizing that he is getting older and that he will die sooner than he knows it.

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xinnieful
02-12-2006

Rated 0 
I love this song. Depending my mood, oh you look so beautiful in the city of blinding lights can be sweet and tender or a left-handed compliment.. This song live was very cheeky.

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I know things
02-12-2006

Rated 0 
there is no one "city of blinding lights." It is each and every city, and the lights are the people in the audience. They are blind because they don't truly know why they are there. But they feel good being there, and that's all that matters. "You look so beautiful tonight," Bono is singing about the audience,when he's on stage and sees all these lights, the happy people. He's hopefull the people get what he's trying to say, and the people do..it's just different for everyONE

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