Lyrics for Bad as interpreted by archmastermind

Bad Lyrics
If you twist and turn away
If you tear yourself in two again
If I could, you know, I would
If I could, I would
Let it go
Surrender
Dislocate

If I could throw this
Lifeless lifeline to the wind
I'd leave this heart of clay
See you walk, walk away
Into the night
Through the rain
Into the half-light
Through the flame

If I could through myself
Set your spirit free
I'd lead your heart away
See you break, break away
Into the light
And to the day

So let it go
And so fade away
So let it go
And so fade away

I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
I'm not sleeping
Oh, no, no, no
I'm not sleeping
Oh, no

If they should ask well maybe they'd
Tell me what I should say
True colors fly in blue and black
Bruised silken sky and burning flag
Colours crash, collide in bloodshot eyes

If I could, you know I would
If I could, I would
Let it go

This desperation
Separation
Condemnation
Revelation
In temptation
Isolation
Desolation
Isolation
Let it go, aha

And so fade away
So let it go, aha
And so fade, fade, fade away
So let it go
And so to fade away

I'm wide awake
I'm wide awake
Wide awake
I'm not sleeping
Oh, no, no, no

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satisfaction2000
03-30-2002

Rated 0 
The lyrics are not easy to figure out,but this song is flat out the greatest piece of live rock and roll ever committed to vinyl!

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Supertad
04-14-2002

Rated 0 
About the rampant heroin use that characterized the 1980s for so many twentysomethings. Also Bono's social commentary against the rich and powerful who watched this happen and did nothing to stop it.

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u2elevation
05-22-2002

Rated 0 
I really like this song but does anybody know why it's called Bad?

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eMotionSickness
06-01-2002

Rated 0 
I haven't the slightest clue what the song means. It could possibly be about someone that is willing to do ANYTHING to like kinda save another person, or release them from their sorrows. I don't know. Whatever it means is still a mystery to me... but it's a good song though...

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emann333
06-12-2002

Rated 0 
A huge part of the beauty of U2's lyrics are the mystery... Bono may have, in fact, been thinking of a specific instance or example when writing this song, but he writes it so wonderfully vague so that it can apply to so many more experiences that fans and listeners go through. "Bad" has been an anthem for me in getting over an obsessive relationship with a close friend and love interest of mine... that may seem trite to others who see it clearly as a song about the ever widening gap between the impoverished and the wealthy.

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U2aholic
07-28-2002

Rated 0 
I agree with emann333...you don't neccessarily have to know Bono's actual inspiration for this song, because the lyrics are so vague, you can take it to mean different things.

As for the name of the song, I'm not quite sure.

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Little_Baby_Nothing
08-11-2002

Rated 0 
At LiveAid, Bono did a huge speech over The Edge's opening riff. He said he the song was about "a friend of mine in Dublin who, on his 21st birthday, was given enough heroin to kill him." So the song is kinda sung in regret to how Bono, his friend, could let something like this happen.

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NewWaveMonkay
08-11-2002

Rated 0 
I agree that this song deals with heroin and drug use. It's kind of Bono's plea to his friend (or whoever) that there is another way to deal with their pain.

let it go, and just fade away. :)

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U2U2
05-01-2003

Rated +1 
the full quote is as follows, Little_Baby_Nothing:
Bono: "This is...this is a song about the city we grew up in. A song about Dublin city. And a song about a drug called heroin that's tearing our city in two...that's tearing the...the heart out of the city of Dublin...tearing the heart out of the city of Chicago. Rich people stuff dollars in the back of their pocket while poor men lie in gutters with needles stuck in their arms. Screw them, I say. This is a song about a friend of mine who was given on his 21st birthday enough heroin into his bloodstream to kill him. This is a song called Bad."
and it clear that thats what the song is about-
"True colors fly in blue and black"
just b/c he changed the order of black and blue to blue and black, shouldn't make it that much harder to understand

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johnpauljones86
06-20-2003

Rated 0 
I've never heard that speech. Not saying he didn't say it. I've only heard him say ''We're an Irish band. We come from Dublin City, Ireland, and like all cities, it has its good and it has its bad. This is a song called Bad." I wasn't there, I just dl a copy of the video. Mine was edited I guess. If someone has a complete copy for dl would you let me know? You can email me or IM me on AIM. Thanks, I'd love to hear it.

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jdappleton
06-22-2003

Rated 0 
It seems that every U2 album needs a song about heroin and it needs a song with a great crescendo. This song is both.

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*FelipeVox*
07-05-2003

Rated 0 
Acording to Bono, it´s about drugs. He had a fried who had overdose.

But for me, it could be also about freedom ;)

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U2takemehigher
04-17-2004

Rated 0 
heroin, heroin, heroin
the heroin use that was so rabid in dublin in the 80's... it's actually called u2's heroin song.

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Zlpempleh
09-20-2004

Rated 0 
This song is about heroin(surprise!!!)

The feelings mentioned:

This desperation
Dislocation
Separation
Condemnation
Revelation
In temptation
Isolation
Desolation

Are the feelings felt when on a heroin trip.

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dizmark
11-18-2004

Rated 0 
Very solid song - most likely about Heroin use. As emann333 said, u2's songs have so much mystery and depth, many people relate on different levels. For me, it is about finding the silver lining - SUCH A NICE DAY - how Bono wails these lines...even when you're having a bad day - throw it all away...let it go. Unforgettable fire has the most depth, fire and soul to any album I think I know about from any artist.

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aayers007
11-23-2004

Rated 0 
yeah i agree that this song is about heroin. i read something that bono knew someone that was an addict and he was trying to sympathize with him.
If I could, yes, I would
If I could, I would
Let it go
Surrender
Dislocate
Hes saying that he would do it too if there werent bad things associated with it, but it is ultimately bad. Very moving song.

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deathbear
11-23-2004

Rated 0 
Watching Bono do this song during Live Aid and the Elevation Tour 2001 DVDs is what makes me love music. Maybe my favorite live U2 song.

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mcreprog
01-24-2005

Rated 0 
I believe the lyrics stated have an error. Instead of:
"Bruised silken sky and burning flag"
it is rather:
"Through silken sky and burning flak"

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jam555
01-31-2005

Rated 0 
Some of these lyrics mean a lot to me. When at school I was very shy and I think I had like a split personality. When with friends I would be pretty loud but if even one other person was there that i did not like I would stay mostly always quiet.
The line "If you should ask then maybe they'd
Tell you what I would say " rings a bell. I remember some people asking how I had done in an exam, but they did not ask me, they asked my friend standing next to me.
The lines "I'm wide awake, Wide awake, I'm not sleeping, Oh, no, no, no", I can relate to. Being some one who is shy and quiet around nearly all people, I do want people to know that I don't want to be like this . To some I could be like I was asleep or in a daze, but really Im wide awake on the inside,im wide awake, wide awake, im not sleeping, oh,no,no,no.

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Shadowbox
02-06-2005

Rated 0 
Bono introduced this song on several different occassions during the Joshua Tree tour (1987ish) as being specifically about a friend of his back in Dublin City that overdosed on Heroin.

This, however, was not used during the Live-Aid introduction where he simply says "We are an Irish band, we come from Dublin City, Ireland. Like all cities it has its good and its bad. This is a song called Bad".

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Moria123
02-15-2005

Rated 0 
B... Band
A... Against
D... Drugs

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xinnieful
03-11-2005

Rated 0 
"If I could, you know I would
If I could, I would
Let it go
This desperation
Dislocation
Separation
Condemnation
Revelation
In temptation
Isolation
Desolation
Let it go

And so fade away
To let it go
And so fade away
To let it go
And so to fade away

This song was always about dealing with molestation and rape to me.. The memory coming back like it was actually happening again .. Deep down, I always knew that there was no point in letting one or two bad days keep me down, but not knowing how to get away from the pain..
.. I never knew it was suipposed to be about drugs.. To me, I always took strength from this song.. Bono's words were so comforting, "If I could through myself
Set your spirit free
I'd lead your heart away
See you break, break away
Into the light
And to the day "

Always made me feel like there was this larger than life rock star singing comfort for all the tortured souls out in the world. His voice is so angelic, and the guitars hum so sweetly.. It's just a great soul-medicinal song...

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Bono_is_God
03-15-2005

Rated 0 
i never really knew what this song was about but once i read it was about heorin it made alot more sense. I reread the lyrics and they are sooo sad yet beautiful at the same time. This song has so much power and soul its the reason why u2 is the best band in the world

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MyShells1
03-18-2005

Rated 0 
The title is the one word question (bad?) I ask myself while listening - and makes me think of this quote: "unanswered questions are NOT nearly as dangerous as unquestioned answers"; the contrast of a label a mere passerby or outsider who sees a life-ending or lifelong devotion as unhealthy or 'bad' without taking the time to question it further (irony); the codependent 'letting go'-it's often difficult to 'let go' in your actions but 'not let go' in your heart—this song is universal when viewed this way in that it analyzes the golden rule to love one another, which is a challenge, to say the least, in this lifetime…

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PaulDavidHewsoncol
06-12-2005

Rated 0 
This song is obviously an anti-drug anthem. It has a very powerful message and would persuade me better than all of these terrible educational films. I think it had something to do with the rock n' rollers abuse of heroin because u2 was formerly a punk rock band, and they talk about "surrender,let it go,dislocate" as in giving up your drug addiction. What's pretty sad is I heard bono got into drug trouble during the Popmart Tour

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