Lyrics for Where The Streets Have No Name as interpreted by spitfirek7

Where The Streets Have No Name Lyrics
I wanna run
I want to hide
I wanna tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I wanna reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name

I wanna feel sunlight on my face
I see the dust cloud disappear without a trace
I wanna take shelter from the poison rain
Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We're still building
Then burning down love,
Burning down love
And when I go there
I go there with you
It's all I can do

The city's a flood
And our love turns to rust
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled in dust
I'll show you a place
High on a desert plain
Where the streets have no name

Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We're still building
Then burning down love,
Burning down love
And when I go there
I go there with you
It's all I can do

Our love turns to rust
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Blown by the wind
Oh yes, in dust
See our love turn to rust
And we're beaten and blown by the wind
Blown by the wind
Oh, when I go there
I go there with you
It's all I can do

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seastar623
11-18-2009

Rated 0 
MyLabLola I was at the Tampa show too.
My first U2 concert ever.
I think it changed my life.
I'm obsessed with their music now.
You can interpret this song many ways.
No wrong answer. Thats what makes it amazing.

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Yepprd
10-26-2009

Rated 0 
Heaven

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MyLabLola
10-12-2009

Rated +1 
Like all masterful works of art, there are layers upon layers upon layers of meaning. And Im not even sure that Bono understood it all when he wrote it himself.

However, after watching them play in Tampa on Saturday...and leading into the song with an absolutely stunning version of "Amazing Grace"....

And his homeland's division among social classes, and Protestant and Catholic...
And his travels to the wretched places of the earth...
And reciting the verse of paradise being a place of no "sorrow or pain"
and a city "High on a Desert Plain" -- quite possibly a reference to (New) Jerusalem

And seeing the tears in peoples eyes...thousands and tens of thousands of them...

Im convinced its about Heaven. Of course the streets will have no name. We will be home, and know exactly where we were...

I know. I got a little taste of it Saturday night at a football stadium.




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unchainedmelody8717
09-23-2009

Rated 0 
I always thought this song was about somone wanting to escape a trecherous life, and go to a place where they can be happy. They dont wanna go alone they wanna take somone with them, and share their hapieness.

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cakechomp
09-15-2009

Rated 0 
The song is actually about Ireland. In Ireland (and Northern Ireland), the many cities are divided: rich/poor, Catholic/Protestant, etc. By knowing which street a person lives on you can tell their religion, wealth and beliefs - it's where the streets have no name. It's true. Look it up.

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tristandublin
07-28-2009

Rated 0 
An interview with U2 on 2FM a few years back gave the explanation as being the struggle to escape poverty in Africa.

I wanna run
I want to hide
I wanna tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I wanna reach out

The songs title refers to the refugee camps and aid distribution centres. Although released in 1987, I think the inspiration came specifically from the Ethiopian famine of 1984, and of course Live AID which U2 were involved.

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u2fanatic
07-05-2009

Rated 0 
Where the Streets Have no Name is about Burning Man

I want to hide
I wanna tear down the walls
That hold me inside>

This is about entering Black Rock City

And touch the flame>

This is why they call it *Burning* Man


I wanna feel sunlight on my face
I see the dust cloud disappear without a trace
I wanna take shelter from the poison rain
Where the streets have no name



Where the streets have no name>

All of the streets in Black Rock City are named after letters and numbers and have no permanent names>

Then burning down love,
Burning down love
And when I go there
I go there with you
It's all I can do>

Everyone builds the city... so it is still being built all week.


And our love turns to rust
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled in dust
I'll show you a place
High on a desert plain
Where the streets have no name>

The city is a flood of sensory imagery that is literally high on a desert plain (the Black Rock Desert of Nevada) Also - there are frequent dust storms.

So this whole song is about Burning Man.


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spiderardo
04-28-2009

Rated 0 
You guys should feel what Bono felt when he saw the streets with no name. If you ever have to do it It's not like a Hollywood seen, or point it to it like other people said ( and they call themselves U2 fans ) Visit the Joshua tree national park at the Mojave desert in California. You will see what he saw.

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ThorHammer17
04-06-2009

Rated 0 
When I first discovered U2, I was on a solo flight to California for the first time. When I listened to this song, I was over the Arizona desert. I have never, in my entire life, before or since, felt like I truly understood how a songwriter was feeling, and why.

This song captures the essence of the condition I call wanderlust. It is the unknowable desire to fly and to run and to go anywhere, merely for the sake of going. It is the need that some people feel so strongly, they would give anything up for a chance to run.

Then again, perhaps it is only me. It can mean other things. Some days, I listen to it to remind me of my favorite journey. Sometimes, it is to imagine flying over the perfect Arizona desert. Other days, it is because I want to run and hide. Whatever it actually means, I know that this song defines a part of me that will never go away, because that trip ended up changing my life.

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body126
02-12-2009

Rated 0 
I was told it was about the streets in Northern Ireland...where the street name signs were pulled down to confuse the Britsh soldiers patrolling the streets in the 70's/80's.....

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barium6262
10-31-2008

Rated 0 
Does anybody else agree with me that this is the greatest rock song ever written?

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liska
10-31-2008

Rated 0 
I'm surprised no one has mentioned Managua, the capital city of Nicaragua. That city's streets really do have no names and people just make it work!

I always think of this when I hear the song... Surely an unintended association, but fun trivia. :)

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Martymac
09-01-2008

Rated 0 
The Basic premise of the song is that Bono couldn't believe that in Belfast in Northern Ireland, you can tell what religion a person is purely based on their street name or geographical area, All down to the Catholic/Protestant divide that still exists, but not as bad as it was. Bono simply wanted to imagine a Belfast, Where the streets have no name, Other meanings weave in and out, but that is the basic premise of the song.

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barium6262
08-10-2008

Rated 0 
This is my all-time favorite song, and possibly the greatest song in rock and roll. It makes me think of standing on top of a mountain in my great state of Colorado and taking in everthing life and nature has to offer.

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Steveareno
07-20-2008

Rated 0 
The meaning of this song is quite oibvious to those of us living north of Los Angeles. To begin, the title of the album in which the song is found is titled "Joshua Tree." This is an obvious reference to the Mojave Desert where the Joshua Tree is indigenous. In the Mojave Desert there is a valley named Antelope Valley. This valley is located "high on a desert plain," because the Antelope Valley is located in the "high desert," The high desert experiences torrid summers and freezing winters. It is a place where I can almost always "feel the sunlight on my face." because it is almost always cloud free and sunny. This God forsaken place is extremely windy and dusty and you can see a "dust cloud disappear without a trace." It is ALWAYS so windy that you would feel that "We're beaten and blown by the wind, Trampled in dust." This valley is extremely flat, and even though it is a lousy place to live the land is cheap so there is a huge amount of homebuilding always happening. So again "We're still building," fits perfectly. The flatness of course does nothing to stop the constant wind. Moreover, because of the flatness, when it does rain the water has nowhere to go and "The city's a flood," as the streets flood immediately whenever there is rain. Oh and as to the names, or rather the lack of names of the streets, when the streets were originally laid out the streets that run east and west are named "A Street," "B Street," "C Street," and so on. Every tenth of a mile a street picks up a number like "A-3 Street." No kidding you can look all this up on google maps. The streets that run north and south are named by numbers, so the street names read like "45th Street East. Thus it's a place were "The Streets Have No Names." Q.E.D.

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LFCandU2
04-29-2008

Rated 0 
U2 are my favourite band!!

And this is my favourite U2 songs, I love it, I love it


I believe that this magnificent song has 3 meanings

First part of the song

"I wanna run
I want to hide
I want to tear down the walls
That hold me inside
I want to reach out
And touch the flame
Where the streets have no name"

I think this is about Bono and his wife going on an imaginery trip to Africa. This is the fact they "touch the flame"

Second part

"I want to feel
Sunlight on my face
I see the dust cloud dissapear
Without a trace
I want to take shelter
Under the poison rain
Where the streets have no name"

This talks about Bono waiting to see Heaven

Third part

"The city's a flood
And our love turns to rust
We're beaten and blown by the wind
Trampled in dust
I'll show you a place
High on desert plain
Where the streets have no name"

This line probably refers to the 1984 Famine of Ethiopia. Ethiopia is "high on desert plains"

The chorus

"Where the streets have no name
Where the streets have no name
We're still building and burning down love
Burning down love
And when I go there
I go there with you
Its all I can do"

during the 1984 Charity concert during which Live Aid was a benefit for the Ethiopian Famine, the concert raised millions of dollars but had to give most of the money to the U.S, this is the fact that they were 'Building and burning down love".
Later on, Bono would campaign effortlessly to drop the debt of many third world nations.

Later in 1986, few months before recording The Joshua Tree, Bono and his wife was invited by a Christian relief and development organization World Vision to take a first hand look at the famine. Africa has had a special place in Bono's heart ever since as you see in his campaigning on issues of concern to Africa

"And when I go there, I go there with you, Its all I can do", Bono adresses that to his wife as well as to Jesus

On the Live in Boston DVD, Bono introduces the song from the more spiritual perspective, intoning to the audience, "What can I give back to God for the blessings he's poured out on me? I'll lift high the cup of salvation - a toast to God!", referencing Psalm 116:12-14 in The Message (Bible) translation

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atseabeach
04-17-2008

Rated 0 
A couple of my favorite quotes from reading all the thoughts above...

"This is the greatest running song ever!"

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albynokwan
04-08-2008

Rated 0 
"Where the Streets Have No Name is more like the U2 of old than any of the other songs on the LP, because it’s a sketch - I was just trying to sketch a location, maybe a spiritual location, maybe a romantic location. I was trying to sketch a feeling. I often feel very claustrophobic in a city, a feeling of wanting to break out of that city and a feeling of wanting to go somewhere where the values of the city and the values of our society don’t hold you down. An interesting story that someone told me once is that in Belfast, by what street someone lives on you can tell not only their religion but tell how much money they’re making - literally by which side of the road they live on, because the further up the hill the more expensive the houses become. You can almost tell what the people are earning by the name of the street they live on and what side of that street they live on. That said something to me, and so I started writing about a place where the streets have no name."


Good interview taken from wikipedia

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U2fantasy
03-01-2008

Rated 0 
This is definitely one of the best songs ever written, by the best band ever. It really is beyond words. I love blasting this song, speeding down the highway with the sun setting in your window. It's just perfect.

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andya71
01-28-2008

Rated 0 
this song is obviously about a postmans worst nightmare. where the streets have no name.... he just puts the letters in any house

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nulled
01-16-2008

Rated 0 
if you're young and if you still young at heart there is a place where you want to reach out the wholeness of purity brethen, spiritual free...and there is the song was.
Funny, if found out in U2's DVD, Brian Eno almost erase the entire recording because he become frustrate to match The Edge intro with the rhythm with the whole element...he actually spoiled his coffee but fortunately his jr. colleague save them. Later he confessed " its much better to erase the whole think and start with fresh idea.." so it really take U2 effort...this is definitly the best song.

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popsadie
12-29-2007

Rated 0 
In the Joshua Tree Deluxe edition, the booklet included shows the original handwritten lyrics to the song. Most of the lyrics listed are the ones sung on the album..but I did notice this change..."I want to reach out and touch the flame"---"I've got to break out..holy spirit spirit like a flame"--which seems to show that heaven..or atleast God's Kingdom on the earth was atleast one of the song's subjects.

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MadmanSalvo
12-23-2007

Rated 0 
This song is written by Bono, a very outspoken Christian, and I think theat it is supposed to encompass the idea of heaven. The opening bars of this song are just sublime, particularly the part where (those of you who have seen the Slane Castle dvd will know this point) all the lights turn on on maximum brightness, if you crested a hill in your car when that happened , and beheld a massive, beautiful, sweeping vista when that happened, that would perfect this song.

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MarkieU2fan
12-06-2007

Rated 0 
I love reading other people's interpretation of this extremely important song. I think each of you has it right to some degree. But I read some 20 years ago that the technical meaning of the song refers to ancient Jerusalem where the streets actually did have no name. It's a gospel song. And even though a spiritual inclination may have been its starting point, I think most of us can agree the band has used it to express many important things over the decades. That's was great songs and bands do, they evolve. Most recently on the Vertigo tour, the song was about Africa. "From Dr. King's America, to Nelsom Mandela's Africa, the journey of freedom and equality MOVES ON!! AND ON!!"

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albynokwan
09-10-2007

Rated 0 
Taken from Boston Live in 2001:

"How long to sing this song

What can I give back to God for the blessings he poured out on me
What can I give back to God for the blessings he poured out on me
I lift high the Cup of Salvation as a toast to our Father
To follow through on a promise I made to you from the heart"

Says all...

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