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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Yepprd
10-26-2009

Rated 0 
Heaven

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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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