U2 – Numb

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  General Comment:Quite apart from the meaning of the song I love the booming bass in Numb. It rattles my windows.

  Flag Forrykookon March 09, 2012   Link

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  General Comment:There's no way that 4:20 has any signifcance to this song. Total coincidence. I can't imagine something being THAT planned out. Unless, of course, it was some stupid gangsta rap group.....just sayin'.....

  Flag justwinon October 29, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:There's no way that 4:20 has any signifcance to this song. Total coincidence. I can't imagine something being THAT planned out. Unless, of course, it was some stupid gangsta rap group.....just sayin'.....and I totally agree with the "media" theme. The media totally desensitizes us. Especially given the bands political savvy, we are totally controlled by the media. I think that sometimes we read too much into the lyrics...but then, I guess that's the beauty of poetry and song writing.

  Flag justwinon October 29, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:Only U2 can make a monotone sound,lyric, and vocal ( Edge's) so meaningful and powerful. The monotone rhythm,beat, and Edge's chanting ( I wouldn't consider it "rapping" and he's certainly not "singing.")comes at you like a frigging moving building.
  
  I think this is just trying to paint a picture of apathy and sweet temptation ( Bono's vocal represent this I think)to fall into apathy. For Edge, it might have been about he's divorce or anything but it could be about anything for the rest of us.
  
  First time I heard Edge sing..err chant. I think he might have done backing vo. in the past songs but this is the first time he stood front and center.

  Flag focus007on October 15, 2009   Link

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  Song Meaning:Adding to what LoveisBlindness said, I had heard or read (can't remember the source) that the song was written by taking bits of advice the band would receive from manager Paul McGuinness, but taken out of context. The advice pertains to dealing with a major tour (ZooTV) and how to deal with personal matters so they didn't interfere with their professional lives (for example, Edge's divorce).
  
  The music video, and I believe this was conjecture the way I learned it, but it would seem accurate...
  
  Edge was simply told to sit in a chair and lip-synch the song in its entirety, in one take, without a teleprompter (keep in mind, the song had just been completed and had not been rehearsed yet for live performance), while the band and film crew would attempt to distract him from this purpose. He didn't know what to expect... he just had to sit there and remember the words, without reacting to the distractions.

  Flag txfilmguy1on July 27, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:This song is about desensitization and love being the only thing you feel.
  If you really read in it can be about so much depending on your interpetation, like is love a psudonym for sex, making it hedonistic? What is the desensitization due to? Drugs? TV? Religion? All of the above?
  Like any good artist U2 leaves it up to the audience to decide! A well written song!

  Flag Numb420on April 18, 2009   Link

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  General Comment:Damn this is an awesome song. I rank it up there with a bunch of other awesome songs.
  
  ...
  
  Wow, this comment is not actually contributing to the discussion, eh?
  
  Well, let me remedy that:
  
  Love the lines here and there that are just silly, like "Have another grape". They add a counterpoint to the serious matter of the song. The harmonies, especially during the repetition of Don't project
  Don't connect
  Protect
  Don't expect
  Suggest
  are truly powerful. The underlying rhythm is remarkably close to my natural pace on a bicycle, and I can get lost in its lyrical directions.
  
  Combined with a few other powerful songs in my library, such as The Flying Pickets' version of Bob Dylan's "Masters of War", Linkin Park's "Numb", and Avril Lavigne's piano version of "These Things I'll Never Say", I can almost always achieve katharsis, especially if I follow the playlist with a quick, deep meditation. Tests and other nerve-raising activities just slide under me like a cat sliding across a table coated in butter after this.
  
  --
  "Memento Mori Ergo Carpe Diem"

  Flag agmlegoon September 09, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:I think this song is about him coping with what was going on in his life at the time... ie his divorce. i'm pretty sure a lot of people would "feel like this song" if you will, if they all of a sudden broke up with someone they loved. i know this song would be my mantra if that happened to me. just kinda not do anything and stare of into space while listening to amusing music.

  Flag Makonu2on August 14, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:right now...how i feel..Numb

  Flag jcaimbeulon May 23, 2008   Link

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  General Comment:Can't help but laugh at the line "Don't miss (slight hesitation) the one beat". Yes, the song is goofy as hell, but very amusing, and brings back memories of the 90s. That decade might not have been the best ever, but at least gas was cheaper.

  Flag LivinLegendon April 26, 2008   Link

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