See through in the sunlight
She wore lemon
But never in the daylight
She's gonna make you cry
She's gonna make you whisper and moan
And when you're dry
She draws her water from the stone

And I feel
Like I'm slowly, slowly, slowly slipping under
And I feel
Like I'm holding onto nothing

She wore lemon
To color in the cold grey night
She had heaven
And she held on so tight

A man makes a picture
A moving picture
Through the light projected
He can see himself up close
A man captures color
A man likes to stare
He turns his money into light to look for her

And I feel
Like I'm drifting, drifting, drifting from the shore
And I feel
Like I'm swimming out to her

Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins

Lemon
See through in the sunlight

A man builds a city
With banks and cathedrals
A man melts the sand so he can
See the world outside
Her there
A man makes a car
Destination
And builds roads to run them on
A man dreams of leaving
But he always stays behind

And these are the days
When our work has come asunder
And these are the days
When we look for something other

Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins

Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins

A man makes a picture
A moving picture
Through the light projected
He can see himself up close
Her there
A man captures color
Destination
A man likes to stare
There
He turns his money into light
To look for her
She is the dreamer
She's imagination
Through the light projected
He can see himself up close



Lyrics submitted by jt

Track duration: 06:58

"Lemon" as written by Dave Evans Adam Clayton

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Lemon song meanings
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34 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:ive tried to figure out what this one is about but i cant. edge's voice throughout the whole song brings on a atmospheric feel while bono sings in the fat lady voice. the line "through the light projected he can see himself up close" is a feeling of finding yourself again or even for the first time. "midnight is where the day begins" is simply restarting things and rolling over to the new day. i always thought the lyrics were and sound like "GOODBYE is where the day begins" but i was wrong. if i had to guess the meaning to this song it seems to be about man in general and how we try to find ourselves day in and day out, we all dream of leaving but most of us stay behind.
    Flag mysteriosoon May 05, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation:Lemon and Mysterious Ways deal with simmilar themes. In Mysterious Ways she´s slipping away in Lemon he is trying to swim out to her.
    Another example is this:

    Lemon:
    "You're gonna meet her there
    She's your destination
    You gotta get to her
    She's imagination"

    Mysterious ways:
    "She's the way - She turns the tide
    She sees a man, inside the child
    Yeah"

    It seems that she has a power that the protagonist tries to reach or find.
    Both songs deals with lust and how to deal with its consequences. Lemon has a more a Brian Eno feel over it than Mysterious Ways. "Lemon - see through in the sunlight" refers to, if I am right, to Bono´s mother´s dress, a yellow dress that sunlight shines through. My favourite part is when the liquid piano kicks in after about one minute and Bono goes from falsetto to his usual tenor. Lemon is a great track, with alot in it.
    Flag HankSayson October 20, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:this song was written about bono's mother because he saw a video of his mother in an aport wearing "leamon" getting the lyrics "she wore leamon"
    Flag u2rocksMAon May 04, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song is just that..about Lemon. Bono is just singing about Lemon. You know, the fruit? Nothing more, nothing less.

    Okay maybe not.

    To me the lyric seems to be about limitation of modern civilization. Especially with the part :

    A man makes a picture - a moving picture
    Through light projected he can see himself up close
    A man captures colour - a man likes to stare
    He turns his money into light to look for her
    [Gotta meet her there - she's your destination]
    [There's no sleeping there - she's imagination]
    She is the dreamer - she's imagination
    Through the light projected he can see himself up close

    I thought the "male" in this song symbolized things like "logic" or "machine" and "she" represents something spiritual.
    Flag focus007on October 15, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I so have a take on what he is saying in this song. She "is" the lemon. A car that looks great until you get it home and it is a lemon. She is a con. In concert he makes the phrase "off with the horns and on with the show!" She is as disgusting as he appears in the video and the reference "midnight is where the day begins" is saying that when you finally see just how ugly she really is than it's the beginning of a new life "where we look for something other." It's art and it is NOT about his mother. Thus, she is a con and the smoke that we cannot see through is another reference in the video. It's pure genius. "she's gonna make you cry; she's gonna make you whisper and moan." "she wore lemon" It's about someone really bad.
    Flag Autumnpurrfecton September 10, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:Has anybody noticed the priest who's wearing an inverted crucifix in the Zooropa booklet, on the page right next to one in which lyrics to Lemon are printed?
    Flag Marquezon May 18, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I more thought it was bono singing from his fathers p.o.v to his mother? and yes inspired by the film clip he saw
    Flag jump up!on February 03, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:i think this song is about lemons and how much he likes their vitimain c goodness. he would like people to dress as aforementioned lemon.bono got out of a lemon during the pop tour, think about it
    Flag halo23on January 14, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Supposedly this song is about a memory of his mothet he has about her in a dress(white i think), and the sun shining through to give it a yellow/lemon look. From this imagery he draws a metaphor about transcending from what is now and striving for something more. I think his mother inspired him to go for his dreams.
    Flag bac0817on September 10, 2008   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:This is my favorite U2 song. It is very nostalgic :( and yes it is about Bono's mom.

    "She draws water from a stone"// I believe Bono is talking about his heart and about his tears eventhough he acts tough :(

    Very poetic and sad, poor Bono :(
    Flag sandmunoon September 04, 2008   Link

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