This is such a beautiful song and a terrible one. The Christian names mentioned are those of some of the victims of the bomb that exploded in Omagh on 15th August 1998, just a few months after the Good Friday agreement that was meant to bring peace to Northern Ireland. So this song continues U2's traditional concern about the violence in that region. It also ties into their deep Christian faith mingled with extreme impatience with God (e.g. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" or "Wake Up Dead Man"). Wars continue around the world even to the present day and God, for whatever reason, hasn't seen fit to put an end to them. I have to say that as a citizen of the USA post-9/11, the line "you become a monster so the monster will not break you" is sadly convicting.
I was surprised when I looked this up no one mentioned the Omagh bombing.
I was surprised when I looked this up no one mentioned the Omagh bombing.
"Another line, "She never got to say goodbye, To see the colour in his eyes, now he's in the dirt," was about how James Barker, a victim, was remembered by his mother Donna Maria Barker in an article in the Irish Times after the bombing in Omagh. The Edge has described the song as "the most bitter song U2 has ever written". The names of all 29 people killed during the bombing were recited at the conclusion of the group's anti-violence anthem "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the Elevation Tour; one performance is captured on the concert video U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland."
This is such a beautiful song and a terrible one. The Christian names mentioned are those of some of the victims of the bomb that exploded in Omagh on 15th August 1998, just a few months after the Good Friday agreement that was meant to bring peace to Northern Ireland. So this song continues U2's traditional concern about the violence in that region. It also ties into their deep Christian faith mingled with extreme impatience with God (e.g. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" or "Wake Up Dead Man"). Wars continue around the world even to the present day and God, for whatever reason, hasn't seen fit to put an end to them. I have to say that as a citizen of the USA post-9/11, the line "you become a monster so the monster will not break you" is sadly convicting.
I was surprised when I looked this up no one mentioned the Omagh bombing.
I was surprised when I looked this up no one mentioned the Omagh bombing.
"Another line, "She never got to say goodbye, To see the colour in his eyes, now he's in the dirt," was about how James Barker, a victim, was remembered by his mother Donna Maria Barker in an article in the Irish Times after the bombing in Omagh. The Edge has described the song as "the most bitter song U2 has ever written". The names of all 29 people killed during the bombing were recited at the conclusion of the group's anti-violence anthem "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the Elevation Tour; one performance is captured on the concert video U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland."
U2Faqs.com Irish Times