This is one of my favorite U2 songs if not my favorite. I spent a great deal of my teenage years relating to "An Cat Dubh" in a strange way. The lyrics can easily take on many meanings but this is what I gather from what I've read and what I assume.
I've heard that Bono had had a brief fling with a woman during a short-lived split from Ali in high school. This song is supposedly about that woman. From what Bono has said, she was mysterious and clearly from the dark undertones of the song, it was her arcane mystery that fascinated him.
From the lyric, I imagine this woman being some kind of Priestess. Bono is insanely attracted to her but he doesn't understand her, nor does he fully understand why he feels so drawn to her and helpless against her. I always imagine this woman being older than Bono or at least quite a bit more mature; like a Patricia Kennealy to his Jim Morrison. She uses him as her pet, yes, but she also teaches him a great deal in the process. By the end of the song, you feel as if the singer/lyricist has learned a great lesson and has achieved a sense of real manhood. You can almost feel the transition from boyhood to manhood throughout this song. As if this dark and mysterious woman has turned the boy into a man.
This is one of my favorite U2 songs if not my favorite. I spent a great deal of my teenage years relating to "An Cat Dubh" in a strange way. The lyrics can easily take on many meanings but this is what I gather from what I've read and what I assume.
I've heard that Bono had had a brief fling with a woman during a short-lived split from Ali in high school. This song is supposedly about that woman. From what Bono has said, she was mysterious and clearly from the dark undertones of the song, it was her arcane mystery that fascinated him.
From the lyric, I imagine this woman being some kind of Priestess. Bono is insanely attracted to her but he doesn't understand her, nor does he fully understand why he feels so drawn to her and helpless against her. I always imagine this woman being older than Bono or at least quite a bit more mature; like a Patricia Kennealy to his Jim Morrison. She uses him as her pet, yes, but she also teaches him a great deal in the process. By the end of the song, you feel as if the singer/lyricist has learned a great lesson and has achieved a sense of real manhood. You can almost feel the transition from boyhood to manhood throughout this song. As if this dark and mysterious woman has turned the boy into a man.