The lyrics, in fact, refer to the persecuted leader of the Polish Solidarity movement, Lech Walesa. Coincidentally, after the song was released Poland\'s Communist government announced that they would abolish martial law. In 1980 the Solidarity movement in Poland, under the leadership of future Nobel Peace Prize winner and president Lech Walesa, challenged the oppressive rule of the Polish government. In December 1981, the Solidarity movement was outlawed and Walesa, together with the other leaders of the movement, was arrested and put in jail. It is believed that "New Year’s Day" initially started out as a love song, dedicated to Bono’s high-school sweetheart, Ali, whom he had recently married, but this changed. Frontman Bono told the Rolling Stone in 2012 that he made the lyrics up on the spot, as he often does. He said, "We improvise, and the things that came out; I let them come out." "I must have been thinking about Lech Walesa being interned. Then, when we\'d recorded the song, they announced that martial law would be lifted in Poland on New Year\'s Day. Incredible."
The lyrics, in fact, refer to the persecuted leader of the Polish Solidarity movement, Lech Walesa. Coincidentally, after the song was released Poland\'s Communist government announced that they would abolish martial law. In 1980 the Solidarity movement in Poland, under the leadership of future Nobel Peace Prize winner and president Lech Walesa, challenged the oppressive rule of the Polish government. In December 1981, the Solidarity movement was outlawed and Walesa, together with the other leaders of the movement, was arrested and put in jail. It is believed that "New Year’s Day" initially started out as a love song, dedicated to Bono’s high-school sweetheart, Ali, whom he had recently married, but this changed. Frontman Bono told the Rolling Stone in 2012 that he made the lyrics up on the spot, as he often does. He said, "We improvise, and the things that came out; I let them come out." "I must have been thinking about Lech Walesa being interned. Then, when we\'d recorded the song, they announced that martial law would be lifted in Poland on New Year\'s Day. Incredible."