Archive for May, 2012

Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses – my spiritual journey with U2

Posted in my spiritual journey with U2, Songs, U2 with tags , , , on May 27, 2012 by DeenasDays

One of my favorite U2 songs is Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses. It is a very personal song for me. It is literally about my first love. When we broke up, I made him sit down while I read him the lyrics. I couldn’t have written a more perfect song for the way I felt. I have never thought about Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses in religious terms, until now. The lyric “Well you left my heart empty as a vacant lot for any spirit to haunt” may have been referencing Luke 11:24-26 “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seen other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.” Later in the song “Hallelujah! Heaven’s white rose the doors you open I just can’t close” may be referencing God as ‘heaven’s white rose.’ Dante depicted paradise as a white rose where God was at the center and saints surrounded him. The white rose symbolizes purity, divine love, and perfection – all characteristics of God.

You’re dangerous, ‘cos you’re honest.
You’re dangerous, you don’t know what you want.
Well you left my heart empty as a vacant lot
For any spirit to haunt.
You’re an accident waiting to happen
You’re a piece of glass left there on a beach.
Well you tell me things
I know you’re not supposed to
Then you leave me just out of reach.
Who’s gonna ride your wild horses?
Who’s gonna drown in your blue sea?
Who’s gonna ride your wild horses?
Who’s gonna fall at the foot of thee?
Well you stole it ‘cos I needed the cash
And you killed it ‘cos I needed revenge.
Well you lied to me ‘cos I asked you to.
Baby, can we still be friends?
Who’s gonna ride your wild horses?
Who’s gonna drown in your blue sea?
Who’s gonna ride your wild horses?
Who’s gonna fall at the foot of thee?
Ah, the deeper I spin
Ah, the hunter will sin for your ivory skin.
Took a drive in the dirty rain
To a place where the wind calls your name
Under the trees, the river laughing at you and me.
Hallelujah! Heaven’s white rose
The doors you open I just can’t close.
Don’t turn around, don’t turn around again.
Don’t turn around your gypsy heart.
Don’t turn around, don’t turn around again.
Don’t turn around, and don’t look back.
Come on now love, don’t you look back.
Who’s gonna ride your wild horses?
Who’s gonna drown in your blue sea?
Who’s gonna taste your saltwater kisses?
Who’s gonna take the place of me?
Who’s gonna ride your wild horses?
Who’s gonna tame the heart of thee?

To me, Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses is still a song about a relationship gone bad, but now I know some of the lyrics are inspired by God and the Bible.

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Gone – my spiritual journey with U2

Posted in my spiritual journey with U2, Songs with tags , , , , , , , , , , on May 20, 2012 by DeenasDays

My third favorite U2 song is Gone. I love the lyrics to Gone, but my favorite (and one of my favorite lyrics of any song) is “What you thought was freedom is just greed.“ I also love Gone because it reminds me of Elvis Presley, my other passion. He always felt guilty for all that he had because he did not feel he deserved it. He always wondered why God had chosen him to be Elvis Presley – “You get to feel so guilty. Got so much for so little. Then you find that feeling just won’t go away.” To me, Gone is about trying not to lose yourself as you make your journey through life. Matthew 16:26 says, “What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” Gone says, “You wanted to get somewhere so badly you had to lose yourself along the way,” and ends with, “I’ll be up with the sun. Are you still holding on? I’m not coming down.” To me, this means that he is happy because he is up with God, and is asking if you are still holding on to the things that are holding you back from being happy, from being with God.

You get to feel so guilty
Got so much for so little
Then you find that feeling just won’t go away.
You’re holding on to every little thing so tightly
Till there’s nothing left for you anyway.
Goodbye, you can keep this suit of lights
I’ll be up with the sun
I’m not coming down.
You wanted to get somewhere so badly
You had to lose yourself along the way.
You changed your name
Well that’s okay, it’s necessary
And what you leave behind you don’t miss anyway.
Goodbye, you can keep this suit of lights
I’ll be up with the sun
I’m not coming down.
‘Cause I’m already gone
Felt that way all along.
Closer to you every day
I didn’t want it that much anyway.
You’re taking steps that make you feel dizzy
Then you learn to like the way it feels.
You hurt yourself, you hurt your lover
Then you discover
What you thought was freedom is just greed.
Goodbye, and it’s an emotional
Goodnight, I’ll be up with the sun.
Are you still holding on?
I’m not coming down.

For this series I am writing about my spiritual journey with U2, I have decided to first write about my favorite U2 songs in relation to theology and then go through each U2 album. So Gone is not the most religious of U2 songs, but it is one of my favorites. Don’t worry I will get to the more obvious religious U2 songs, so please keep reading each Sunday.

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Luminous Times (Hold on to Love) – my spiritual journey with U2

Posted in my spiritual journey with U2, Songs with tags , , , on May 13, 2012 by DeenasDays

Luminous Times (Hold on to Love) is my second favorite U2 song, but I never thought of it in religious terms – until now. I recognize it as a song about Love, true love, the purest love. And God is Love – his love is the purest kind of love there is. Luminous Times says, “Hold on to love. Love won’t to let you go.” Love conquers all, in fact it is the only force that can overcome anything. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” Love transforms enemies into friends.

Luminous Times says God is an essential part of the relationship between lovers – “I love you cause I need to, not because I need you. I love you ’cause I understand that God had given me your hand.” The two lovers help each other love God and because God is involved in their relationship, they are free of worry and full of hope.

Hey sister love
Hey sister sun
Hey oh my love
You turn me around tonight
Hey sister love
Save my soul
Hold on to love
Love won’t to let you go
Hold on to love
See the sunshine in her soul
Hey sister love
Hey sister sun
She come likes carnival
She is the big wheel
She turn my head around
She is the speedway
She is the slipstream
She is coming round
Hold on to love
Love won’t to let you go
Hold on to love
See the sunlight in her soul
She is the gun fire
She is the car crash
She is the avalanche
She is the thunder
She is the waves and
She pulls me under
I love you cause I need to
Not because I need you
I love you cause I understand
That God had given me your hand
Holds me in a tiny fist
And still I need your kiss
Hold on to love
See the sunlight in her soul

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I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – my spiritual journey with U2

Posted in my spiritual journey with U2, Songs, U2 with tags , , , , , , on May 6, 2012 by DeenasDays

The original purpose of this blog was to write about all 75 U2 concerts I have been to over the last 20 years, and since I have done that and U2 are not currently touring, I had to find something else to write about on this blog. I have recently gotten back into going to church. In addition to attending worship services, I am also attending Sunday School and Bible Study. In addition I am involved with the church’s Women’s Group and helping lead the Youth Group. I am back on my spiritual journey, so I thought why not combine my spiritual journey with my musical journey. I am going to explore U2′s lyrics in relation to theology. This is not a new concept, in fact many have already written about it. But this will be the first time I am really going to delve into U2 and religion. What I am writing isn’t necessarily the right answer, but rather my interpretation of U2′s music as it pertains to my spiritual journey. Being On the Road with U2 has led me back on my path to my spiritual journey.

It is all about the journey, not the destination. No song portrays that sentiment more than my favorite song I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. It was the song that got me into U2, and 25 years later I still have not found what I am looking for. But I love being on the journey – the quest for what truly makes me happy. U2 refer to I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For as a gospel song, and I agree. The first verse may suggest that success doesn’t mean fulfillment – “I have climbed the highest mountains, I have run through the fields only to be with you. I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls only to be with you. But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.” In the second verse the lyric “I have spoke with the tongue of angels” may have been taken from 1 Corinthians 13:1, which says, “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” Similarly this says that knowledge doesn’t mean happiness – even if you have all the right answers, without love you have nothing. The third verse may suggest that in your head you believe in God, but you are yearning to know God in your heart – “I believe in the Kingdom Come…You carried the cross of my shame…you know I believe it. But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for.”

I have climbed the highest mountains
I have run through the fields
Only to be with you.
I have run, I have crawled
I have scaled these city walls
Only to be with you.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
I have kissed honey lips
Felt the healing in her finger tips
It burned like fire
(I was) burning inside her.
I have spoke with the tongue of angels
I have held the hand of a devil
It was warm in the night
I was cold as a stone.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.
I believe in the Kingdom Come
Then all the colors will bleed into one.
But yes, I’m still running.
You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross of my shame
Oh my shame, you know I believe it.
But I still haven’t found
What I’m looking for.

I still haven’t found what I’m looking for, but I am enjoying the journey!

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One Life No Regrets

Posted in 'On the Road with U2', 360 (2011), U2 with tags , , , , , on May 4, 2012 by DeenasDays

I try to live my life pursuing my passion and by the motto, “It’s better to regret something you have done than to regret something you haven’t done.” Especially since it’s all about the journey, not the destination. Along my travels this past summer on the U2 360 tour, I met a guy who was living his life the same way. His name is Patrick Stark and his motto is One Life No Regrets.

I met Patrick in Seattle, the day before the U2 360 show. While my friend Jenny and I were exploring Seattle, we heard the drums for U2′s Desire. We paused because we weren’t sure we had heard it correctly, but then we heard ‘Lover I’m on the street.’ So we ran toward Desire. It was a band and gospel choir on the back of a semi truck playing U2 music. The banner above the stage read ‘One Life No Regrets’ and then in smaller letters ‘noregretsu2.’ The singer, Patrick Stark, turned 40 and wanted to make sure he was living his life with no regrets – something I identify with as I am turning 40 this year and want to live my life with no regrets. Patrick had always had a fear of singing in public, so to conquer his fear he is making a documentary called One Life No Regrets about his quest to sing on stage with U2. In preparation, he sang a set of U2 songs with a Gospel choir – Desire, In God’s Country, All I Want is You, One, Until the End of the World. Unfortunately, Patrick did not get on stage with U2 the next night, but he has made a great documentary.

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My Favorite U2 songs A to Z

Posted in A to Z April Challenge, Songs with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 1, 2012 by DeenasDays

I had a great time in April blogging each day about my 26 favorite U2 songs in the A to Z challenge. So much fun in fact that I wanted to list my favorite U2 songs (each highlighted with links back to the original posts) in this one blog post with the addition of honorable mentions, so I truly include all of my favorite U2 songs. So here we go, my 26 favorite U2 songs from A to Z!

A is for Acrobat with A Room at the Heartbreak and Angel of Harlem as honorable mentions.

B is for Bad with Breathe as honorable mention for close second – “I’ve found grace inside a sound.”

C is for Can’t Help Falling in Love .

D is for Deep in the Heart with Desire and Discotheque as honorable mentions.

E is for Electrical Storm with Elvis Ate America as honorable mention for obvious reasons.

F is for (the) Fly.

G is for Gone and Get on Your Boots.

H is for Heartland with Hallelujah Here She Comes as honorable mention.

I is for I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For with In a Little While and In God’s Country as honorable mentions.

J is for Jean Genie.

K is for Kite.

L is for Luminous Times with Love Rescue Me and Love and Peace or Else as honorable mentions.

M is for Mysterious Ways with Magnificent as honorable mention.

N is for New Year’s Day with No Line on the Horizon and New Day as honorable mentions.

O is for October with Original of the Species and One Tree Hill as honorable mentions.

P is for Pride with Please as honorable mention.

Q is for (dancing) Queen - there are no U2 songs that begin with Q.

R is for Red Hill Mining Town with Rejoice and Running to Stand Still as honorable mentions.

S is for Summer Rain with Spanish Eyes and So Cruel as honorable mentions.

T is for Trip Through Your Wires with Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World as honorable mention.

U is for (the) Unforgettable Fire with Ultraviolet as honorable mention.

V is for Van Diemen’s Land.

W is for Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses with Walk to the Water as honorable mention for close second.

X is for Xanax and Wine  - the only U2 song that begins with X.

Y is for Yahweh.

Z is for Zoo Station with Zooropa as honorable mention.

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