Archive for Elvis

Can’t Help Falling in Love – my U2 A to Z

Posted in A to Z April Challenge, Songs, U2 with tags , , , , , on April 3, 2013 by DeenasDays
Elvis and Bono

Elvis and Bono

Even though Can’t Help Falling in Love is credited to Bono and not U2, I am going to include it as part of my U2 favorites. U2 played it on the ZooTv tour. In fact, one of my greatest memories of the ZooTv tour is when Bono knelt in front of me (I was in the 3rd row) and sang Can’t Help Falling in Love as U2 closed the DC show on August 16, 1992 – the 15th anniversary of Elvis’ death.  As an avid Elvis fan, this was an amazing, unforgettable moment for me! My worlds were colliding! Elvis used to close his shows with Can’t Help Falling in Love, a fact I’m sure Bono knew. My favorite recorded version is this one with Bono singing while Elvis is talking. Bono sings an abbreviated version of Can’t Help Falling in Love while an Elvis interview is playing in the background.

This blog post is part of my A to Z April Challenge about ‘My U2′ – what I love about U2 from A to Z. Thanks for stopping by. I am also blogging the A to Z Challenge on my other blog Deena’s Days about ‘My Music’ – music I love from A to Z.

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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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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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C is for Can’t Help Falling in Love

Posted in A to Z April Challenge, Songs with tags , , , on April 3, 2012 by DeenasDays

My favorite U2 song that begins with C is Can’t Help Falling in Love. I kind of cheated a little here because the version that is my favorite was actually credited to Bono, but U2 did play it on the ZooTv tour. In fact, one of my greatest memories of the ZooTv tour is when Bono knelt in front of me and sang Can’t Help Falling in Love as U2 closed the DC show on August 16, 1992 – the 15th anniversary of Elvis’ death. Elvis used to close his shows with Can’t Help Falling in Love, a fact I’m sure Bono knew. So it’s obvious why I chose this song as one of my favorites – it’s my two worlds colliding with U2 covering an Elvis song. But even better is this version of Bono singing over Elvis talking. Bono sings an abbreviated version of Can’t Help Falling in Love while an Elvis interview is playing in the background.

Wise men say only fools rush in
But I can’t help falling in love with you
Shall I stay, would it be a sin
If I can’t help falling in love with you
Like a river flows to the sea
So it goes, some things were meant to be
Take my hand, take my whole life too
I can’t help falling in love with you
I can’t help falling in love with you

What is your favorite U2 song that begins with C?

This blog post is part of my A to Z April Challenge – my 26 favorite U2 songs. Thanks for stopping by. I am also blogging the A to Z Challenge on my other blog DeenasDays.

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U2360USA Day 30 – Palm Springs: Harmony Motel & Joshua Tree

Posted in 'On the Road with U2', 360 (2011), U2 with tags , , , , , , , on June 12, 2011 by DeenasDays

Day 30 of my U2 360 tour across America was another perfect day in Palm Springs! I went to Harmony Motel, Joshua Tree National Park, and Las Casuelas. I was supposed to make the pilgrimage to THE Joshua Tree, the one U2 was photographed with for my favorite album The Joshua Tree, but I realized that it was almost five hours north of Palm Springs. I knew it was in the Mohave Desert near Death Valley and was not in Joshua Tree Park, but I thought it was on the way to Joshua Tree National Park.

Since I couldn’t go to the real Joshua Tree where U2 was photographed, I went to the Harmony Motel, only an hour away, where U2 was also photographed. U2 stayed at the Harmony Motel while making The Joshua Tree album. It was a very small, retro motel – a far cry from the five star resort hotels U2 stay at now.

Harmony Motel

 

Even though I couldn’t see THE Joshua Tree, I could see many Joshua Trees at Joshua Tree National Park. It is the 75th anniversary of the park, which is located within 10 miles from the Harmony Motel.

Joshua Tree national park

 

After my U2 trip to Harmony Motel and Joshua Tree, I had lunch at Elvis’ favorite Palm Springs restaurant Las Casuelas. My friend Aaron from high school and his two friends, who are in Palm Springs for the weekend, met me there. We had great Mexican food and great conversation. It was a good time. I highly recommend the Enchiladas Rancheros. After lunch, I walked around downtown Palm Springs before returning to my wonderful A Place in the Sun garden hotel.

Elvis' favorite restaurant

my Palm Springs stuff

Please watch video of my perfect day in Palm Springs at Harmony Motel and Joshua Tree http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYKdkECj_-Q

Tomorrow I leave the fabulous Palm Springs for Anaheim, where I will spend the next six days including 2 back to back U2 shows at Angels Stadium.

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U2360USA Day 15 – Lake Tahoe

Posted in 'On the Road with U2', 360 (2009) with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , on May 28, 2011 by DeenasDays

We started out our day just like yesterday, with a yummy filling breakfast in our hotel. But that’s where the similarity ended. This 15th day of my U2 360 tour across America brought me, my mom and my aunt through Carson City and into the snow of Lake Tahoe.

driving to Lake Tahoe

Our first stop was just about 10-15 minutes from our hotel, south of Reno on the way to Carson City and Lake Tahoe. We stopped at the Chocolate Nugget Candy Factory. I think I bought enough candy to last me for the rest of my U2 360 road trip – peanut butter fudge, chocolate covered graham crackers, chocolate caramels and a big hunk of white chocolate.

Chocolate Nugget

We made it to Carson City and just drove through and see what it was like. There was a casino and a couple of cool looking bars and a park, but not a big vacation destination.

We reached Lake Tahoe and the temperature drastically dropped. It was about 50 degrees when we left Reno and it dropped into the 30s by the time we stopped at Lake Tahoe to take pictures.

Lake Tahoe

We drove around the Lake and went into the Horizon Casino. I wanted to stop here because it used to be the Sahara Casino where Elvis performed in the 1970s. There was no longer any evidence of the King though. It was a small casino, but they had Hot Shot, so I played a little and luckily only lost $4.

We decided rather than drive back the way we came, to drive all the way around Lake Tahoe. So we made our way into California along route 89. This road was quite narrow and at many points had no guard rail and just dropped off with no shoulder. My mom was terrified and at one pointed shouted, “Stop the car and let me out!” After, she didn’t even remember saying it she was so scared. To make matters worse, it was snowing – hard. 32 degrees and snowing on Memorial Day Weekend – the official start of summer. I never thought it would be this cold on my summer road trip, or that I would encounter snow – twice!

Lake Tahoe snow

We finally made it around Lake Tahoe and back to Reno. It was in the high 40s and raining, but a big improvement from the snow. We had eaten since breakfast, so we had a really late lunch or early dinner at Carrows down the street from our hotel – I think we ate enough for 2 meals.

I think I’ll skip the casino tonight and stay in the room and relax with Elvis and Cilla. I’ll gamble more tomorrow.

Please watch my short video of our day in Carson City and Lake Tahoe (uploading now)

7 days until U2 360 in Seattle!

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Vertigo Las Vegas November 4-5, 2005

Posted in 'On the Road with U2', Bono, Concerts, Tours, U2, Vertigo with tags , , , , , , , on March 9, 2011 by DeenasDays

Saturday November 5, 2005 Las Vegas

I love Vegas! Cindy and I arrived yesterday morning at 11am. We checked into Ballys and then had pizza at New York New York. We walked over to MGM to check out the U2 GA line situation, even though I had a seat for the show. We gambled at Boardwalk Casino, shopped at the Venetian and Alladin and had dinner at Café Lux.

I went to the U2 show (Vegas1) at the MGM Grand Arena last night, which was really great. My seat was behind the stage in the second level. Damien Marley opened. There was an Elvis impersonator on the floor, so Bono sang ‘Love and Peace’ like Elvis and then sang ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ after ‘One.’ U2 played ‘Wild Horses’! It was a really good show. I was up for over 22 hours yesterday and then only slept for 4 hours.

Today we went to the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Freemont Street, Treasure Island, Mirage and the Flamingo. I’m really getting into this gambling thing. I love the slots now! We had a fantastic dinner at Paris.

I went to the U2 show (Vegas2) again tonight at the MGM Grand Arena. It was absolutely amazing! Mary J Blige sang ‘One’ with Bono. The lead singer from the Killers sang ‘In a Little While’ with Bono. U2 played ‘Zoo Station’, ‘The Fly’, ‘Until the End of the World’ and ‘Mysterious Ways’. After the show, I met up with Cindy at Paris casino to gamble some more.

U2 Vertigo Vegas 11.4-5.05

my Vertigo tour program

 

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