The song tries to recapture the feeling they had at the time, and sounds like a flashback to traveling through California while hearing the Beach Boys playing on the radio.

In their early twenties, the bands visit to the place, as described in 'U2 by U2', inspired and affected the direction they went as a band. The third song on the album is about the first time U2 were in Los Angeles. 'I thought I heard the captain's voice, It's hard to listen while you preach' - whether you subscribe to the concept of God or whether you look at that voice inside as your own conscience, Bono seems to recognise that we sometimes have to stop talking in order to hear, as a blogger analysing Every Breaking Wave cited. And no matter how much you want peace, life will always throw you curve balls. From there, the lyrics seem to walk us through the realities of life. The intro the song does sound very similar to the famous intro of With Or Without You.Įvery Breaking Wave was a last minute cut from the No Line On The Horizon album, in order to reduce the total running time.Lyrically, the opening can refer to the endless, restless nature of the sea, seeing it as telling us that life goes on, no matter what. Musically, the song has evolved quite a lot, while lyrically it is quite the same as the live version we knew before. Currently widely rated as the best song of the album, it leaves little doubt on whether these changes to the song were for the good. It has been played live three times within a month and never since.įrom the three live performances to the version of the album, the song has obviously undergone some metamorphosis. Every Breaking Wave was performed for the first time in 2010, in Helsinki. It was a last minute cut from the album to reduce the total running time.

Every Breaking Wave as a song has existed for many years within the U2 camp, originating from the No Line On The Horizon sessions. The only song on the album that is familiar to us U2 fans. 'It seems like this is a song about Bono overcoming the challenges of getting into songwriting', as one of the U2start members hints to a possible interpretation of the lyrics. A catchy rock tune, although quality-wise it seems to be better than Get On Your Boots. 'I was young, not dumb/ Just wishing to be blinded/ By you, brand new/And we were pilgrims on our way' sings Bono in tribute to the late lead singer of The Ramones, whom he acknowledges as one of his early influences.īono takes us to the origin of U2: a Ramones concert that changed his teenage heart and soul forever.As a first single, the song bares some similarities with the first single of the No Line On The Horizon album, Get On Your Boots. Stories about an album which central themes go back in time, to U2's early days, to Dublin, to family, friends and places from the past.īono takes us to the origin of U2: a Ramones concert that changed his teenage heart and soul forever. Stories that trace back many years, stories about how musically bright songs can have very dark themes. In this article we will try to unravel some of those stories. Each of the eleven songs has its own story, musically and lyrically.

Even though U2 fans had little time to prepare for the release of the Songs Of Innocence album, the album still is a result of many years of work.

U2 songs of innocence