The Precise Meaning Behind One of U2's Early Songs

A couple months ago I wrote a post where I compared U2 to the Fab Four. However, U2's early music (roughly the first three albums) is interesting in and of itself as the band ws still in the process of developing their own style. 
U2 New Year's Day.png
This photograph is UK cover of New Year's Day. The figure pictured is Peter Rowen, Bono's friend and neighbor growing up. Released as the lead single from their third LP, 1983's War, the song was a top 10 hit in several European countries such as the UK (In fact it was their first single issued there), and a top 20 hit in a handful of others. Sadly in the US, the highest the song charted was at #53 on the Bilboard Hot 100. It just missed the top 40 in Canada, and in U2's motherland, Ireland, it reached the highest coming in at number 2.gh

It was originally concieved as a long song...

Bono wrote the song in the form of a love song for his wife, but that is not the actual meaning of the song and it is not a de facto love song.

Then what is it about?

While the title and the first line, "All is quiet on New Year's Day," suggestively give the theme away, it actually is not the theme. Rather, it is about the Polish Solidarity movement, fully known as the  Independent Self-governing Trade Union Solidarity. Interestingly enough, the first line of the second verse, "Under a blood red sky," became the title for the band's first (and only) live album issued the following year. 

Bono spoke of the song, and I quote, "It would be stupid to start drawing up battle lines, but I think the fact that 'New Year's Day' made the Top Ten indicated a disillusionment among record buyers. I don't think 'New Year's Day' was a pop single, certainly not in the way that Mickie Most might define a pop single as something that lasts three minutes and three weeks in the chart. I don't think we could have written that kind of song."

The War album itself is rather political in nature. In fact the second hit single, Sunday Bloody Sunday, has a political theme too. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Legacy of Davorin Popovich and Indexi

Image
In the former Yugoslavia, there were many successful artists, but one of the most important, and even overlooked sometimes, was a popular band called Indexi (The Indeces). They had an awesome lead singer. The late, great Davorin Popovich today is remembered for has raspy, tenor voice - to me, a bit comparable to Burton Cummings of The Guess Who fame. Over the years, he has earned various nicknames such as Dacho and Pimpek. They were the seeds for other bands. Formed back in 1962, Indexi set the stage for what is now known as the Sarajevo School of Pop Rock - a movement that would live for the next three decades (a la before the Yugoslav wars). Their name, by the way, is the plural of Index - a student's gradebook. Each student was expected to record and maintain their own grades. The core  members, aside from Popovich, consisted of late guitarist Slobodan Bodo Kavachevich and bass player Fadil Redzich (pronounce "dz," like "s" in "risotto)."
Read more

Jimmy Stokley and Exile

Image
  Although of minor significance, today is 35 years since we lostJimmy Stokley of Exile. A little known Kentucky band, Exile is perhaps only known for their 1978 hit Kiss You All Over . In the 80s, the band shifted to more of a country sound, and has not made any noteable chart hits since. A Jagger-like frontman Born James Carr Stokley on October 18, 1943, Stokley joined The Fascinations in 1963, who then became Jimmy Stokley and The Exiles, featuring future Exile guiarist J.P. Penington  Jimmy Stokley and The Exiles, were, towards the end of the decade, shortened to simply The Exiles, before the plural form was dropped in the mid 70s, becoming Exile. Interestingly, Stokley's attire and attitude on stage led to many calling him the American Mick Jagger. One hitters In 1978, Exile issued their LP Mixed Emotions  through Warner Bros. records. The record features the disco-ey hit Kiss You All Over , written by producer Mike Chapman (also notorious for working with Blondie). Despite co
Read more

Bijelo Dugme - Former Yugoslavia's Greatest Rock Band

Image
In today's blog post, we will examine perhaps one of the GREATEST rock bands of the former Yugoslavia. Bijelo Dugme (The White Button), which by sound is largely influenced by the heavy metal likes of Deep Purple, Zeppelin, and Sabbath; however in culture, they were most simillar to the Beatles. In fact, there was a Dugmeania in the former Yugoslavia in the late 70s akin to Beatlemania in the US in the 60s. The brainchild of the band was a young man named Goran Bregovich, aka Brega. He was born on 3, 22, 1950 in Sarajevo to a Serbian mother and a Croatian father. At some point, his mother enrolled him into a music school with violin as a chosen instrument, but around twelve he was expelled showing lack of interest. Consequently, his mother bought him a guitar in his early teenage years. Brega's first bands were high school bands. He played bass guitar for Beshtije (The Beasts). At a  br in 1969, Bregovich met Zeljko Bebek who was part of a band called Kodeksi (The Codexes)
Read more