"Magnificent" song lyrics by U2

Bono noted that the lyrics were influenced by both Cole Porter and Bach, and that the song is about "two lovers holding on to each other and trying to turn their life into worship." Daniel Lanois, one of NLOTH's producers described the song's origins:

 "We wanted to have something euphoric and Bono came up with that little melody. And he loved that melody, and stuck with it. Almost like a fanfare. And then I was involved in the lyrical process on that, because we wanted to talk about sacrifice that one makes for one's medium or one's art. I thought it had for a setting New York in the 50s; looking out a small bedroom window. Maybe a Charlie Parker kind of figure."

Bono's lyrics serve as both a personal manifesto and a universal yearning, encapsulating the relentless pursuit of something greater than oneself. With a tone that oscillates between reverence and vulnerability, the song opens with an acknowledgment of flawed humanity—“I was born to be with you”—suggesting that our very existence is tethered to an intrinsic connection to the divine, a theme that feels both intimate and cosmic. This duality becomes a powerful undercurrent as the song navigates through sonic landscapes created by The Edge’s signature delay-laden guitar riffs, melding the ethereal with the palpable.

In "Magnificent," U2 crafts a sonorous exploration of the interplay between human aspiration and the divine, a theme that resonates throughout their oeuvre but reaches new heights in the context of No Line on the Horizon. Bono's lyrics serve as both a personal manifesto and a universal yearning, encapsulating the relentless pursuit of something greater than oneself. 

U2's Magnificent Lyrics:

Magnificent
Oh, magnificent



I was born
I was born to be with you 

In this space and time

After that and ever after
I haven't had a clue
Only to break rhyme
This foolishness can leave a heart
Black and blue



Only love
Only love can leave such a mark

But only love
Only love can heal such a scar


I was born
I was born to sing for you 

I didn't have a choice
But to lift you up
And sing whatever song you wanted me to
I give you back my voice
From the womb my first cry
It was a joyful noise
Oh, oh

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark

But only love
Only love can heal such a scar


Justified till we die
You and I will magnify

Oh, the magnificent

Magnificent

Only love
Only love can leave such a mark

But only love
Only love unites our hearts



Justified till we die
You and I will magnify
Oh, the magnificent

Magnificent

Magnificent