'Cedarwood Road' song lyrics meaning by U2

In "Cedarwood Road," Bono transports listeners back to his childhood home in Dublin, crafting a vivid landscape that mirrors the emotional tumult of his formative years. The lyrics pulse with the tension between fear and hope, friendship and isolation, painting Cedarwood Road as both a physical and psychological battleground. 

The cherry blossom tree—an image of fleeting beauty and renewal—stands as a gateway to something transcendent, a momentary escape from the harsh realities of teenage life in a neighborhood darkened by skinhead culture and the looming specter of violence. 

Yet, this road is more than a memory lane. It becomes a metaphor for the complexities of growing up, where the "foolish pride" that drives us out into the world can also lead to wounds that never fully heal. Bono reflects on the tension between holding onto the "hurt you hide" and the "joy you hold," a paradox that defines not just his upbringing, but the human condition at large.

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As the song unfolds, the familiar streets of Bono’s youth blur into the broader realities of life—fear, identity, and the scars left by a fractured society. 

The line "It was a warzone in my teens" carries a dual meaning, touching on both the personal struggles of adolescence and the external strife of a city grappling with sectarian violence and economic hardship. This sense of a world at odds with itself is underscored by the symbolic clash of "bibles smashing" and the chaotic images of a world painted by opposing forces. 

The song’s conclusion—"And a heart that is broken / Is a heart that is open"—transcends the autobiographical, speaking to the universal truth that vulnerability and pain are inextricable from the possibility of redemption. "Cedarwood Road" becomes not just a reflection of a time and place, but an exploration of how the past, with all its scars, continues to shape and haunt our present selves.

'Cedarwood Road' song lyrics meaning by U2

I was running down the road
The fear was all I knew
I was looking for a soul that’s real
Then I ran into you
And that cherry blossom tree
Was a gateway to the sun
And friendship, once it’s won
It’s won, it’s one
Northside
Just across the river to the Southside
That’s a long way here
All the green and all the gold
The hurt you hide
The joy you hold
The foolish pride
That gets you out the door
Up on Cedarwood Road
On Cedarwood Road
Sleepwalking down the road
Not waking from these dreams
‘Cause it’s never dead
It’s still my dead
It was a warzone in my teens
I’m still standing on that street
Still need an enemy
The worst ones I can’t see
You can, you can
Northside
Just across the river to the Southside
That’s a long way here
All the green and all the gold
The hurt you hide
And the joy you hold
The foolish pride
That sends you back for more
Up on Cedarwood Road
On Cedarwood Road
If the door is open it isn’t theft
You can’t return to where you’ve never left
Blossoms falling from a tree
They cover you and cover me
Symbols clashing, bibles smashing
Paint the world you need to see
Sometimes fear is the only place
That we can call our home
Cedarwood Road
And a heart that is broken
Is a heart that is open
Open, open

Check out the lyrics to U2's Volcano which can also be found ripping it up on Songs of Innocence.

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