“The Blackout” from U2’s Songs of Experience emerges as a multifaceted anthem that intricately weaves personal introspection with a broader societal commentary, reflecting Bono’s complex response to both personal and political turmoil.
Released in 2023, the song resonates within the context of a world grappling with profound changes, marked by the political upheaval surrounding Donald Trump’s presidency.
Bono has articulated that the song began as a meditation on his own mortality, fueled by personal experiences that left him questioning the fragility of life. He said of the lyrics' meaning that the song started "off its life about a more personal apocalypse, some events in my life that more than reminded me of my mortality but then segued into the political dystopia that we're heading towards now.
This theme of an individual apocalypse serves as a catalyst, leading him to explore the wider implications of a political dystopia that seemed increasingly imminent in the face of rising populism and division, particularly in the United States.
The Blackout Song Lyrics by U2
A dinosaur wonders why it still walks the earth, yeah
A meteor promises it's not gonna hit, yeah
Earthquakes always happen when you're in bed, Fred
The house shakes
Maybe it was something I said, Ned
Go easy on me
Easy on me, brother
Go easy on me
Easy on me now
When the lights go out
And you throw yourself about
In the darkness where you learn to see
When the lights go out
Don't you ever doubt
The light that we can really be
Statues fall
Democracy's flat on it's back, Jack
We had it all
And what we had is not coming back, Zach
A big mouth says the people
They don't wanna be free for free
A blackout
Is this an extinction event we see
Go easy on me
Easy on me, brother
Go easy on me
Easy on me now
When the lights go out
And you throw yourself about
In the darkness where you learn to see
When the lights go out
Don't you ever doubt
The light that we can really be
When the lights go out
When the lights go out
When the lights go out
When the lights go out
Blacked out, it's clear
Who you are will appear
Blacked out, no fear
So glad that you are all still here
Here
When the lights go out
When the lights go out
When the lights go out
When the lights go out
And you throw yourself about
In the darkness where you learn to see
When the lights go out
Don't you ever doubt
The light that we can really be
When the lights go out
When the lights go out
When the lights go out
The lights
You're the Best Thing About Me was released as the official single from the Songs of Experience album on September 8 2017. That was a Wednesday for any of you trainspotters...
1 Achtung Babies:
Best song on the album!
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