"One Step Closer," from U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album, is a deeply introspective and emotional song that reflects on themes of loss, uncertainty, and faith.
The song is often interpreted as a meditation on the process of grief and the struggle to find meaning and hope in the face of death. Written during a period when Bono was grappling with his father’s illness and eventual passing, the song captures the ambiguity of faith and the difficulty of understanding life’s greater purpose when faced with profound sorrow.
The title and repeated phrase "one step closer" suggests a journey, both spiritual and emotional, where the destination is unclear.
It implies a slow, tentative movement toward peace or understanding, but with an acknowledgment that the way forward is not easy or straightforward.
The song’s tone is subdued and reflective, evoking a sense of quiet contemplation as the speaker wrestles with questions of faith and doubt. Ultimately, "One Step Closer" resonates as a song about moving through grief, and the gradual process of healing, while recognizing that answers may remain elusive, but the journey itself is a step toward resolution.
"One Step Closer" Song Lyrics by U2
I'm across the road from hope
I'm under a bridge in a rip tide
That's taken everything I own
One step closer to knowing
One step closer to knowing
I'm on an island at a busy intersection
I can't go forward, I can't turn back
Can't see the future
It's getting away from me
I just watch the tail lights glowing
One step closer to knowing
One step closer to knowing
One step closer to knowing
Knowing, knowing
I'm hanging out to dry
With my old clothes
Finger still red with the prick of an old rose
Well, the heart that hurts
Is a heart that beats
Can you hear the drummer drumming?
One step closer to knowing
One step closer to knowing
One step closer to knowing
To knowing, to knowing
To knowing
