List of U2 songs worth a second Listen

What are the best U2 songs to have a second listen to?

U2 is a band well known for its big singles. Songs like Where the Streets Have No Name, Beautiful Day and Desire all popular the world over.

Some U2 songs sometimes get over looked by the casual fan.

Here's a list of U2 songs that I think are worthy of a second listen.

Please, from the album Pop.

Pop is probably Bono’s best effort lyrically across an album. With wordplays on Michael Jackson being history over Jackson’s own HIStory pun, the blind leading the blonde and the line from Please, “Your Catholic blues, Your convent shoes” pretty much summing up Bono’s eternal search for his place and pace in the world - this song was depressing yet uplifting at the same time. Overall, it was a question being asked of Ireland's political leaders.

Dirty Day, Zooropa

“These days, days, days run away like horses over the hill” being sung over and over at the end always remind me that I never have enough time to do what ever it is I wanted do. This song did make me go see a documentary on the guy it was dedicated to, the author Charles Bukowski and read some of his books.

Van Dieman’s Land, from Rattle and Hum

This song has the Edge singing about the life of the John Boyle O'Reilly, who was deported to Australia for writing bad poetry. The song's sentiments reflect the hard life that immigrants faced when they arrived in Van Dieman's Land. It's probably the best vocal the Edge ever did.

Unchained Melody

Clearly not an original U2 song but when you hear Bono sing it, it has the emotion that all their big hits have. Released as a B-side to With Or Without You, it has been a favourite amongst the U2 hardcore for years.

MLK, The Unforgettable Fire album

While the fire is a reference to atomic bombs being dropped in Japan (an early portent of How to dismantle an Atomic Bomb maybe?) the album seemed dedicated to two Kings – Elvis and Martin Luther King. MLK is sung like a lullaby. While Bono’s politic rants and beseeches and besmirches of The Man might put the more jaded and cynical amongst us to sleep, you can’t complain that this song does the same in a nice under the covers on a rainy day kind of way.

Beat on the Brat, cover of The Ramones, from the We’re a Happy Family Ramones Tribute Album.

Beat on the brat with a baseball bat. Yeah punk. U2 started out playing Ramone’s covers trying to pass them off as their own. Which is pretty much the music industry down pat these days. What can you do?

Original of the Species

Coming from their popular How to Dismantle and Atomic Bomb album, Original of the Species is almost like a classic father to daughter message, 'Don't Grow Up Too Fast, Baby'.

What are your favourite U2 songs you think are worthy of a second listen?

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"Dirty Day" Song Lyrics meaning by U2

“Dirty Day” captures the struggle of confronting life's disillusionments and the yearning for redemption amidst the chaos of one's past.

Many of the lyrics are taken from phrases that Bono's father would use, including "I don't know you and you don't know the half of it", "No blood is thicker than ink", "Nothing's as simple as you think", and "It won't last kissing time." The title was inspired by another phrase Bono's father would often use, "it's a dirty day".

Bono describes the song as an exploration of the struggles and stains that life can leave on a person, evoking a sense of both longing and desperation. 

Dirty Day serves as a reflection on the moments when we confront the remnants of our past, confronting the “dirty” aspects of our lives that we wish to forget. The lyrics echo a sense of searching for clarity amid confusion, reminiscent of the Prodigal Son’s realization of his mistakes as he wanders far from home (a theme covered in The First Time). 

The repeated refrain, “It was a dirty day,” encapsulates the essence of facing the raw truths of existence, highlighting the struggle to reconcile one’s past with the desire for redemption. This duality of acceptance and resistance resonates throughout the song, illustrating how the journey of self-discovery can be marred by the very choices that define us.

This is not the first time Bono had used his parents as lyrical inspiration, I Will Follow from Boy was a notable early reference to his mother and several albums later, Bono would write for his father on Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own which featured on How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.

Zooropa's liner notes dedicate this song to the drunken American novelist, Charles Bukowski.

"Dirty Day" Lyrics by U2 from the Zooropa album.

I don't know you and
You don't know the half of it
I had a staring role
I was the bad guy who walked out
They say be careful where you aim
Because where you aim you just might hit
You can hold onto something so tight
You've already lost it

Dragging me down
That's not the way it used to be
You can't even remember what I'm trying to forget
It was a dirty day
A dirty day

You want explainations
I don't even understand
If you need someone to blame
Throw a rock in the air
You're bound to hit someone guilty

From father to son
In one life has begun
A work that's never done
Father to son

And love, it won't last kissin' time
And love, it won't last kissin' time
And love, it won't last kissin' time

Get it right
There's no blood thicker than ink
Hear what I say
Nothing's a simple as you think
Wake up
Somethings you can't get around
I'm in you
Moreso when they put me in the ground

Hank says
The days, days, days
Run away like horses over the hill
The days, days, days
Run away like horses over the hill
The days, days, days
Run away like horses over the hill
The days, days, days
Run away like horses over the hill
The days, days, days
Run away like horses over the hill
The days, days, days
Run away like horses over the hill
The days, days, days
Run away like horses over the hill
The days, days, days
Run away like horses over the hill

-

Musically, “Dirty Day” employs a driving rhythm and haunting melodies that reflect the urgency of the protagonist’s internal conflict. The Edge’s distinctive guitar tones weave a tapestry of sound that mirrors the emotional turbulence expressed in the lyrics. Bono’s delivery, infused with raw emotion, further elevates the song's impact, inviting listeners to reflect on their own experiences of disillusionment and the quest for identity. As the narrative unfolds, the protagonist’s longing for redemption and a sense of belonging echoes the Prodigal Son's journey back to his father. In this way, “Dirty Day” becomes a powerful anthem of self-reflection and resilience, capturing the essence of the human experience as one navigates the dirt and grime of life, ultimately seeking a path toward healing and acceptance.

Check out the lyrics to Numb from Zooropa.

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