In “Sleep Like a Baby Tonight,” U2 addresses one of the most disturbing realities of modern Irish history—the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests.
The song focuses not on the victim, but on the predator. Bono’s lyrics draw a portrait of a man who wears sanctity as disguise. The priest moves through his day—toast, tea, sugar—as if innocence has not been destroyed under his care.
That calm surface is the horror.
“Tomorrow dawns like someone else’s suicide” delivers the central wound. It’s the victim’s suffering—internalized, unseen, and fatal—juxtaposed against the priest’s untroubled sleep.
The song gains further weight when situated in the Irish context. U2’s childhoods were shaped by the Catholic Church’s dominance in schools, families, and public morality. To speak out against the Church was once unthinkable.
The song focuses not on the victim, but on the predator. Bono’s lyrics draw a portrait of a man who wears sanctity as disguise. The priest moves through his day—toast, tea, sugar—as if innocence has not been destroyed under his care.
That calm surface is the horror.
“Tomorrow dawns like someone else’s suicide” delivers the central wound. It’s the victim’s suffering—internalized, unseen, and fatal—juxtaposed against the priest’s untroubled sleep.
The song gains further weight when situated in the Irish context. U2’s childhoods were shaped by the Catholic Church’s dominance in schools, families, and public morality. To speak out against the Church was once unthinkable.
Now, it is essential.
Bono’s falsetto on the track is fragile, nearly childlike. It mirrors the silenced voice of the abused. Against the priest’s peace, this trembling vocal line becomes the only echo of what was lost.
Lines like “Where the church is where the war is” and “No one can feel no one else’s pain” do not only name individual guilt—they implicate the institution. They point to a system that enabled, protected, and denied.
There is no metaphor in this song.
It is direct, accusatory, and moral. The Church, once seen as a source of healing, is exposed as a site of damage. U2 does not offer resolution. They offer exposure.
“Sleep Like a Baby Tonight” is not just about a priest. It’s about a nation betrayed, childhoods erased, and a silence that lasted too long.
U2 turns that silence into song.
Bono’s falsetto on the track is fragile, nearly childlike. It mirrors the silenced voice of the abused. Against the priest’s peace, this trembling vocal line becomes the only echo of what was lost.
Lines like “Where the church is where the war is” and “No one can feel no one else’s pain” do not only name individual guilt—they implicate the institution. They point to a system that enabled, protected, and denied.
There is no metaphor in this song.
It is direct, accusatory, and moral. The Church, once seen as a source of healing, is exposed as a site of damage. U2 does not offer resolution. They offer exposure.
“Sleep Like a Baby Tonight” is not just about a priest. It’s about a nation betrayed, childhoods erased, and a silence that lasted too long.
U2 turns that silence into song.
'Sleep like a baby tonight' song lyrics by U2
Morning, your toast
Your tea and sugar
Read about the politician’s lover
Go through the day
Like a knife through butter
Why don’t you
You dress in the colours of forgiveness
Your eyes as red as Christmas
Purple robes are folded on the kitchen chair
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like someone else’s suicide
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Dreams
It’s a dirty business, dreaming
Where there is silence and not screaming
Where there’s no daylight
There’s no healing, no no
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Hope is where the door is
When the church is where the war is
Where no one can feel no one else’s pain
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Sleep like a baby tonight
Like a bird, your dreams take flight
Like St. Francis covered in light
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Your tea and sugar
Read about the politician’s lover
Go through the day
Like a knife through butter
Why don’t you
You dress in the colours of forgiveness
Your eyes as red as Christmas
Purple robes are folded on the kitchen chair
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like someone else’s suicide
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Dreams
It’s a dirty business, dreaming
Where there is silence and not screaming
Where there’s no daylight
There’s no healing, no no
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Hope is where the door is
When the church is where the war is
Where no one can feel no one else’s pain
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Sleep like a baby tonight
Like a bird, your dreams take flight
Like St. Francis covered in light
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
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From the Songs of Innocence album released September 9 2014. That date is poignant for U2 as that is the date Bono's mother Iris died.
Read the lyrics to The Miracle.
Read the lyrics to The Miracle.