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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"Van Diemen's Land" song lyrics by U2

“Van Diemen’s Land,” from Rattle and Hum (1988), is a poignant and haunting ballad written and sung by The Edge. It stands out in U2’s catalog for its sparse arrangement, introspective tone, and historical focus. The song offers a deeply personal yet universal meditation on oppression, exile, and the enduring struggle for justice, reflecting U2’s engagement with themes of historical memory and political resistance.

The song, featured on U2's Rattle and Hum album, showcases the distinctive lyrical prowess of The Edge, who not only penned the words but also delivered the poignant vocals.

Van Diemen’s Land, now known as Tasmania, was a British penal colony during the 19th century, infamous for its harsh conditions and the forced transportation of Irish political prisoners. The song’s lyrics are a tribute to John Boyle O'Reilly, an Irish nationalist and Fenian poet who was transported to Van Diemen’s Land in 1867 for his involvement with the Fenian Brotherhood, a group fighting for Irish independence. O’Reilly’s eventual escape and subsequent advocacy for Irish and Aboriginal rights make him a powerful symbol of resilience against colonial oppression.

The opening lines, “Hold me now, oh hold me now / Till this hour has gone around,” capture the yearning and despair of exile, as well as the sense of defiance that permeates the song. The narrative voice reflects not only O’Reilly’s plight but the broader experience of those marginalized and displaced by imperial systems.

Van Diemen’s Land” explores exile as both a physical and emotional state. The recurring plea for solidarity—“Hold me now”—underscores the loneliness of displacement and the need for connection amidst suffering. This resonates on a universal level, extending beyond the specific historical context to touch on the plight of refugees, prisoners, and the dispossessed throughout history.

The lyrics also invoke the timeless struggle against injustice, with the line “Still the gunman rules and the widow’s weep” pointing to the ongoing cycles of violence and oppression. By situating this within the framework of Irish history, U2 highlights the enduring relevance of such struggles, making a subtle yet potent political statement.

U2's "Van Diemen's Land" lyrics from the Rattle and Hum album

Hold me now, hold me now
Till this hour has gone around
And I'm gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen's Land

It's a bitter pill I swallow here
To be rent from one so dear
We fought for justice and not for gain
But the magistrate sent me away

Now kings will rule and the poor will toil
And tear their hands as the tear the soil
But a day will come in the dawning age
When an honest man sees an honest wage

Hold me now, hold me now
Till this hour has gone around
And I'm gone on the rising tide
For to face Van Diemen's Land

Still the gunman rules and the widows pay
A scarlet coat now a black beret
They thought that that blood and sacrifice
Could out of death bring forth a life

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“Van Diemen’s Land” reflects the duality of Rattle and Hum as both a homage to American roots music and a continuation of U2’s Irish identity. While much of the album explores American cultural and musical traditions, this track reaffirms the band’s connection to Ireland, grounding the project in their own historical and political context. 

Rattle and Hum is a classic U2 album and featured the hits When Love Comes To Town the blues ode that is Angel Of Harlem and the lovestruck doom of All I Want Is You.

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