"Tower Of Song" Lyrics Leonard Cohen sung by U2

Tower of Song was written by Leonard Cohen and was recorded by U2 for soundtrack to the movie I'm Your Man. 

“Tower of Song,” as performed by U2, resonates deeply with themes of mortality, artistic legacy, and the burdens of being a creator. The lyrics reflect Cohen’s contemplation of aging, with the "Tower of Song" serving as a metaphorical place where songwriters reside, contributing to the world while carrying the weight of their creative endeavors. 

When Bono sings these words, there's a reverence for the passage of time and the inevitability of fading youth, something U2 themselves have confronted throughout their career. Lines like “I was born like this, I had no choice / I was born with the gift of a golden voice” point to the sense of both destiny and burden that comes with the gift of artistry, and U2’s rendition emphasizes this tension between fate and freedom, framed in their own experience as a band that has lasted decades.

Cohen’s original song is a meditation on how the process of making music ties into both personal identity and universal human experience. When U2 performs it, they underscore the communal nature of these sentiments, adding a touch of their own reflections on longevity, fame, and the creative journey they’ve been on. The song is an ode to both endurance and melancholy, speaking to the inevitable decline we all face, while acknowledging the power of art to outlast the artist.

It appeared as a b-side on the Window in the Skies single.

"Tower Of Song" Lyrics Leonard Cohen sung by U2

Well my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on
Im just paying my rent every day
In the tower of song

I said to Hank Williams, how lonely does it get
Hank Williams hasn't answered yet
But I hear him coughing all night long
All hundred floors above me
In the tower of song

I was born like this, I had no choice
I was born with the gift of a golden voice
And twenty-seven angels from the great beyond
Well, they tied me to this table right here
In the tower of song

So you can stick your little pins in that voodoo doll
I'm very sorry, baby, doesnt look like me at all
I'm standing by the window where the light is strong
Ah, they dont let a woman kill you
Not in the tower of song

Well you can say that I've grown bitter but of this you may be sure
The rich have got their channels in the bedrooms of the poor
And there's a mighty judgement coming, but I may be wrong
You see, you hear these funny voices
In the tower of song

I see you standing on the other side
I don't know how the river got so wide
I loved you baby, way back when
And all the bridges are burning that we might have crossed
I feel so close to everything that we lost
We'll never, we'll never have to lose it again

So I bid you farewell, I don't know when I'll be back
There moving us tomorrow to that tower down the track
But you'll be hearing from me, baby, long after I'm gone
I'll be speaking to you sweetly
From a window in the tower of song

Yeah my friends are gone and my hair is grey
I ache in the places where I used to play
And I'm crazy for love but I'm not coming on
I'm just paying my rent every day
In the tower of song

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"Window In The Skies" Song Lyrics by U2

In “Window in the Skies,” U2 explores the transformative power of love as a force that transcends boundaries, heals brokenness, and challenges despair. The lyrics open with images of liberation—“The shackles are undone, the bullets quit the gun”—presenting love as a force that dismantles violence and oppression. Bono’s words evoke resurrection and renewal with lines like “The grave is now a grove” and “The stone, it has been moved,” subtly referencing Christian themes of redemption and transcendence,

These images suggest that love has the ability to undo the confines of past suffering and offer a path forward. Throughout the song, Bono reflects on love’s paradoxical nature, noting that it “makes strange enemies” and has a power to bring “hate… to its knees,” suggesting that love can break through bitterness and animosity. He also expresses the vulnerability love demands, capturing it with the “soul and its striptease,” where true intimacy requires the shedding of facades and the raw exposure of self.

As the refrain, “Oh, can’t you see what love has done,” repeats, Bono reflects on love’s effect not just on the world but on himself, alluding to personal redemption. In moments of remorse—“I know I hurt you and I made you cry”—he acknowledges past mistakes but recognizes that love has left “a window in the skies,” a metaphorical glimpse of hope and forgiveness that remains open. 

Love, as Bono sees it, has the power to redeem “every broken heart” and bring solace “for every heart that cries.” In the end, the song elevates love to a near-spiritual plane, celebrating it as a force that transcends human limitations and opens a path to unity and peace.

"Window In The Skies" Song Lyrics by U2

The shackles are undone

The bullets quit the gun
The heat that's in the sun
Will keep us when it's done
The rule has been disproved
The stone, it has been moved
The grave is now a grove
All debts are removed

Oh, can't you see what love has done
Oh, can't you see what love has done
Oh, can't you see what love has done
What it's doing to me

Love makes strange enemies
Makes love where love may please
The soul and its striptease
Hate brought to its knees
The sky over our head
We can reach it from our bed
If you let me in your heart
And out of my head

Oh, can't you see what love has done
Oh, can't you see what love has done
Oh, can't you see what love has done
What it's doing to me

Please don't ever let me out of here
I've got no shame
Oh no, oh no

Oh, can't you see what love has done
Oh, can't you see
Oh, can't you see what love has done
What it's doing to me

Oh, can't you see what love has done
I know I hurt you and I made you cry
Oh, can't you see what love has done
Did everything but murder you and I
Oh, can't you see what love has done
But love left a window in the skies
Oh, can't you see what love has done
And to love I rhapsodize

Oh, can't you see what love has done
To every broken heart
Oh, can't you see what love has done
For every heart that cries
Oh, can't you see what love has done
Love left a window in the skies
Oh, can't you see what love has done
And to love I rhapsodize

Oh, can't you see

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"Window In The Skies" Lyrics U2

In the promotional video directed by Gary Koepke, a montage that includes nearly 100 clips taken from footage from the previous 50 years of other famous musicians performing in concert is used. The clips were selected and edited together so that either the lip movements or the finger movements of the musicians, who actually were performing other songs, match up with either the lyrics or the music of the U2 song. Artists in the video include Jack White (who appeared in It Might Get Loud with the Edge and covered Love is Blindness), Frank Sinatra, Beck and Chuck D.

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