Iris is directly inspired by Bono's mother, Iris Hewson. Bono has previously referenced Iris in Tommorrow from the October album.
The song contains contains a cute reference to Kraftwerk. Bono said 'My mother [died] just as I was discovering girls. One of the girls I was discovering was Ali... she arrived at Mount Temple in the same month. The first lover’s gift I gave Ali was a Kraftwerk album called The Man Machine. So I referred to that.' with the line "It was you made me your man/Machine.’
Songs of Innocence was released, through sheer coincidence, 40 years to the day that Iris died.
Bono also noted to Rolling Stone Magazine that he was later inspired to rewrite part of the song after being deeply moved by the late ISIS hostage James Foley's letter to his family. "I realized," Bono says, "that we will all be remembered, and we remember our loved ones, by the least profound moments. The simplest moments. In the letter he says to his brother, 'I remember playing werewolf in the dark with you.'
Iris (Hold Me Close) song lyrics by U2
The star that gives us lightHas been gone a while
But it’s not an illusion
The ache in my heart
Is so much a part of who I am
Something in your eyes
Took a thousand years to get here
Something in your eyes
Took a thousand years, a thousand years
Hold me close
Hold me close and don’t let me go
Hold me close
Like I’m someone that you might know
Hold me close
The darkness just lets us see
Who we are
I’ve got your life inside of me
Iris, Iris
Once we are born
We begin to forget
The very reason we came
But you I’m sure I’ve met
Long before the night
The start went out
We’re meeting up again
Hold me close
Hold me close and don’t let me go
Hold me close
Like I’m someone that you might know
Hold me close
The darkness just lets us see
Who we are
I’ve got your life inside of me
Iris, Iris
The start are bright
But do they know
The universe is beautiful but cold
You took me by the hand
I thought that I was leading you
But it was you made me your man
Machine, I dream where you are
Iris standing in the hall
She tells me I can do it all
Iris wakes to my nightmare
Don’t fear the world
It isn’t there
Iris playing on the strand
She buries the boy beneath the sand
Iris says that I will be the death of her
It was not me
Iris, Iris
She said free yourself to be yourself
If only you could see yourself
Free yourself to be yourself
If only you could see
The song, steeped in emotional vulnerability, reveals Bono’s persistent grappling with the absence of maternal presence in his life. Through the repetition of the phrase “Hold me close,” Bono reflects the deep-seated desire for closeness, both physical and emotional, that never had the chance to mature due to his mother’s early death. The verses are laced with rich imagery, from the “freezing rain” that mirrors the numbness of loss, to the light his mother represents, a beacon guiding him through the darkness. The juxtaposition of grief and longing with the ethereal imagery of light and stars creates a tension that underscores the paradox of losing someone so intimately tied to your sense of self, yet still feeling them in every corner of your existence.
The song also functions as an exploration of memory’s power to both heal and haunt.
Bono navigates the complex terrain of reconciling his life without Iris, while acknowledging the indelible mark she left on his spirit. In lines like “The ache in my heart is so much a part of who I am,” there’s an acceptance that his pain and identity are inextricably linked. The Edge’s shimmering guitar work, with its delicate reverb, serves as an echo of that emotional longing, almost as if the music is searching for resolution, much like Bono’s heart.
U2 have written a of songs which make references to parents. A notable effort was Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own from the All That You Can't Leave Behind album.