The band formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album, Boy (1980). Subsequent work such as their first UK number-one album, War (1983), and the singles "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" helped establish U2's reputation as a politically and socially conscious group. By the mid-1980s, they had become renowned globally for their live act, highlighted by their performance at Live Aid in 1985. The group's fifth album, The Joshua Tree (1987), made them international superstars and was their greatest critical and commercial success. Topping music charts around the world, it produced their only number-one singles in the US, "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".
Facing creative stagnation and a backlash following their documentary/double album, Rattle and Hum (1988), U2 reinvented themselves in the 1990s through a new musical direction and public image. Beginning with their acclaimed seventh album, Achtung Baby (1991), and the multimedia-intensive Zoo TV Tour, the band integrated influences from alternative rock, electronic dance music, and industrial music into their sound, and embraced a more ironic, flippant image. This experimentation continued through their ninth album, Pop (1997), and the PopMart Tour, which were mixed successes. U2 regained critical and commercial favour with the records All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), which established a more conventional, mainstream sound for the group. Their U2 360° Tour of 2009–2011 is the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour in history. The group's thirteenth album, Songs of Innocence (2014), was released at no cost through the iTunes Store, but received criticism for its automatic placement in users' music libraries.
U2 has released 14 studio albums and is one of the world's best-selling music artists in history, having sold more than 170 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band, and in 2005, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Throughout their career, as a band and as individuals, they have campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes, including Amnesty International, Jubilee 2000, the ONE/DATA campaigns, Product Red, War Child, and Music Rising.
Foundation: The band originally formed in 1976 when Larry Mullen posted a bulletin in his school asking for musicians to form a rock band. The band then consisted of the four current members plus three additional guitarists, including The Edge’s brother Dick Evans (later a member of Virgin Prunes), Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin. According to legend, Bono originally auditioned as a guitarist but couldn’t play. He auditioned as lead vocals, but really couldn’t sing. He was, however, incredibly enthusiastic about the band, extremely charismatic, a great writer, and was strangely able to reach the audience when the band played, something he is known for still today. Bono will reach out into the crowd and dance or mess with someone in the crowd at every concert. He was kept as a member. The extra guitarists would soon leave the band and the group would go through the names “Feedback ” and “The Hype” before finally settling on U2.
The 70s & 80s: 1978 was a jumping point year for the band, finally finding their sound / voice. U2 won a talent contest in 1978: £500 and funds to make a record. Paul McGuinness became the band’s manager and U2 released an EP called Three and the single Another Day, the following year. U2 went on to release their first album, Boy and then more critically acclaimed albums incl.: October, War, Under A Blood Red Sky, and The Unforgettable Fire (featuring the song PlayMLK dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr). Seen by many as a political band with more charisma than others, they were called “a different kind” of band. After a short break U2 returned with The Joshua Tree & the USA music inspired Rattle And Hum (also a movie of the same name, based on the tour).
The 90s: Promising ”to dream it all up again”, they added industrial and dance styles to their music. Trying to drop a goody two shoes image, they went to Berlin (Germany), supposedly to develop new self-expressions. From there they started to make fun of themselves and had a good time of it in albums like Achtung Baby (meaning ”watch out, baby”, artwork feat. make-up artist Nassim Khalifa) & Zooropa. Bono took on many stage personae such as “The Fly”, “Mirrorball Man” and “Mr. MacPhisto” for the gigantic ZOO TV Tour. Later they continued to make fun of Pop culture and all its extremes with the album Pop and consequent PopMart tour which was announced to be launched at a Kmart store and included a giant golden arch across the stage.
The 00s: At the end of the 90’s into 00’s U2 became less image and more reality. With the death of Bono’s good friend Michael Hutchence, the lead singer of INXS, Bono wrote more songs from the heart surrounding ideas like life and death, children, hope, and the real world past all the pop culture and TV. Some say they’ve returned to a more band-centric sound with albums like All That You Can’t Leave Behind which features a song, Kite, dedicated to Bono’s father who passed away shortly after the album’s conception and 2004’s How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.
The 10s: U2 went on the U2 360° Tour in 2009 and 2010. This tour set records for the highest-grossing concert tour. The band worked with producer Danger Mouse for their thirteenth album Songs of Innocence, which was released on 9 September 2014 for free to all Apple iCloud users.
The Name: There are many theories as to the origin of the name U2. For example, U2 was an intelligence airplane that was in use by the United States during the Cold War. Other obvious candidates include “You too” and “You two”, etc. Nonetheless the official line on the name’s origins remains unknown. The band has been quoted as saying that they did think of the U2 spy plane, but remain hushed about other reasons… U2
12-Bullet The Blue Sky
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
See it driving nails
Into the souls on the tree of pain
From the firefly, a red orange glow
See the face of fear
Running scared in the valley below
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue
In the locust wind comes a rattle and hum
Jacob wrestled the angel
And the angel was overcome
You plant a demon seed
You raise a flower of fire
See them burning crosses
See the flames higher and higher
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue
This guy comes up to me
His face red like a rose in a thorn bush
Like all the colors of a royal flush
And he's peeling off those dollar bills
Slapping them down
One hundred, two hundred
And I can see those fighter planes
And I can see those fighter planes
Across the mud huts where the children sleep
Through the alleys of a quiet city street
You take the staircase to the first floor
Turn the key and slowly unlock the door
As a man breathes into a saxophone
And through the walls you hear the city groan
Outside is America
Outside is America, America
Across the field you see the sky ripped open
See the rain through a gaping wound
Pounding on the women and children
Who run
Into the arms
Of America
The lyrics to U2's song "Bullet the Blue Sky" are filled with vivid imagery and social commentary. The first verse describes a violent storm, with rain and wind driving nails into the souls of the "tree of pain." A red orange glow from a firefly illuminates the face of fear, running scared in the valley below. The chorus brings the title line, "Bullet the blue sky," which likely refers to the violence and destruction of war, as bullets rain down from above.
The second verse references a "locust wind," which is a reference to the Biblical plagues of locusts. Jacob wrestling an angel is also a Biblical reference, and the angel being overcome could symbolize the struggle and defeat the singer sees in the world around them. The mention of burning crosses and flames higher and higher speaks to the violence and hatred of white supremacy, and the demon seed and flower of fire could symbolize the idea that hate and violence blooms and spreads.
The final verse brings the song to a more personal level, with the singer encountering a man with a face as red as a rose and peeling off dollar bills. Fighter planes are seen flying overhead, again likely referencing war and the military-industrial complex. As the man unlocks a door to reveal a saxophonist playing and the sound of the city groaning outside, the lyrics "outside is America" repeat, perhaps to suggest that the violence and destruction are not just happening overseas, but also within America itself. The song ends with a vision of a ripped-open sky and rain pounding on fleeing women and children, who run into the arms of America. This closing line could be interpreted in a number of ways, but the idea of fleeing into the arms of America suggests both refuge and hope, as well as desperation and tragedy.
Line by Line Meaning
In the howling wind comes a stinging rain
A fierce wind carries with it sharp raindrops that feel like nails being driven into the souls of those on the tree of pain
See it driving nails
The raindrops feel like sharp nails being driven into the souls of those on the tree of pain
Into the souls on the tree of pain
The raindrops pierce the souls of those who are suffering on the tree of pain
From the firefly, a red orange glow
A small light from a firefly shines with a reddish-orange hue
See the face of fear
The light illuminates the expressions of those who are afraid
Running scared in the valley below
People are running away in fear in the valley that lies below
Bullet the blue sky
Bullets are piercing the blue sky
In the locust wind comes a rattle and hum
The wind carries a sound that is both chaotic and persistent, like a rattle and hum
Jacob wrestled the angel
A reference to a biblical story in which Jacob wrestles with an angel
And the angel was overcome
Jacob was able to overcome the angel he was wrestling with
You plant a demon seed
You sow the seeds of evil
You raise a flower of fire
The result of sowing the seeds of evil is a fiery flower of destruction
See them burning crosses
Witness the terrible act of burning crosses, often associated with hatred and bigotry
See the flames higher and higher
The flames are growing larger and more powerful
This guy comes up to me
A man approaches the singer
His face red like a rose in a thorn bush
The man's face is red, like a flower surrounded by thorns
Like all the colors of a royal flush
The man's face is flushed with many bright colors, like a hand of cards in a game of poker
And he's peeling off those dollar bills
The man is taking off stacks of dollar bills
Slapping them down
He is hitting the stacks of bills on a surface
One hundred, two hundred
The man is tossing down bills in denominations of $100 and $200
And I can see those fighter planes
The artist can see fighter planes in the distance
Across the mud huts where the children sleep
The fighter planes are flying over mud huts where children are sleeping
Through the alleys of a quiet city street
The planes are then flying through the alleys of a peaceful city street
You take the staircase to the first floor
The artist is going up a staircase to the first floor of a building
Turn the key and slowly unlock the door
The singer uses a key to unlock a door, proceeding with caution
As a man breathes into a saxophone
A man is playing a saxophone nearby
And through the walls you hear the city groan
The sound of the saxophone and the groans of the city can be heard through the walls
Outside is America
The outside is the country of America
Outside is America, America
The artist repeats the statement to emphasize the contrast between inside and outside the building
Across the field you see the sky ripped open
The sky has been violently torn apart across a nearby field
See the rain through a gaping wound
The rain is pouring out of a large, open injury in the sky
Pounding on the women and children
The rain is beating down on women and children
Who run
They are running away in fear
Into the arms
The women and children seek safety in
Of America
The safety they seek is from America
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ADAM CLAYTON, DAVE EVANS, LARRY MULLEN, PAUL DAVID HEWSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
J's Bass
Incomparable. Clayton and Mullen really deserve equal credit with The Edge on this. They are spectacular.
Cathal Sweeney
Great rhythm section Adam's just booms and larry hitting the kit so hard
Mick Smith
Bono was pretty good to✌️
Donna
This band is supernatural. Age doesn’t affect them in any way, shape or form. They’re eternally badass.
druvtrain1973
I keep rewatching this and it’s breathtaking every time. No band comes close to this level of performance, drama, musicianship and sheer emotional power.
G Hulmes
Still blasting it?
Jack Osman
And they're actually playing their instruments and singing while they do it. Imagine that.
Skip Acuff
Pink Floyd did back in the day.
Jem Thomas
or compares in Message
Gabriel Manetti
No one makes Shows like U2. And Bono is a incredible poet.