"No Line on the Horizon" was first developed the recording sessions in Fez, Morocco, and was recorded in one take. "No Line on the Horizon" stemmed from drummer Larry Mullen Jr. experimenting with several different drum beats; producer and co-writer Brian Eno sampled and manipulated the patterns, and the rest of the band began to play over it. The guitar in "No Line on the Horizon" was developed through a Death by Audio distortion box; the idea to use it was suggested to guitarist The Edge by Ben Curtis of the Secret Machines. After hearing the song Curtis noted that it "blew my mind... he's using that pedal in a textural way that it wasn't intended to be used at all."
Lead singer Bono was inspired to write the lyrics after seeing a photograph of Lake Constance titled Boden Sea; the image had taken by Japanese photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto. Bono had the idea of a place "where the sea meets the sky and you can't tell the difference between the two". When it came to recording the song, producer and co-writer Daniel Lanois stated that "the vocal happened very early on, that whole - a-whoawhoawhoawhoa! - that little hook. The vocal delivery, the vibe was there right from day one." Bono noted that the overlying theme behind the song was infinity, and that the track was inherently optimistic. The Boden Sea image would later become the album's cover art.
By the end of the recording sessions in December 2008, two versions of the track existed; the first was a slower, more atmospheric composition, while the second was faster and less layered. The former was chosen for the album while the latter was renamed "No Line on the Horizon 2" and released as a bonus track on the Japanese, Australian, and iTunes versions of the album, as well as a B-side to the "Get on Your Boots" single. Along with "Fez – Being Born" and "Get on Your Boots", "No Line on the Horizon" was one of three candidates to open the album. The band eventually decided that "No Line on the Horizon" was the best selection.
No Line on the Horizon
U2 Lyrics
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I watch her changing every day for me, oh yeah
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
One day she's still, the next she swells
You can hear the universe in her sea shells, oh yeah
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
I know a girl with a hole in her heart
She said infinity is a great place to start
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Time is irrelevant, it's not linear
Then she put her tongue in my ear
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
No, no line on the horizon, no, no line
No, no line on the horizon, no, no line
Ooh
Oh oh, oh oh, ooh
Oh oh, oh oh
The songs in your head are now on my mind
You put me on pause, I'm trying to rewind and replay
Every night I have the same dream
I'm, I'm hatching some plot, scheming some scheme, oh yeah
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
I'm traffic cop, Rue de Marais
The sirens are wailing but it's me that wants to get away
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
No line on the horizon, no, no line
No, no line on the horizon, no, no line
The song No Line on the Horizon, the title track of U2's 2009 album, is filled with metaphors that denote the ever-changing nature of the sea and the mysteries of life. The opening verse talks about a girl who's like the sea, and how she changes every day. The lyrics paint a picture of the sea being a reflection of life, with its ups and downs that are influenced by everything around it; the tides, the wind, and the moon. The second verse speaks of another girl with a hole in her heart, who believes in the concept of infinity, which is not limited by time or space. She puts her tongue in the singer's ear, symbolizing that she wants to be heard and understood at a deeper level. The chorus of the song, "No, no line on the horizon," is a simple yet profound way of saying that life has no boundaries or limits. It's a reminder that we are all a part of something greater, and that there is always more to discover.
Line by Line Meaning
I know a girl who's like the sea
There's a girl who's very unpredictable and constantly changing, like the sea.
I watch her changing every day for me, oh yeah
I observe her transform every day to suit my interests, and I'm happy with the changes.
One day she's still, the next she swells
She can be calm on one day and restless on the next. Her mood is constantly changing.
You can hear the universe in her sea shells, oh yeah
Her sea shells convey the mysteries of the universe through the melodies they play.
No, no line on the horizon, no, no line
There is no visible boundary or limit to what she can do or what we can explore together.
I know a girl with a hole in her heart
There's a girl who's sort of damaged inside; she's hurt and is trying to heal the wound.
She said infinity is a great place to start
She believes that a boundless outlook is the perfect starting point for healing and recovery.
Time is irrelevant, it's not linear
Time is not important to her as it's not constrained to a straight path; it's non-linear, and she believes we are free to move through time as we please.
Then she put her tongue in my ear
Then she whispered something into my ear that only I could understand.
No, no line on the horizon, no, no line
Once again, there's no boundary or limit as to what we can achieve or how far we can go in this quest for healing and recovery.
The songs in your head are now on my mind
I'm now mentally in sync with you; I'm reflecting on the things that occupy your thoughts.
You put me on pause, I'm trying to rewind and replay
You've made me stop and take stock of my life, I'm trying to go back in time and reconstruct everything from the beginning.
Every night I have the same dream
I have a recurring dream nightly, where I envision different scenarios based on what's happening in my life.
I'm, I'm hatching some plot, scheming some scheme, oh yeah
I'm always planning something, trying to come up with ways to counter the challenges that life presents.
I'm traffic cop, Rue de Marais
I'm a traffic police officer stationed on Rue de Marais.
The sirens are wailing but it's me that wants to get away
Although there's chaos all around, I'm the one that wants to escape and get away from it all.
No line on the horizon, no, no line
Once again, there's no end in sight to what I'm planning or trying to achieve, and no limit to what I'm capable of achieving.
Ooh
Oh oh, oh oh, ooh
Oh oh, oh oh
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: BRIAN PETER GEORGE ENO, ADAM CLAYTON, DAVID EVANS, PAUL DAVID HEWSON, DANIEL ROLAND LANOIS, LAURENCE MULLEN JNR., DAVE EVANS, LARRY MULLEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
A me
on eleven o' clock tick tock
And girls can make children but not like this one...so will just have to walk around with a painted face then...
LMewdowlark
on One
Baby, baby, baby, I know I'm not alone
Ha, ha, ha
Oh, it's not a hill it's a mountain
As you start out the climb
You see, for me, I've been shouting
Let's shout into the darkness, squeeze out sparks of light
You know we're gonna go crazy, you know we'll go crazy
You know we'll go crazy, if we don't go crazy tonight
Oh, slowly
Oh
Hold me slow
Again, these are the wrong lyrics. They are not the lyrics for 'One' but a different song. I pasted the correct lyrics in my other comment.
LMewdowlark
on One
And there's a part of you that wants me to riot
Everybody needs to cry or needs to spit
Every sweet-tooth needs just a little hit
Every beauty needs to go out with an idiot
How can you stand next to the truth and not see it?
Oh, change of heart comes slow
It's not a hill, it's a mountain
As you start out the climb
Do you believe me or are you doubting?
We're gonna make it all the way to the light
But I know I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight
Every generation gets a chance to change the world
Pity the nation that won't listen to you boys and girls
Is the sweetest melody the one we haven't heard?
Is it true that perfect love drives out all fear?
The right to be ridiculous is something I hold dear
Oh, but change of heart comes slow
It's not a hill, it's a mountain
As you start out the climb
You see, for me, I've been shouting
But we're gonna make it all the way to the light
But I know I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight
Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you now
You got someone to blame?
You say, one love, one life
When it's one need in the night
One love, we get to share it
Leaves you, baby, if you don't care for it
Did I disappoint you
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without
Well, it's too late tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One
Have you come here for forgiveness?
Have you come to raise the dead?
Have you come here to play Jesus?
To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much? More than a lot
You gave me nothing, now it's all I got
We're one but we're not the same
Well, we hurt each other then we do it again
You say love is a temple, love a higher law
Love is a temple, love the higher law
You ask me to enter but then you make me crawl
And I can't be holdin' on to what you got
When all you got is hurt
One love, one blood
One life, you got to do what you should
One life with each other
Sisters, brothers
One life but we're not the same
We get to carry each other, carry each other
One
One