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
Sleep Like a Baby Tonight
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your tea and sugar
Read about a politician's lover
Go through the day
Like a knife through butter
Why don't you
You dress in the colours of forgiveness
Your eyes as red as Christmas
You're gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like someone else's suicide
You're gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Dreams
It's a dirty business, dreaming
Where there is silence and not screaming
Where there's no daylight
There's no healing, no no
You're gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you're gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Hope, hope is where the door is
When the church is where the war is
Where no one can feel no one else's pain
You're gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you're gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Sleep like a baby tonight
Like a bird, your dreams'll take flight
Like St. Francis covered in light
You're gonna sleep like a baby tonight
The lyrics of Sleep Like a Baby Tonight by U2 are dark and haunting, exploring themes of forgiveness, dreaming, and hope. The song opens with the mundane actions of a typical morning routine, eating toast and drinking tea while reading about a politician's lover in the news. The singer urges the listener to dress in the colors of forgiveness, a stark contrast to the red of their eyes, possibly indicating crying or exhaustion. The purple robes on the kitchen chair may suggest some sort of religious or spiritual component to the song.
The chorus repeatedly assures the listener that they will sleep like a baby, but the dreams they will have are not necessarily pleasant. Dreams, according to the second verse, are "a dirty business" where there is no healing, only silence, and no screaming. The third verse offers a glimmer of hope, with the suggestion that hope is found through the door, away from the pain of the church and war.
The song comes across as a cautionary tale, warning the listener of the dangers of dreams and the difficulty of finding true hope in a world of pain and conflict.
Line by Line Meaning
Morning, your toast
The start of your day, with your breakfast of toast
Your tea and sugar
Accompanied with tea and sugar, to help you feel awake and ready for the day ahead
Read about a politician's lover
Browsing the news, reading about scandal and affairs occupy your mind
Go through the day
Navigating through the day's challenges and obstacles
Like a knife through butter
Effortlessly slicing through any complications or issues that arise
Why don't you
Prompting a suggestion or wondering why you don't do something
You dress in the colours of forgiveness
Wearing colors that inspire forgiveness for others and for yourself
Your eyes as red as Christmas
Your eyes showing emotions such as sadness or anger
Purple robes are folded on the kitchen chair
Religious items, such as purple robes, are present in your surroundings
You're gonna sleep like a baby tonight
You will sleep peacefully and deeply tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Your dreams allow you to escape from reality and everything is perfect in them
Tomorrow dawns like someone else's suicide
The upcoming day seems daunting, and may be depressing to others
Dreams
Dreams can be unsettling and unpleasant
It's a dirty business, dreaming
Dreams can be disturbing and show unpleasant visions or scenarios
Where there is silence and not screaming
Silence can be peaceful and often welcomed in disturbing dreams
Where there's no daylight
Dreams can often occur in the darkness of nighttime
There's no healing, no no
Dreams cannot provide any form of healing, only further confusion or distress
Hope, hope is where the door is
Optimism and positivity can be found in hope
When the church is where the war is
Even in places such as churches, there can be conflict and tension
Where no one can feel no one else's pain
Lack of empathy and understanding can cause disconnect and disharmony
Like a bird, your dreams'll take flight
Escape into the flight of birds symbolize the perfect getaway in your dreams
Like St. Francis covered in light
Similar to St. Francis, your dreams will provide spiritual enlightenment and awakenings
You're gonna sleep like a baby tonight
You will sleep deeply and soundly tonight, like a child
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ADAM CLAYTON, DAVE EVANS, LARRY MULLEN, PAUL DAVID HEWSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
CraZCharlie
U2
Morning, your toast
Your tea and sugar
Read about a politician’s lover
Go through the day
Like a knife through butter
Why don’t you
You dress in the colours of forgiveness
Your eyes as red as Christmas
Purple robes are folded on the kitchen chair
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like someone else’s suicide
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Dreams
It’s a dirty business, dreaming
Where there is silence and not screaming
Where there’s no daylight
There’s no healing, no no
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Hope, hope is where the door is
When the church is where the war is
Where no one can feel no one else’s pain
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
In your dreams everything is alright
Tomorrow dawns like a suicide
But you’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
Sleep like a baby tonight
Like a bird, your dreams'll take flight
Like St. Francis covered in light
You’re gonna sleep like a baby tonight
ry4
I had this on my ipad when I was like 5,
I used this song for everything.
one of the best childhood songs I've heard
ALL- CAPS
Same mate this was the song I would listen to all the time on my iPad
Anothergamenerd5
The real question is why would a 5 year old need an iPad…
cloud
@Rishit Singh what it about
TheMixFriends👀
Same lol
8-BitVR
Faxxxx
Lemon Head
I’d just split up with my girlfriend of 6 years and was driving away when this played on my car stereo. Never heard it before but it sticks with me now. It fit the moment so much and always reminds me of it; somber yet vaguely hopeful.
Yilan Li
This also played on my Honda it was my Honda music
Wadetranada
Who else was forced to listen to this because it was on their Apple Music?
SuneMaz
Yeah