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
Where Did It All Go Wrong
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Did you need it
Did you really
What you wanted
Was it good in the sun
Did you really have the fun
Did you crack it
Did you reel it
Like a rabbit
Did you walk
Did you run
Did you move this here
Uh huh
And how could you do
And make it so, sing this song
Where did it all go wrong
Where did it all go wrong
Did you grab it
Did you want it
Is it really what you wanted
Did you run in the sun
Did you imitate a walk
Did you answer
Did you grab it
Did you gun it like a rabbit
Did you walk
Did you run
Can you feel you rising up
And how can you do
And when you sang it in the song
And it sank, and it threw
Where did it all go wrong
Did you drown it
Did you roll it
Did you smash it
Did you warm it
Did you clean it
Clean it up
Did you rub it
Did you soap
Did you screen it
Did you ream it
Did you ruin it
Did you feed it
Is warm in the sun
When the weather's getting warm
And the world is at your feet
And it is our time to say
It's all gone wrong
Where did it all go wrong
(Oh yeah, oh yeah)
You take me, baby, in circles, yes
Darling, darling, darling I want you
Why oh, why oh, why oh stony rose
You lose your guy
You walk on by
You walk on by
You walk on by
You walk on by
Did you lose the guy
Did you lose the guy
Did you lose the guy
Did you lose the guy
The lyrics to U2's "Where Did It All Go Wrong?" seem to be about reflecting on past actions and questioning if they were worth it in the end. The questions posed in the lyrics suggest a nostalgic look back at a time when everything seemed to be going right, but ultimately took a wrong turn somewhere. The song asks if the singer "got it," "needed it," and "really" wanted what they thought they wanted. It also asks if they "cracked it" and "grabbed it" like a rabbit, or if they walked and ran through life with purpose.
The chorus asks the ultimate question: "where did it all go wrong?" The lyrics switch from past tense to present tense with a sense of urgency in the second half of the song. The singer is addressing someone directly, possibly themselves, and the lyrics repeat "did you lose the guy?" as if to emphasize the weight of their actions and the consequences that followed. The song ends with a plea to someone, possibly a lover, to come back ("darling, darling, darling I want you"), but it's unclear if they will ever regain what they've lost.
Line by Line Meaning
Did you get it
Did you obtain what you desired?
Did you need it
Did you require it?
Did you really
Did you genuinely?
What you wanted
What you desired
Was it good in the sun
Did it appear good in the sunlight?
Did you really have the fun
Did you truly enjoy it?
Did you crack it
Did you solve it?
Did you grab it
Did you take it?
Did you reel it
Did you pull it?
Like a rabbit
Like a bunny
Did you walk
Did you stroll?
Did you run
Did you sprint?
Did you move this here
Did you relocate this here?
Uh huh
Yes
And how could you do
How were you capable of doing that?
And make it so, sing this song
And cause it to be that way, sing this tune
Where did it all go wrong
Where did everything become incorrect?
Did you grab it
Did you take it?
Did you want it
Did you desire it?
Is it really what you wanted
Is it honestly what you wanted?
Did you run in the sun
Did you sprint in the sunlight?
Did you imitate a walk
Did you pretend to stroll?
Did you answer
Did you respond?
Did you grab it
Did you take it?
Did you gun it like a rabbit
Did you speed away like a bunny?
Can you feel you rising up
Can you sense yourself ascending?
And how can you do
And how are you capable of doing that?
And when you sang it in the song
And when you sang it in this tune
And it sank, and it threw
And it collapsed, and it threw
Where did it all go wrong
Where did everything become incorrect?
Did you drown it
Did you submerge it?
Did you roll it
Did you revolve it?
Did you smash it
Did you crush it?
Did you warm it
Did you heat it?
Did you clean it
Did you cleanse it?
Clean it up
Make it clean
Did you rub it
Did you scrub it?
Did you soap
Did you wash it with soap?
Did you screen it
Did you examine it?
Did you ream it
Did you enlarge it?
Did you ruin it
Did you destroy it?
Did you feed it
Did you provide it with nourishment?
Is warm in the sun
Is pleasant in the sunlight
When the weather's getting warm
As the weather becomes warmer
And the world is at your feet
And you are in control of the world
And it is our time to say
And now is our moment to speak
It's all gone wrong
Everything has become incorrect
Where did it all go wrong
Where did everything become incorrect?
(Oh yeah, oh yeah)
(Oh yes, oh yes)
You take me, baby, in circles, yes
You take me, honey, in circles, yes
Darling, darling, darling I want you
Dearest, dearest, dearest I desire you
Why oh, why oh, why oh stony rose
Why oh, why oh, why oh stone rose
You lose your guy
You lose your man
You walk on by
You walk past
Did you lose the guy
Did you misplace the man?
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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