The song was originally written about the United States' military intervention during the 1980s in the El Salvador Civil War. Bono told The Edge to "put El Salvador through an amplifier". The song is a combination of The Edge's guitar slides, Adam Clayton's laid back bassline, Larry Mullen Jr.'s cold drumming and Bono's aggressive and growly vocals during the verses, and a spoken word section during the bridge. Clayton played the song in a different key from the rest of the band: Clayton's bass riffs are in E flat minor while The Edge is playing D flat. Bono was thinking of American President Ronald Reagan as he sang "This guy comes up to me / His face red like a rose on a thorn bush / Like all the colors of a royal flush / And he's peeling off those dollar bills / Slapping them down."
Although it was never released as a single, "Bullet the Blue Sky" has been played at nearly every one of the band's live concerts since its first performance at the opening night of the Joshua Tree Tour on April 2, 1987. Its live performances have traditionally been paired with "Running to Stand Still"; this took place on the Joshua Tree Tour, Lovetown Tour, Zoo TV Tour, and the first 46 concerts of the Vertigo Tour. On the PopMart Tour, "Bullet" instead led into "Please"; Elevation Tour performances were followed by "With or Without You" or a cover of "What's Going On", and on the Vertigo Tour, "Miss Sarajevo" replaced "Running to Stand Still" for the remaining 85 concerts. It has yet to be played on the 360 tour.
During the Joshua Tree Tour, Bono would frequently grab a large spotlight and shine into peoples' faces in the audience, performances during which he also made numerous political references to figures such as Ronald Reagan and Jerry Falwell. U2's following album, Rattle and Hum, featured one such performance of this song, with a pre-recorded intro of Jimi Hendrix's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner". "Bullet" then took on new meanings throughout the subsequent years. On the Zoo TV Tour, it was about Nazism; on the Elevation Tour, it became an indictment against handgun violence, illustrated by references to John Lennon's assassination and an ironic intro video clip featuring Charlton Heston, who was at that time the leader of the National Rifle Association. On the Vertigo Tour, it was about religious violence and the final lyrics were replaced by a snippet of "The Hands That Built America"
The Edge has always used his black Fender Stratocaster to play this song (with the exception of the PopMart Tour, during which he used a Gibson Les Paul). Since the Zoo TV Tour in the early 1990s, Edge has played a faster, more intricate blues-inspired solo after the second chorus instead of the distorted solo found on the album version near the end of the song.
bullet in 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
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