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
Lemon
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
See through in the sunlight
She wore lemon
But never in the daylight
She's gonna make you cry
She's gonna make you whisper and moan
And when you're dry
She draws her water from the stone
And I feel
Like I'm slowly, slowly, slowly slipping under
And I feel
Like I'm holding onto nothing
She wore lemon
To color in the cold grey night
She had heaven
And she held on so tight
A man makes a picture
A moving picture
Through the light projected
He can see himself up close
A man captures color
A man likes to stare
He turns his money into light to look for her
And I feel
Like I'm drifting, drifting, drifting from the shore
And I feel
Like I'm swimming out to her
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Lemon
See through in the sunlight
A man builds a city
With banks and cathedrals
A man melts the sand so he can
See the world outside
A man makes a car
(She's your destination)
And builds roads to run them on
A man dreams of leaving
But he always stays behind
And these are the days
When our work has come asunder
And these are the days
When we look for something other
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
Midnight is where the day begins
A man makes a picture
A moving picture
Through the light projected
He can see himself up close
A man captures color
(She's your destination)
A man likes to stare
There's no sleeping there
He turns his money into light to look for her (she's imagination)
Lemon
She is the dreamer
She's imagination
Through the light projected
He can see himself up close
The lyrics of U2’s “Lemon” may seem to be confusing, but they are actually written in a way to convey a sense of emotional emptiness and the search for hope. The song is said to be about the band’s guitarist, The Edge’s wife, who was pregnant at the time, and the hope and light she brought into his life, which is represented by the color lemon.
The lyrics in the first verse seem to describe a woman who only wears lemon at night, which could mean that she’s hiding something during the day or that she’s only letting her true self show in the darkness. The next part talks about how this woman is going to make you feel, with the line “She’s gonna make you cry, she’s gonna make you whisper and moan,” which is followed by the idea that she draws her water from a stone, implying that she’s capable of creating something out of nothing.
The second verse refers to a man who captures color and likes to stare, which could mean that he’s interested in the beauty of life, but he’s also disconnected from it. The chorus repeats the idea that the singer is slipping away and holding onto nothing, which could symbolize the desperation and emptiness he feels.
Overall, “Lemon” is a song about the search for hope and meaning in life, even when it seems like everything is gray and colorless.
Line by Line Meaning
Lemon
The color yellow, symbolizing happiness, sometimes seen as transparent in the sun.
See through in the sunlight
Yellow is sometimes seen as transparent in the sun.
She wore lemon
She wore bright yellow clothing or represented happiness.
But never in the daylight
But perhaps not always in the open or publicly.
She's gonna make you cry
Being around her, you might feel overwhelmed with emotions, including tears.
She's gonna make you whisper and moan
Likely to cause deep feeling and expression.
And when you're dry
When you're feeling emotionally empty or stressed.
She draws her water from the stone
She is able to sustain herself and others, like drawing water from a stone when resources seem unavailable or depleted.
And I feel / Like I'm slowly, slowly, slowly slipping under
I feel overwhelmed or that I'm losing control.
And I feel / Like I'm holding onto nothing
I feel like I'm losing my grip and I have nothing or no one to hold onto.
To color in the cold grey night
Yellow, representing happiness, is used to bring color to a bleak or dull situation.
She had heaven / And she held on so tight
She had joy in her life and held onto it tightly.
A man makes a picture / A moving picture
A person creates moving images and film.
Through the light projected / He can see himself up close
With projected light, one can view an image in detail.
A man captures color / A man likes to stare
A person likes to take in the colors and visual richness of the world through observation.
He turns his money into light to look for her
He spends money on his artistic pursuits, trying to capture something beautiful that he feels separated from or longs for.
Like I'm drifting, drifting, drifting from the shore
I feel like I'm losing my way or drifting from what is familiar.
Like I'm swimming out to her
I feel like I'm working hard to reach someone or something that seems out of reach.
Midnight is where the day begins
The start of a new day is seen as the time of midnight, breaking from the past and moving forward.
And these are the days / When our work has come asunder
These are tumultuous times in which everything feels a bit out of sorts and rough.
When we look for something other
During these times, we search for something new or different from what we've known before.
A man builds a city / With banks and cathedrals
One person creates a civilization with strong symbols of finance and religion.
A man melts the sand so he can / See the world outside
One person uses effort to view the world beyond what is immediately around him.
A man makes a car / (She's your destination)
A person creates a vehicle for a specific purpose, perhaps to reach someone or something.
And builds roads to run them on
He creates infrastructure to support his goals and vision.
A man dreams of leaving / But he always stays behind
He has a desire for change or to break away, but never follows through.
There's no sleeping there
There's no rest in the pursuit of his dreams or goals.
She is the dreamer / She's imagination
She symbolizes the imagination, wonder, and possibility inherent in dreaming.
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Adam Clayton, Dave Evans, Larry Mullen, Paul Hewson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@user-ip9yu7lp1q
Lemon
See through in the sunlight
She wore lemon
But never in the daylight
She's gonna make you cry
She's gonna make you whisper and moan
And when you're dry
She draws her water from the stone
And I feel Like I'm slowly slipping under
And I feel Like I'm holding onto nothing
She wore lemon
To colour in the cold grey night
She had heaven And she held on so tight
A man makes a picture
A moving picture
Through the light projected
He can see himself up close
A man captures color
A man likes to stare
He turns his money into light to look for her
And I feel Like I'm drifting from the shore
And I feel Like I'm swimming out to her
Midnight is where the day begins
Lemon
See through in the sunlight
A man builds a city
With banks and cathedrals
A man melts the sand so he can
See the world outside You're gonna meet her there
A man makes a car She's your destination
And builds roads to run them on You gotta get to her
A man dreams of leaving She's imagination
But he always stays behind
And these are the days
When our work has come assunder
And these are the days
When we look for something other
A man makes a picture
A moving picture
Through the light projected
He can see himself up close You're gonna meet her there
A man captures colour She's your destination
A man likes to stare There's no sleeping there
He turns his money into light She's imagination
To look for her Lemon
She is the dreamer
She's imagination She had heaven
Through the light projected
He can see himself up close She wore lemon
@allanmckeown5943
This is still one of my favourite songs of all time.....its one of those tunes that you can't put your finger on but really strikes a chord deep down. Timeless.
@jonathanmilo
Beautifully spoken, it speaks to my innermost self. For me it is profoundly deep, an echoing expression of love, and the vitality of our beingness.
@conradpoznik4906
But what acceptance maybe ,,, Put that in your pipe and Smoke It player
@Timekeeper1200
One of U2's most criminally underrated songs. Never gets a mention in any compilation album they do
@blackporscheroadster6415
As a long-term U2 fan, I personally think this is more of an 'artistic' statement than a 'musical' statement.
@ivanlu4044
@blackporsche roadster What's the difference
@ubermenschb
Zooropa and The Wanderer too
@kenoroussell4033
Song? The whole damn record was underrated, Numb and Stay are played every so often (5 or 10 years) but silence on the rest.
My Favourite disc from them.
@kenoroussell4033
@@thewanderer976 Can never play Zooropa just once, Think I'll listen to it now.
@andyroid5028
The piano riff and bassline in this song is incredible.