The song was played seven times on the 1987 Joshua Tree Tour, and some recordings were considered for the ending sequence of the 1988 film Rattle and Hum. It was revived for four concerts on the 1998 PopMart Tour in South America.
Mothers of the Disappeared
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cut down, taken from us
Hear their heartbeat
We hear their heartbeat
In the wind we hear their laughter
In the rain we see their tears
Hear their heartbeat
Night hangs like a prisoner
Stretched over black and blue
Hear their heartbeat
We hear their heartbeat
In the trees our sons stand naked
Through the walls our daughters cry
See their tears in the rainfall
The lyrics in U2's song Mothers of the Disappeared are centered around the cruel practices of disappearance that occurred during the Argentinian military dictatorship in the late 1970s and early 1980s. During this period, civilians who were perceived to be a threat to the government were taken from their homes and families without any explanation, and they were often tortured and murdered. The mothers who were left behind to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives were known as Las Madres de Plaza de Mayo, or the Mothers of the Disappeared.
The opening lines of "Midnight, our sons and daughters, cut down, taken from us" paint a picture of the suddenness and brutality of these disappearances. The mothers are still able to hear the heartbeats of their missing children, which serves as a powerful reminder of the lives that were taken from them. Throughout the rest of the song, we're given glimpses into the ongoing pain and suffering of these mothers, as well as the unyielding hope that they hold onto that their children might one day return to them.
The powerful imagery in this song stands as a testament to the resilience and strength of the Madres de Plaza de Mayo, who continue to fight for justice and accountability in the wake of the disappearance of their loved ones.
Line by Line Meaning
Midnight, our sons and daughters
It's the middle of the night and we mourn for our children,
Cut down, taken from us
Our children were violently taken away from us,
Hear their heartbeat
We feel connected to them through their memory,
We hear their heartbeat
We will never forget their presence in our hearts,
In the wind we hear their laughter
We connect with their joyful memories through the winds,
In the rain we see their tears
We imagine them crying tears of pain and sorrow under the rain,
Night hangs like a prisoner
The darkness of the night feels oppressive and suffocating,
Stretched over black and blue
The night seems to cover everything in a heavy, dark shroud of pain and sadness,
Hear their heartbeat
We still feel the presence of our children in our hearts even in the darkest moments,
We hear their heartbeat
Their memory is a constant reminder of the love we shared and a source of strength,
In the trees our sons stand naked
We imagine our sons, vulnerable and exposed, hidden in the trees,
Through the walls our daughters cry
We can hear our daughters crying in another room, separated from us by walls,
See their tears in the rainfall
We imagine their tears mixing with the rain, falling from the sky as a symbol of their pain and suffering,
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Adam Clayton, Dave Evans, Larry Mullen, Paul 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