![]() ![]() ![]() I was living in Eugene Oregon at the time, and prone to blissful feverish 2am bicycle rides winding along the endless miles of serpentine bicycle trails that snaked their way through parks, along rivers, down deserted alleyways. I was bowled over by this song the first time I heard it. I'm grateful to stumble across such eloquent commentary expressed by kindred spirits. I thought I was the only person on this planet moved by this song. When will he stop staying his hand of judgment for the sake of the believer? It's haunting. It's easy to think of a loving God, but no one wants to think of a God who's had enough and is ready to put an end to evil. It's the passion of God for his creation, and the hurt of God having been scorned by his creation and turning their backs on him. I think there is a lot of passion in the lyrics of this song, and it is the passion and hurt of a scorned lover. ![]() God's response is "Don't push me too far." And just as Abraham begged God to save the city, the believer in this song asks God, "If you save your love (meaning: the believer), then save it all (all of it)." But the believer also begs God to "Come on take me away, Come on take me home, home again" because of his weariness of trying to live for God in an ungodly word. The believer asks (just as Abraham begged God, for the sake of his nephew Lot) that he spare the city the fire judgment, to "stay" his hand of judgment. He tells the believer (as he told Lot) "walk on by, walk on through, walk 'til you run and don't look back". And later, "Carnival, the wheels fly and the colors spin through alcohol, red wine that punctures the skin". These city lights, they shine in silver and gold dug from the night. ![]() This song is a conversation between God and the believer about God's judgment of the world. The lines "Walk on by, walk on through, walk 'til you run and don't look back for here I am" sound like God's command to Lot when he told Lot to leave the city and not look back. The Unforgettable Fire was the name given the atomic blast at Hiroshima. I think this song is about the judgment of God. It's only recently I've come up with an idea, but it's vastly different from the other interpretations posted here. For years I've wondered what the lyrics meant in that context. I knew it was inspired by the bombing of Hiroshima. The Unforgettable Fire is a remarkable collection of songs by a band with limited technical ability, but a restless desire to create music that no one else was making in popular music at this time.My InterpretationThis is my all-time favorite U2 song. Atmospheric, moody, even experimental at times, the album ruminates on subjects are broad and Martin Luther King, Elvis Presley, and the sorrows of drug abuse. While the label was originally skeptical of this collaboration, the results speak for themselves. Splitting from their original producer, Steve Lillywhite, the band sought the reluctant services of famed producer and self-proclaimed "non-musician", Brian Eno, who brought along his new-found protégé, Daniel Lanois, to record and mix the album. With each album, they expanded their sound, but no one, not even the members of U2 themselves, could expect the leap they made with The Unforgettable Fire. U2 had already experienced tremendous success with their third album, War, and they had made a huge splash on MTV (the music medium of the 80s) with their live concert video U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky. An album that was an unexpected change of artistic direction for the band, yet one that set them on course to becoming one of the biggest bands of the 1980s. On this episode, we take a look at the extremely popular album, The Unforgettable Fire, by U2. ![]()
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