I recently posted about the songs The Saints Are Coming and Wake Up Dead Man. Since this posting has been popular with readers, I thought I would offer some added commentary on these songs, although it might be best to read The Saints Are Coming I before reading this posting. U2 and Green Day recently performed the song The Saints Are Coming at the half time show for the first New Orleans Saints home football game of the year. The Skids, a punk band from the UK, originally wrote and performed the song. A copy of the Skids version of this song can be viewed at YouTube.com. The excellent U2/Greenday cover of this song can be viewed at Rhapsody. U2 selected The Saints Are Coming for good reason. The lyrics are consistent with a Biblical tradition and U2 tradition, which is struggling with God over human suffering.
It does not surprise me that Edge is responsible for the introductory part of Wake Up Dead Man. I believe that Edge, although very private about his faith, is at least as devout as Bono. There has rarely been an occasion where I have not seen Edge with a shirt that does not have some Christian symbol on it like the number seven or the number three. When I saw U2 perform live, Edge was wearing a shirt with three circles on it that were in the shape of a fish in an abstract artistic way. I believe that the three symbolizes the trinity, the circles symbolize the eternal nature of God, and the fish shape symbolizes Jesus Christ in the Christian tradition. I have also seen Edge wearing a shirt that says “Born Free.”
Another interesting religious symbol on the Vertigo Tour was the stage that they performed on. The stage was physically in the shape of a single circle, but when the stage would light up during the show at certain times, the lights on the stage would actually form the shape of three circular rings on the stage. So even the stage of U2 at their concerts on the Vertigo Tour symbolized the eternal nature of God as both one and three. I would not be surprised if this was a product of Edge’s imagination too because he is such a fan of such non-traditional Christian religious symbols.
One other thing of interest about Wake Up Dead Man that I failed to mention is that I believe that “Wake Up Dead Man” is a symbolic reference to Jesus Christ in the tomb. They are asking him to wake up and conquer the sinful condition of the existing world. So for U2, it is through the waking, resurrection, or rebirth of the dead man (Jesus Christ), that there will be freedom from the suffering of the existing world.
Finally, there was one other interesting religious symbol in their recent performance in New Orleans, which comes to mind, that I did not mention. In the song, Bono makes a reference to “new birth” and “rebirth,” which is not actually part of the original lyrics of The Saints Are Coming. This concept of birth and rebirth is another huge element of U2’s theological project, which is particularly emphasized in songs such as Yahweh and 40. U2 sees rebirth as another symbol for conquering the suffering of the existing world. In the context of the song Yahweh, this concept of rebirth is symbolized through the idea of the pains of child birth because child birth itself is a very painful event, but it is a purposeful sort of suffering because the mother has constant knowledge that the existing suffering is going to accomplish something important, which is the birth of new life. In the scriptures, this concept of rebirth is used to describe the suffering of the existing world and how the suffering will soon fall away as we transition into a new order. See Romans 8:22 (“We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.”).
So Bono uses this symbol of birth and rebirth during the song The Saints Are Coming to add hope and purpose to what is otherwise a somewhat cynical prayer to God. He also uses this symbol in the context of the situation in New Orleans for a specific reason. New Orleans has undergone suffering, but they can have comfort in knowing that there is purpose to their suffering and that something even greater is going to be accomplished through their suffering, which is a rebirth into something greater that is analagous to the Christian concept of salvation.
The U2 song 40 is also a part of this project of rebirth. It is based on Psalm 40. U2 often performs it at then end of their concerts. It is also a song about rebirth and salvation. Throughout the song, the author continually asks the question “how long to sing this song,” which expresses the same type of question that has been expressed by all of the songs that I have mentioned here, which is when will these purposeful pains of child birth come to an end?
Although U2 and Greenday both performed The Saints Are Coming at this concert, the two bands probably offer two opposing views of this song. Greenday probably upholds a more cynical interpretation of this song, which is an attempt to test God like the people who demanded that Jesus prove himself by coming down off the cross. U2 upholds a more devout and healthy interpretation of the song. U2 sees this song more as an honest dialogue with God. They have immense respect for God when they ask him these questions. You will notice that in the live performance Bono raises up his hand in worship when he comes to the line in the song that says “But the shadows still remain since your descent your descent,” which is a reference to Jesus Christ coming into the world. So in the U2 project, the song The Saints Are Coming is a respecful dialogue with God that understands there is purpose to the suffering of the existing world, but it respectfully asks God when these pains of child birth will come to an end. It is a song of faith that anticipates what Christ will accomplish through his death when he finally conquers the suffering of the existing order.
(Posted by Trask)
