Bono and I have a bit of a history with Bullet the Blue Sky and its deeply held meaning in terms of a vision of America. I wrote Bono in 2008, the night before his planned meeting with then VP candidate Sarah Palin. (Full letter here- Bullet the Blue Sky ) I asked Bono then to "please remember what America means. Please remember your inspiration to write and perform "Bullet the Blue Sky" as you watched the Reagan administration's support of Salvadoran death squads and Nicaraguan contras. America is not torture, Abu Ghraib or Guantanamo. America is the promise of hope and liberty." Last night in San Francisco, Bono spoke truth to a candidate in love with power and himself. They posted a video of the song with a simple title - Liberty... Bravo to U2!
An August surprise from U2. Listen with the crowd waiting for the Torino show as the band runs through a new song and others during the soundcheck. Rumor has it that Miss Sarajevo will also be played on this leg of the tour ...
U2 performing Sunday Bloody Sunday during their 360 degrees world tour at the Rose Bowl on October 25th, 2009.
As the song Sunday Bloody Sunday opens, U2 now scrolls the lyrics from the Rumi poem Azadi. The word Azadi itself simply means Freedom. U2 is supporting Artists 4 Freedom by using the Rumi poem which provides the lyrics to Dj Spooky and Sussan Deyhim's new track, Azadi (The New Complexity). U2's multimedia screens mash together the lyrics to Azadi along with photos of the protestors in Iran and artworks by Shirin Neshat. Inspiring stuff.
Azadi (The New Complexity) is a song based on a classic poem by Rumi, one of the poet laureates of Iran’s still vibrant poetic legacy.
Here is the original poem translated into English
SHOW ME YOUR FACE by Rumi
i crave flowers and gardens
open your lips i crave the taste of honey
come out from behind the clouds i desire a sunny face
your voice echoed saying “leave me alone” i wish to hear your voice again saying “leave me alone”
i swear this city without you is a prison i am dying to get out to roam in deserts and mountains
i am tired of flimsy friends and submissive companions
i am blue hearing nagging voices and meek cries i desire loud music drunken parties and wild dances
one hand holding a cup of wine one hand caressing your hair then dancing in orbital circle that is what i yearn for
i can sing better than any nightingale but because of this city’s freaks i seal my lips while my heart weeps
yesterday the wisest man holding a lit lantern in daylight was searching around town saying
i am tired of all these beast and brutes i seek a true human
we have all looked for one but no one could be found they said
yes he replied but my search is for the one who cannot be found
Artists 4 Freedom is international in scope and is located between London, Barcelona, Lisbon and Berlin. Link Below: Artists 4 Freedom
As a member of Artists 4 Freedom, I ask you to create a poem, a painting, a song for Iran and join the cause. The world is coming together in support of Iran.
(And a special message to Little Steven. Little Steven is touring right now as a member of Bruce Springsteen's E Street Band. But Little Steven is also an amazing political songwriter who helped bring down apartheid in South Africa with his song Sun City and openly dreamed of a free Berlin, when others labeled him as naive, in his heartbreaking song Checkpoint Charlie. Little Steven, Artists 4 Freedom needs you to write a song for Freedom in Iran.)
Bono and Edge appeared on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross In the first segment check out Bono as he squirms "Stop! Oh, no!" when Ross airs a clip of U2 doing "Street Mission" on TV in 1978. The highlight of the second segment is the story of Barack Obama's witty comment to Bono at a prayer breakfast in DC when Bono attempted to evade then President Bush's photo op. Obama's words to Bono,"Nice work with the hug dodge."
