U2 began as a band called The Hype the year I was
born, 1978. They won a talent contest in Limerick. Their website informs,
The
Dublin punk guru Steve Averill (better known as Steve Rapid of the Radiators
from Space) advises the band that The Hype stinks, at least as a name. What
about U2? It’s the name of a spyplane and a submarine, and it’s got
an endearing inclusivity about it.
In my opinion U2 hasn’t
produced an album of All That You Can’t Leave Behind’s caliber since Joshua Tree, released in March of 1987. On Joshua
Tree, two hits are still played today fairly often on the radio:
“With or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What
I’m Looking For”. What makes U2 great is exemplified in the
timelessness of these two songs. I was just talking to a co-worker this weekend
about U2 and she commented, “ U2 is great for all time.”
With the release of their most
recent album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, Bono states:
'From the beginning we were
excited when music met the real world, and, going into this, we reckoned that
people aren't buying rock records any more because of this progressive rock
lurgy, which is on the rise, where the single has been forgotten. In our heads
we've written 11 singles for this record. '
Although every song is
not my favorite, there are many on this album that are unique unto them selves.
For example, “Elevation” is a funky techno rock lick that is great
to skip to, while “In A Little While” is a wonderfully poetic and
vulnerable song soulfully sung by Bono. The song that really impressed me,
though, was “Grace”...
Grace, she takes the blame
She covers the shame
Removes the stain
It could be her name
Grace, it's the name for a girl
It's also a thought that changed the world
And when she walks on the street
You can hear the strings
Grace finds goodness in everything
Grace, she's got the walk
She's got the time to talk
She travels outside of karma
She travels outside of karma
When she goes to work
You can hear her strings
Grace finds beauty in everything
Grace, she carries a world on her hips
No champagne flute for her lips
No twirls or skips between her fingertips
She carries a pearl in perfect condition
What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
Out of ugly things
Grace makes beauty out of ugly things
This song has a
spectacular simplicity to it. There is very little build musically and has a
sort of circular feel to it. Singing doesn’t start until a the bass line
has played for over a minute, then in a sliding and low pitch Bono half sings,
half speaks … “Grace”. The lyrics could be seen as ambiguous,
he might really be singing about a girl he knows called Grace, but this
interpretation is nothing more than surface level and, most likely a denial of
what Bono intended. There is a sense through phrases like, “She travels
outside of karma,” that Bono is speaking of a metaphysical Grace, the
Grace he has experienced as a Christian.
The lyric:
What once was hurt
What once was friction
What left a mark
No longer stings
Because Grace makes beauty
Out of ugly things
is a theme that runs
throughout the New Testament. This is why I like the song so much. It reaches a
spiritual level for me that most songs do not come close to reaching. Listening
to it is like praying for me because it gets me focused on God and reminds me
of His generous favor for an “ugly thing”. It is simple and
profound and lingers in my head without annoying me. Like the songs from Joshua
Tree, “Grace” has a sense of timelessness to it that transcends
fads and trends and is, in my mind, a classic.
clas·sic
Pronunciation:
'kla-sik
Etymology:
French or Latin; French classique, from Latin classicus of the highest class of Roman
citizens, of the first rank, from classis
Date: circa
1604
1 a : serving as a
standard of excellence : of recognized value b : TRADITIONAL, ENDURING