Heralded as a dance album before it was released, but early predictions on the
album's genre proved to be wrong. Album sometimes referred to as "trip-hop". Produced
hits such as "Discotheque" and "Staring at the Sun". Pop had substance in a world
of music that is almost 100% substance free. This album covers the entire musical
spectrum. From the opening dance track Discotheque to the somber prayer like closing
track- Wake Up Dead Man. With hard hitting songs such as Mofo, to soft ballads
like If you wear that velvet dress. One of U2's best works.
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Album Info
Released : March 3rd 1997
Produced by : Flood
Recorded in : Hanover - Dublin
Windmill Lane Recording Studios - Dublin
South Beach Studios - Miami
The Works - Dublin
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Discotheque
The opening track for Pop.
It is heavy on guitars and really upbeat. Well hidden is its meaning. Behind the
bubble gum and the fluff and big sound is the underlying theme of salvation.
The song opens talking about something you can strive for but can't obtain. ("You
can reach, But you can't grab it, You can hold it, control it, No, you can't bag
it.") That is how salvation works. When one accepts Jesus Christ as his or
her personal savior, then they are saved. They can't save themselves, they are
saved through the blood of Jesus Christ. Again in the second verse we see the
same thing - "You can push, But you can't direct it, Circulate, regulate, oh
no, You cannot connect it."
Later we learn more about the nature of salvation - "You get confused, But
you know it, Yeah, you hurt for it, work for it, love, You don't always show it."
The greatest gift the world has ever received is the gift of salvation. The gift
is free to us but did have a price - Christ's death and resurrection. As Christians,
we try to live our lives for Christ, to be a witness for Him ("Yeah, you hurt
for it, work for it, love, You don't always show it"), but sometimes we fail
to glorify Christ in our daily lives.
In the verse "You're looking for the one, But you know you're somewhere else
instead", Bono says "you're looking for Jesus (the one), but you're not looking
in the right places"
The next verse is the key to the song - "It's not a trick, 'Cause you can't
learn it, It's the way you don't pay, that's okay, 'Cause you can't earn it".
Salvation is no trick, you can't "learn" it. Salvation can't be bought. The beautiful
thing about Salvation is that it is free to everyone. Bono says "not paying is
okay, cause you can't earn it." Salvation is described in the Bible as the "Gift
of God". A gift is something that is free, and that you did nothing to earn. The
Bible says that salvation can't be earned or that man would boast.
The song seems to be about someone who is going about receiving salvation the
wrong way.
This is again evidenced in the line "You're looking for the one, But you know
you're somewhere else instead." In the chorus we hear "You want Heaven,
You want heaven in your heart, Heaven in your heart, The sun, the moon, and the
stars". Deep down, the person wants Heaven, and to be with God. The person's
method are wrong.
Bono says this about the person - "But you take what you can get, 'Cause it's
all that you can find, But you know there's something more, Tonight, tonight,
tonight" They go with what they know, cause they don't strive for the truth,
but the person knows that there is more to salvation.
The last part of the song is the final thoughts of the person - "I can't, Get
in, I paid, It's not enough". The person can't enter Heaven, he says "I paid",
to which the reply comes "it's not enough".
This song describes the nature of salvation and the plight of a person going about
salvation the wrong way.
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Do You Feel Loved
No interpretation yet
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Mofo
Bono has said that this is
a song that sums up his life in 10 or 12 lines.
The song is a timeline of Bono's spiritual life. Mofo opens "Looking for to
save my save my soul" I don't have to think very much to understand that line.
Bono is looking for something to save his soul - duh. The next line tells us where
Bono is looking - "Looking in the places where no flowers grow." He is
looking, not in the nice and pretty places, but in the dark, scary places. What
is the reason for Bono's search - he's "Looking for to fill that God shaped
hole." Again, I'm no genius, but what fills a God shaped hole? God of course.
In the next verse it seems that Bono has found salvation through Jesus Christ.
"Holy dunk, spacejunk coming in for the splash" I think that the "Holy
dunk" is baptism. After one becomes a Christian, as a testimony and witness that
he is now living for Christ, he is baptized. The next line - "White dopes on
punk staring into the flash" I think this is about the members of U2. They
are white "dopes" who grew up on "punk" music staring into the "flash" or light.
The light is a term for salvation. ("I Saw the Light" is a hymn about the salvation
process). Bono is "Looking for the baby Jesus under the trash." He is trying
to follow Jesus in a world full of trash.
In the next verse, Bono calls for his mother - "Mother...am I still your son,
You know I've waited for so long to hear you say so, Mother...you left and made
me someone, Now I'm still a child but no one tells me no." Bono's mother died
when Bono was 14. He wonders is she still sees him as her son. He will be reunited
with his mother in Heaven. He has "waited for so long" to talk to her. By her
dying, Bono became who he is. Without his mother's death, Bono would not be who
he is today, and there probably would have never been a "U2".
One of the last lines says "Looking for a sound that's going to drown out the
world." I think Bono is looking for a song that is going to take him to another
plain, above all the trash in the world.
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If God Will Send His Angels
No Interpretation Yet
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Staring at the Sun
No Interpretation Yet
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Last Night on Earth
I think that song is largely
misinterpreted.
When I first heard the song, I too thought the girl was not living for God. Once
I saw the video, I saw the light. In the line "she's not waiting on a Savior to
come.." I thought that was a bad thing. Now I realize that is a good thing. I
don't know if you're familiar with the group "Newsboys". They have a song that
has the line "don't go shutting down till the trumpet sounds, and the savior says
well done..." I don't know the name of the song even though I have the cd. Anyway,
the jest of the song is that once one becomes saved, that doesn't mean they should
chill until Christ returns... They shouldn't "sit in a room with no windows and
wait". I think that is what U2 is saying about the girl. She's not waiting for
Christ's return, no she's "at the bus stop with the news of the world" I think
she is spreading the gospel. (the news of the world) That is where the lyric "you
got to give it away" comes in.
The gift of salvation is the greatest gift I was ever given. I can tell others
about this awesome gift. I don't have to, but it is my responsibility. I must
live as a witness for Christ. I can't sit around and wait.
She is spreading the gospel as though there is no tomorrow. These people don't
have any other chance. She is living like it is the last night on earth.
She feels the ground is giving way. - so do I (every time I look at a paper or
turn on the news.) She thinks it's better that way. Sometimes it isn't until the
"earthquake" comes that people find something to hang onto. Maybe she thinks that
the ground giving way will "wake" some people up.
There are many signs of her work for Christ's sake. "She's living living next
week now, You know she's going to pay it back somehow" She is living her life
for Christ. She has to "pay" back the gift that she has received - Salvation.
"She hasn't been to bed in weeks, she'll be dead soon and then she'll sleep."
Again, we see her sacrifice in the name of the gospel.
I thought this girl was "bad" at first. I have seen numerous interpretations saying
the same thing. I saw the song in a different way once I saw the video. In the
video, there is "a light" that no one understands. The girl "understood the secret
of the light". The video cinched it for me.
The gospel is what "you've got to give away".
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Gone
I think this song is about
being somewhere (probably spiritually), and no matter what the circumstances,
never leaving that place or mentality.
The singer (Bono) feels guilty because he has received so much and done so little
to deserve it. I believe he is singing about how Christ gave His life, and how
salvation is a free gift. Bono doesn't deserve it, he can't do anything to deserve
it, yet he has salvation freely through Jesus Christ. Such a gift causes a feeling
of guilt for the singer, possibly for not being able to be the Christian that
he feels he should be, and this is evidenced in the first verse: "You get to
feel so guilty, Got so much for so little, Then you find that feeling, Just won't
go away"
The next verse make me think that the singer has been saved, but has not totally
"surrendered" his life to Jesus. The singer is still holding onto the things of
the world. This is found in this verse: "You're holding on to every little
thing so tightly, 'Til there's nothing left for you anyway".
In the chorus, it seems as though Bono is realizing he must give up control of
his life. "You can keep this suit of lights, I'll be up with the sun (Son,
as in Son of God, Jesus Christ), I'm not coming down, I'm not coming down, I'm
not coming down". He figures out that to truly be saved, he must give up the
things of the world. He must let Christ control all aspects of his life, He must
let Christ "set his desires".
The theme of losing selfish desires appears again in the next verse. Bono wanted
salvation, he wanted to please Christ. "You wanted to get somewhere so badly..."
but he realized that he must break away from his "old self". "You had to lose
yourself along the way...". The next line is hard to understand - "You
change your name, well that's okay, it's necessary..." In the bible, many
times after a person had a spiritual life changing event happen, that person would
change his name. (for example: Saul changed his name to Paul). Once Bono does
surrender his life, he realizes that what he gave up he really didn't care about
- "And what you leave behind you don't miss anyway".
'Cause I'm already gone
Felt that way all along
Closer to you every day
I didn't want it that much anyway
You're taking steps that make you feel dizzy
Then you learn to like the way it feels
You hurt yourself you hurt your lover
Then you discover
What you thought was freedom is just greed
Goodbye...
And it's emotional
Good night...
I'll be up with the sun
You're still holding on
I'm not coming down
I'm not coming down
I'm not coming down
Gone...sun...time...sun...
Gone...sun....gone...sun...
Sun...
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Miami
U2 wanted to record the
Pop album in Cuba. Because of fears that the band wouldn't be able to get back
into the United States, they chose the "next best place" - Miami
This song is a lyrical diary
of the bands time in Miami during the recording of the Pop album.
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The Playboy Mansion
The playboy mansion referred
to in this song is Heaven. The song starts with the singer mentioning confusing
statements, ideas that give him doubt.
If Coke is a mystery
Michael Jackson...History
If beauty is truth
And surgery the fountain of youth
What am I to do
Doubt that leads to the
question "Have
I got the gift to get me through, The gates of that mansion"
Don't know if I can hold on
Don't know if I'm that strong
Don't know if I can wait that long
The singer is waiting until
he enters Heaven.
The Bible says that in Heaven there will be no sorrow nor tears. Bono often
intertwines this fact in many live versions of U2 songs.
The singer also says that he knows he has to believe.
Then will there be no
time for sorrow
Then will there be no time for shame
And though I can't say why
I know I've got to believe
The Bible also says that
Jesus is the only way to Heaven. Jesus stated that "no man cometh to the
Father but through Me". The next line echoes this fact.
It's who you know that gets you through
The gates of the Playboy mansion
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If You Wear that Velvet
Dress
Tonight the moon is playing
tricks again
I'm feeling sea sick again
The whole world could just dissolve
Into a glass of water
I've been good 'cause I know you don't want me to
Do you really want me to be blue as you
It's her daylight that gets me through
We've been here before
Last time you scratched at my door
The moon was naked and cold
I was like a two year old
Who just wanted more
If you wear that velvet dress
If you wear that velvet dress
Tonight the moon has drawn its curtains
It's a private show
No one else going to know
I'm wanting
Sunlight, sunlight fills my room
It's sharp and it's clear
But nothing at all like the moon
It's okay, the struggle for things not to say
I never listened to you anyway
And I got my own hands to pray
But if you wear that velvet dress
But if you wear that velvet dress
Tonight the moon is a mirrorball
Light flickers from across the hall
Who'll catch the star when it falls
If you wear that velvet dress
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Please
So you never knew love
Until you crossed the line of grace
And you never felt wanted
'Til you had someone slap your face
So you never felt alive
Until you'd almost wasted away
You had to win
You couldn't just pass
The smartest ass
At the top of the class
Your flying colors
Your family tree
And all your lessons in history
Please...please...please...
Get up off your knees
Please...please...please...
Please...
So you never knew
How low you'd stoop to make that call
And you never knew
What was on the ground 'til they made you crawl
So you never knew
That the heaven you keep you stole
Your catholic blues
Your convent shoes
Your stick on tattoos
Now they're making the news
Your holy war
Your northern star
Your sermon on the mount
From the boot of your car
Please...please...please...
Get up off your knees
Please...please...please...
Leave me out of this please
So love is hard
And love is tough
But love is not
What you're thinking of
September
Streets capsizing
Spilling over
Down the drain
Shards of glass
Splinters like rain
But you could only feel
Your own pain
October
Talking getting nowhere
November
December
Remember
Are we just starting again
Please...please...please...
Get up off your knees, yeah
Please...please...please...
Please...
So love is big
Is bigger than us
But love is not
What you're thinking of
It's what lovers deal
It's what lovers steal
You know I've found it hard to receive
'Cause you my love
I could never believe
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Wake Up Dead Man
This song is a cry out to
Jesus to return and save the singer from the current world. The singer is a
believer and feels alone. I believe this song is written from the view point
of one of Jesus's twelve desciples in the immediate days after Jesus's crucifiction
(and before His resurection).
Jesus, Jesus help me
I'm alone in this world
And a fucked up world it is too
The singer has spent more
than three years with Jesus. Now Jesus is gone, and the singer misses Him and
longs for the days when Jesus would tell about the future.
Tell me, tell me the
story
The one about eternity
And the way it's all gonna be
The singer is loyal, but begins to doubt Jesus and His ability to work in
the world. The singer asks Jesus to appeal to God.
Jesus, I'm waiting here
boss
I know you're looking out for us
But maybe your hands aren't free
Your father, He made the world in seven
He's in charge of heaven
Will you put a word in for me
Here is where I see duallity in the song. I also see non believers as the
"dead men". Those who haven't accepted Christ as their savior are
in effect, "dead" - Jesus offers "Life". I believe that
the next part of the song is addressed to any non believer who is hearing the
song - a plea for them to "wake up".
Listen to your words
they'll tell you what to do
Listen over the rhythm that's confusing you
Listen to the reed in the saxophone
Listen over the hum of the radio
Listen over sounds of blades in rotation
Listen through the traffic and circulation
Listen as hope and peace try to rhyme
Listen over marching bands playing out their time
Wake up, wake up dead man
Wake up, wake up dead man
Now back to the disciple's plea...
It is hard to imagine what
the disciples went through after Jesus was crucified. He had spent 3+ years
telling them about His kingdom and what would happen after He died. I feel that
it would only be natural for the disciples to feel doubt at some point in the
days that followed Jesus's death. I picture the singer sitting outside of the
tomb in the garden of Gethsemany (the place where Jesus was buried), longing
for His return and help.
Jesus, were you just
around the corner
Did You think to try and warn her
Or are you working on something new
If there's an order in all of this disorder
Is it like a tape recorder
Can we rewind it just once more
Wake up, wake up dead man
Wake up, wake up dead man
Wake up, wake up dead man
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