The U2 Unplugged series of blog posts were chapters originally intended to be published as a book back in 2005. However, due to legal complications with reprinting the lyrics (thanks Universal!), the publisher I was working with at the time decided not to go forward with the project. The chapters sat on my computer for two years while I was trying to figure out what to do with them. In the end, I thought that the best solution was simply to make it readily available on my blog.

As you read through the U2 Unplugged series, I encourage you to dive into the meaning behind each song’s lyrics, discover their biblical foundation, and get practical about how you can apply these truths to your life. To help you out, I’ve included two things at the end of each chapter: an Action Steps box providing specific challenges to get you started living out the truth seen in the song, and a Diving Deeper box giving you Bible verses, books, and films that you can turn to for further exploration of the song’s theme.

Finally, keep in mind as you read U2 Unplugged that music is an art, not a science. U2 lyrics, in particular, are famed for their ability to be interpreted in many ways. While I attempt to tap into the meaning Bono and the others had in mind when they wrote the song, I am certain that I will take their lyrics into directions much different than U2 ever intended. So as you read through this book, keep in mind that I am offering an interpretation of the lyrics but not the official interpretation.

However, that’s one of the best qualities of music. We can experience the music for ourselves on our own terms and allow God to use it to transform our lives, even in ways that U2 never dreamed of.

Table of Contents

Preface: An Unmistakable Gospel Trail

Part One: Love’s Victory

1. The Club Vertigo Letters, “Vertigo”
2. Dancing the Perfect Storm, “Drowning Man”
3. Crashing into a World of Karma, “Grace”
4. Love for a Cross-Eyed Culture, “God Part II”

Part Two: God & Me

5. The Courting of an Untamed God, “Wild Honey”
6. Thirsty Worship, “Gloria”

Part Three: A Complete Faith in an Incomplete World

7. A Gritty Faith, “40”

8. The Overturned Sardine Can, “All Because of You”
9. Glimpses of a Far Off Country, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”

Part Four: A Disciple’s Life

10. Mysteriously Ever After, “A Man and a Woman”
11. Sleeping Giants, “Crumbs from Your Table”
12. A God of Positive Promise, “Yahweh”

Note: The “chapter order” above is actually quite different than the date order in which they were posted onto the blog.

U2 occupies a unique position – not only in the music world, but popular culture in general. Time’s “Man of the Year”. Designer iPods. Super Bowl halftime shows. The (RED) initiative. And meetings with heads of state and the church about the AIDS crisis in Africa. The influence of the Irish band, particularly its front man Bono, seems to be everywhere.

When asked to describe U2, Bono recently reflected, “The band always feels like it’s coming, never that it’s arrived.” Not only does Bono’s description reflect the ever-freshness of their music and their ability to reinvent themselves, but also the spiritual journey of the band members themselves: Bono, Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullin. Since the band released their initial album Boy in 1980, each of the foursome have experienced the best and worst the world has to offer. To borrow from one of their most popular tunes, each has both “climbed the highest mountains” and “held hands with the devil”.

Yet, regardless of the highs and lows of their personal walks of faith, the Christian truth expressed in a large body of their work is unmistakable. Whispers of Christ’s teaching show up in some spots, and direct quotes from scripture are found in others. And, when you look at their discography as a whole, you can see a clear “Gospel trail” – signs that much of their music is written from a perspective that assumes, even requires, biblical Christianity.

I discovered that “Gospel trail” for myself growing up in the 1980s when I listened to my first U2 album, War. In fact, I was recently reminded of the spiritual influence that their songs had on me during that time period. During the process of writing the U2 Unplugged series, I serendipitously stumbled upon an old, worn-out Bible that I’ve kept stored away since my high school days. A photocopy of the lyrics to “Drowning Man” was taped inside the front cover of the Bible. Perhaps foreshadowing this series, several lyrics were circled with notes scribbled in the margin. Even back then, I was eager to unplug the Christian truth found inside their songs.

Read more

Part 12 of 12 in the U2 Unplugged Series

I am convinced there is a “Now gene” swimming inside every human body. A two-year child reaching out for a toy at the counter never sees next week as an option. A couple madly in love yearns to be together tonight, not tomorrow. Much of our postmodern economy, in fact, is built on the importance of Now: credit cards, downloadable music, video-on-demand, lottery tickets, to name but a few examples. Pundits call us the “instant society” for obvious reasons.

If we have a “Now gene” that influences us towards instant gratification, I can easily guess its source of origin – our humanness. On the one hand, you can make a case that this desire for the immediate isn’t altogether bad; perhaps it is the natural response that any person, bound by time and space, will inevitably have. On the other hand, Satan recognizes “Get It Now” as one of his most effective weapons, because it allows us to receive what we most desire without requiring any inward change on our part to get it. The net effect of an undisciplined “Now gene” is that we become spoiled, unappreciative, and self-absorbed creatures.

But, as you explore the scriptures, you will see that God has a much different sort of genetics in mind: he wants to infuse our spiritual blood streams with a “Waiting gene.” When we need his help, God promises to be there for us. But, before he takes action, God often wants us to hold out, just a while longer, and then he will engineer circumstances in our lives and rescue us according to his timetable.

On the War album, U2 features two songs, both heavily influenced by the Book of Psalms, that show two different types of rescues that God makes in our lives. In “Drowning Man”, they sing of God’s instantaneous rescues, particularly when eternity is at stake. The final song on the album, “40” [lyrics] [iTunes], explores a much different sort of saving act: a deliverance from earthly pain and hardship that takes a far longer time to realize. Echoing the words of David in Psalm 40, “40” initially sounds like a simple song of worship. But, as you look closer, a remarkable real-world texture begins to surface. The juxtaposition of gratitude, hope, and desperation in the song reflects the ups and downs every believer has living in this world.

Read more