All Shook Up

As I’m not following tour coverage at the moment, I have been taking note of the fallout of Bono’s “American David” poem on BBC Radio 4.

Back in 2003, Bono spoke with Jon Pareles and John Darnton as part of the TimesTalk series, sponsored by The New York Times. My husband and I were among the 300 or so who took part in the program. I was fortunate to ask Bono what the difference is between poets and lyricists. Here’s what I wrote in my @U2 story:

His answer was quite thorough, touching upon the issue of rhythm. He said that lyric writing incorporates rhythm from other musicians, and that there is great care in making the word match what the music is telling it. Poetry can not be put to music half the time. “You can write vainly –- oh, this is a good line, but it wouldn’t be good for the music,” he said describing the difference.

Bono explained that his lyric writing style is to hold onto the vowel sounds for added power. “In the Naaaaaaameee of Loooooveeeee -– it’s like that,” he described. He said that on the earlier albums, he sounded like a girl when trying to hold onto notes in the early days. “That’s why I started smoking cigars and putting my voice through reverb and other things –- to try to make it sound better.”

So, for all those who are all shook up about the tone of “American David,” just be thankful that we got an edited version of it on the Passengers CD with “Elvis Ate America.”

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