I've been meaning to post these lyrics here for a while just because it seems like the right thing to do. And it might put a song in your brain. Maybe someday they'll film a new (and better) video of the song in refugee camps. I included a few of Bono's comments about pain at the end.
The heart is a bloom
Shoots up through the stony ground
There's no room
No space to rent in this town
You're out of luck
And the reason that you had to care
The traffic is stuck
And you're not moving anywhere
You thought you'd found a friend
To take you out of this place
Someone you could lend a hand
In return for grace
It's a beautiful day
Sky falls, you feel like
It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
You're on the road
But you've got no destination
You're in the mud
In the maze of her imagination
You're lovin' this town
Even if that doesn't ring true
You've been all over
And it's been all over you
It's a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
It's a beautiful day
Touch me
Take me to that other place
Teach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case
See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out
It was a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
Beautiful day
Touch me
Take me to that other place
Reach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case
What you don't have you don't need it now
What you don't know you can feel it somehow
What you don't have you don't need it now
Don't need it now
It was a beautiful day
Borrowed from: U2 - Beautiful Day Lyrics | MetroLyrics I'm leaving songwriting credits off since they seem to be listed differently every place I look.
'Beautiful Day' has a directness reminiscent of early U2 but with Edge bringing a dizziness and futuristic quality so that it doesn't feel retro. The guitar chords were nothing special but they were my attempt to get the album airborne, the way a rock band like the Buzzcocks would. The lyric expresses amazement, really, that whatever situation you find yourself in, uncomfortable and upsetting as they can be, if you're alive and you are awake, then you have perspective on it. I was influenced by an Australian preacher I know called John Smith, who was a pastor for the Hell's Angels at one point and who is a very eloquent speaker with a brilliant mind. I remember him talking to me about how depression is a nerve end. Pain is evidence of life because it reminds you there are things in your life that aren't right. So you should be thankful for it really and celebrate that there is so much to live for.
Comments widely available on the web. I borrowed them from Something in Every Hue (link expired).