Whispers And Moans

U2 “Ultra Violet (Light My Way)”

“Ultra Violet” has been one of my favorite songs for 20 years now, and I find that I as I get older, I only love it more. This makes some sense: It’s a song about adult love, and a connection that endures so that both partners can show each other support in hard times. This could be a very trite song, but it’s not – Bono’s lyrics make it clear that none of this comes easy, and the band successfully convey a sense that this love is genuinely miraculous and invigorating. That passion and excitement comes through in the Edge’s unusually jaunty guitar rhythm, but that’s contrasted with a solemn, gorgeous bass line by Adam Clayton that emphasizes the intensity and romance at the heart of the piece.

The lyric that totally slays me comes at the climax of the final verse: “When I was all messed up and I heard opera in my head / your love was a light bulb hanging over my bed.” The sentiment is one thing, but the specificity of the language is what gets me. I picture this bulb dangling on a cord above a squalid mattress, the light casting about, warping shadows around the room as it sways.

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