 The Joshua Tree (1987) [ larger cover art ] |
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In the howling wind comes a stinging rain
See it driving nails
Into the souls on the tree of pain
From the firefly, a red orange glow
See the face of fear
Running scared in the valley below
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue
In the locust wind comes a rattle and hum
Jacob wrestled the angel
And the angel was overcome
You plant a demon seed
You raise a flower of fire
See them burning crosses
See the flames higher and higher
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue
This guy comes up to me
His face red like a rose on a thorn bush
Like all the colors of a royal flush
And he's peeling off those dollar bills
Slapping them down
One hundred, two hundred
And I can see those fighter planes
And I can see those fighter planes
Across the mud huts where the children sleep
Through the alleys of a quiet city street
You take the staircase to the first floor
Turn the key and slowly unlock the door
As a man breathes into a saxophone
And through the walls you hear the city groan
Outside is America
Outside is America
Across the field you see the sky ripped open
See the rain through a gaping wound
Pounding on the women and children
Who run
Into the arms
Of America
See it driving nails
Into the souls on the tree of pain
From the firefly, a red orange glow
See the face of fear
Running scared in the valley below
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue
In the locust wind comes a rattle and hum
Jacob wrestled the angel
And the angel was overcome
You plant a demon seed
You raise a flower of fire
See them burning crosses
See the flames higher and higher
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue sky
Bullet the blue
Bullet the blue
This guy comes up to me
His face red like a rose on a thorn bush
Like all the colors of a royal flush
And he's peeling off those dollar bills
Slapping them down
One hundred, two hundred
And I can see those fighter planes
And I can see those fighter planes
Across the mud huts where the children sleep
Through the alleys of a quiet city street
You take the staircase to the first floor
Turn the key and slowly unlock the door
As a man breathes into a saxophone
And through the walls you hear the city groan
Outside is America
Outside is America
Across the field you see the sky ripped open
See the rain through a gaping wound
Pounding on the women and children
Who run
Into the arms
Of America
| jpfueler (Alvarado, Texas, (A Bit FurtherSouth o' Ft Worth)) | Posted: May 09, 2013 - 16:22 with Shins fading out and this starting I thought it was Down In The Park by Numan |
| Lazarus (Bethany) | Posted: May 09, 2013 - 16:20 marvelous... |
| Biscobret (Vashon, WA) | Posted: Apr 08, 2013 - 12:31 U2 fan WAY back in the day — I remember clearly when this LP came out — it's absolutely genius then and it still is now. U2 fell out of favor for me after this one — I was at the filming of the Rattle n Hum stadium shows (they weren't playing huge shows, yet, BTW - they sold those tickets for $5 to fill it :-) and for me that was it, and I haven't listened to them in almost 30 years. HOWEVER when I now hear songs from The Joshua Tree, I remember what an absolutely amazing LP — and band — they were. |
| hugogdt | Posted: Mar 08, 2013 - 00:47 I have listened to this album hundreds of times, and never get tired of it. After visiting the Joshua Tree National Park with this CD on the car ... This album is just WOW! I just would like to hear some of the other brilliant songs here, "Red Hill Mining Town" maybe? |
| perrygibbs | Posted: Mar 08, 2013 - 00:46 How about limiting U2 to only every other day? Or start by havng just 1 day off a month and progressing from there? |
| Lazarus (Bethany) | Posted: Jan 04, 2013 - 09:00 Cynaera wrote: I never really listened to the song with lyrics in mind, because the music overwhelmed me. But - lyrics. And how money buys power. Even if you hate Bono and his glad-handing, at least give him credit for knowing the enemy... Well said, friend... miss you... |
| dowdog999 | Posted: Jul 31, 2012 - 07:25 The song is great, but that guitar solo... WOW! Masterful work by "the" Edge. It deserves a place as one of the best 50 guitar solos of all time. |
| lemmoth (NYC) | Posted: Jul 31, 2012 - 07:25 sirdroseph wrote: U2 is a good band, this song is really good. No one in their right mind has ever compared them musically to Led Zepplin though they may end up selling more records than Zep. Selling records and good music only occasionally hang out together though and are not really good friends. I came of musical age with the Beatles and the Stones and my high school was definitely a stronghold of the Zeppelin, Who, Floyd fanatics. Really love Zep and the Who - Floyd not so much, but as I moved on to first Bowie and then punk and on the Elvis Costello, U2s arrival on the rock radio scene were welcome breaths of fresh air - that I inhaled in massive quantities - so my affection for them still exceeds mine for Zeppelin. And really its for one main reason - and if you see who my mainstay's were you can tell - its the songs. The tunes. The well crafted musical stories. Zep was a mind blowing Blues/Rock/Hardass kicking quartet with fantastic players and an incredibly charismatic front man. Floyd was a mind blowing Blues/Prog/Atmospheric/ neo-Classical bunch of amazing players. But in my humble opinion, U2, like the Beatles and Stones, the Who, Bowie, and Elvis - just wrote - and occasionally sitll write - better songs than Plant, Page, Waters, Gilmour et al. |
| cinziacursio (Holland) | Posted: Jul 31, 2012 - 07:19 lemmoth wrote: Absolutely —- a show stopper live..... I agreee !!!!!!!!! |
| lemmoth (NYC) | Posted: Jul 31, 2012 - 07:16 MiracleDrug wrote: this song KILLS live... Absolutely —- a show stopper live..... |
| Centabor | Posted: Jun 29, 2012 - 21:02 An understanding of bullets. Eloquently executed explanation., |
| shplody | Posted: Jun 29, 2012 - 21:00 Terrific song but there's been an awful lot of U2 lately, no? I have the albums, y'know. |
| TerryS (Another SW) | Posted: Jun 29, 2012 - 20:57 MiracleDrug wrote: this song KILLS live... Didn`t kill me, I liked it. |
| PORTS100 (UK) | Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 06:00 6 months of Radio Paradise and first time Ive had to listen to that nob,please RP leave U2 to the crap commercial stations to play. Bono,you sold out years ago. |
| mbolch30307 (Atlanta) | Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 05:54 So when did RP become the U2 channel? Not necessarily complaining, but there have been as many U2 songs in the past week as my local "Dave" FM station plays—and that's a lot. |
| MiracleDrug (Earth) | Posted: Apr 27, 2012 - 05:54 this song KILLS live... |
| On_The_Beach (The Blue Planet) | Posted: Mar 26, 2012 - 18:24 sirdroseph wrote: U2 is a good band, this song is really good. No one in their right mind has ever compared them musically to Led Zepplin though they may end up selling more records than Zep. Selling records and good music only occasionally hang out together though and are not really good friends. In general I'd agree, but this particular song sounds very much like Zep, particularly the bass/drums. (Try playing it back to back with "When The Levee Breaks".) Not saying that's good or bad, it just is. |
| pomalley (Land of Lincoln) | Posted: Mar 26, 2012 - 12:32 coloradojohn wrote: I remember well the first time I heard this; I was talking to my room-mate Mary at 745 Arapaho, and this thing came over KBCO and we both fell silent as I reached for the volume knob and gave it a crank. We freaked! Sure, I had a good green buzz on, but...this was something else...It felt like the room was moving, the floor was heaving, as the sky was being ripped open by fighter planes and bullets were strafing down and Bono's voice breathed into the microphone and that bass wailed and Edge played and jagged shards came right out of my speakers and the neighbors pounded on the walls but we made them wait till it was over...YEAH! That's what rock and roll is about. I had a similar experience the first time I heard Nirvana's Smells like Teen Spirit. Was working at a Best Buy in the computer section. Somebody in the stereo section next to us cranked up Nirvana so half the store could hear it. I was working two ailes down and should have went over there and turned it down, but instead, I was like, "Wow"... that freakin' rocks... and let it play LOUD. YEAH! |
| sirdroseph (Yes) | Posted: Mar 26, 2012 - 12:28 On_The_Beach wrote:  U2 is a good band, this song is really good. No one in their right mind has ever compared them musically to Led Zepplin though they may end up selling more records than Zep. Selling records and good music only occasionally hang out together though and are not really good friends. |
| bev (Reno, NV) | Posted: Mar 26, 2012 - 12:27 I NEVER get tired of Joshua Tree — U2's finest. This track, as an earlier poster so aptly said, is FIERCE! |
| On_The_Beach (The Blue Planet) | Posted: Feb 23, 2012 - 21:16 |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Feb 23, 2012 - 20:04 Jahgal wrote: I think I need to join your party! Third Album I ever bought. Still makes my heart skip a beat hearing it. I know what you mean... this is a GREAT song, and this album is a classic... you are welcome anytime! |
| coloradojohn (Tokyo till Jan. 29, then it's back to Rocky Mtn Way!) | Posted: Jan 23, 2012 - 03:17 I remember well the first time I heard this; I was talking to my room-mate Mary at 745 Arapaho, and this thing came over KBCO and we both fell silent as I reached for the volume knob and gave it a crank. We freaked! Sure, I had a good green buzz on, but...this was something else...It felt like the room was moving, the floor was heaving, as the sky was being ripped open by fighter planes and bullets were strafing down and Bono's voice breathed into the microphone and that bass wailed and Edge played and jagged shards came right out of my speakers and the neighbors pounded on the walls but we made them wait till it was over...YEAH! |
| Jahgal (Somewhere along the Rhine, über alles) | Posted: Jan 23, 2012 - 03:16 romeotuma wrote: Everybody in my hotel room loves this song, and this whole album... I think I need to join your party! Third Album I ever bought. Still makes my heart skip a beat hearing it. |
| bluecshells (EARTH) | Posted: Dec 22, 2011 - 09:30 mandolin wrote: ...oh, this is just perfect rolling out of puscifer's green valley... I agree! |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Dec 22, 2011 - 09:24 Everybody in my hotel room loves this song, and this whole album... |
| unclehud (300 feet above the planet) | Posted: Dec 22, 2011 - 09:23 Someone called this a screaming guitar, and that's wonderfully descriptive. Powerful music, and "outside it's America" with screaming, jangly guitar noises. |
| bluecshells (EARTH) | Posted: Dec 22, 2011 - 09:23 great album! don't "diss" bono! |
| bluecshells (EARTH) | Posted: Dec 22, 2011 - 09:22 romeotuma wrote: The Joshua tree is a plant in the southwestern United States, with sword-shaped leaves and greenish-white flowers grouped in large panicles... a group of Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid-19th century named the plant the Joshua tree, after Joshua of the Old Testament— the forks of the tree reminded them of Joshua's hand raised as he prayed, and also the shape of the leaves reminded them of Joshua's spear... the name of U2's album, The Joshua Tree, is complicated... first, the entire album has a religious theme... second, the title is a tribute to the global power of the United States... third, the album also shows U2's fascination with American culture, politics, and forms of music... this is a great song... YES IT IS! |
| mandolin (...drifting...) | Posted: Dec 22, 2011 - 09:21 ...oh, this is just perfect rolling out of puscifer's green valley... |
| Cynaera (In a hammock under my own vine and fig tree.) | Posted: Nov 20, 2011 - 15:37 I never really listened to the song with lyrics in mind, because the music overwhelmed me. But - lyrics. And how money buys power. Even if you hate Bono and his glad-handing, at least give him credit for knowing the enemy... In the howlin' wind From the firefly Bullet the blue sky In the locust wind You plant a demon seed Woh, woh, bullet the blue sky Now this guy comes up to me And I can see those fighter planes See across the field |
| horstman (Syracuse, New York) | Posted: May 15, 2011 - 10:37 SaintPeter wrote: Bill!! Bill really likes U2 and knows that a lot of us really like them too. I, for one, find this album to be a masterpiece along with The Unforgettable Fire and Achtung Baby. That said, I also think that Bono can a pretentious twit. I don't blame him for moving his money to the Netherlands because he doesn't want to bankroll Ireland. He freely uses his money at HIS discretion, not his government's. But they have in recent years put out music that can be at best, very formulamatic.These guys are tiresome. Let them RIP. That said, this is a great song off a great album. The United States really is that frightening to the rest of the world! Trust me on this. I have seen our country thru the eyes of others, and they are often wide and full of disbelief. |
| (former member) (hotel in Las Vegas) | Posted: Apr 13, 2011 - 19:10 The Joshua tree is a plant in the southwestern United States, with sword-shaped leaves and greenish-white flowers grouped in large panicles... a group of Mormon settlers who crossed the Mojave Desert in the mid-19th century named the plant the Joshua tree, after Joshua of the Old Testament— the forks of the tree reminded them of Joshua's hand raised as he prayed, and also the shape of the leaves reminded them of Joshua's spear... the name of U2's album, The Joshua Tree, is complicated... first, the entire album has a religious theme... second, the title is a tribute to the global power of the United States... third, the album also shows U2's fascination with American culture, politics, and forms of music... this is a great song... |
| PeeBee (Down South in The Netherlands) | Posted: Mar 13, 2011 - 07:51 You too. I stay; want to hear the screaming guitar. SaintPeter wrote: Bono needs to go. |
| Detlaps (Littlerock, too close to Los Angeles) | Posted: Jan 09, 2011 - 16:18 SaintPeter wrote: Bill!! These guys are tiresome. Let them RIP. What? And miss out on "Spider Man, The Musical?"  |
| SaintPeter (Denver) | Posted: Nov 07, 2010 - 07:09 Bill!! These guys are tiresome. Let them RIP. |
| Ja300Mes (North Fork) | Posted: Oct 06, 2010 - 18:44 Whooo hoo oo hoo oo oooohhh!!! |
| nampelkafe (al sur del sur) | Posted: Oct 06, 2010 - 18:39 Inside is the Americans dreaming the American dream. Outside is America. |
| LPCity (Salt Lake City, Utah) | Posted: Oct 06, 2010 - 18:35 "The God I worship isn't short on CASH, MISTER!!!" |
| Cynaera (South of Neanderthal) | Posted: Sep 04, 2010 - 18:27 I've heard the reggae version of this, and it's great in its own way. Still, this song, with its driving beat and guitar, makes me wanna go out and revolute. |
| SaintPeter (Denver) | Posted: Sep 04, 2010 - 18:23 Bono needs to go. |
| window (Richmond, VA) | Posted: Apr 30, 2010 - 09:00 Bookmaniac wrote: Before they got religion and lost their edge. That's not true. They always had a religious (read: Christian) undertones to their music, owning to the active faith of most members. Many of their songs touch on this, going all the way back to "I Will Follow". From what I understand, that song is loosely written from Jesus' point of view as he calls out to a wayward soul "Walk away, walk away - I will follow." In other words, grace. |
| peacockangel (Phoenix) | Posted: Apr 30, 2010 - 08:55 hopalong wrote: There is no bad U2 song. but there is a great U2 song named Bad ;) |
| rp1125 (nola) | Posted: Apr 30, 2010 - 08:50 i've never been able to shake the feeling that if bono had been born 20 years earlier he'd be making a living singing 'danny boy' at funerals. |
| hopalong | Posted: Apr 30, 2010 - 08:48 There is no bad U2 song. |
| lmic (Harmless Little Bunny) | Posted: Jan 25, 2010 - 16:04 Patti Smith influences?  |
| Bookmaniac (Eastern Shore of Virginia) | Posted: Jan 25, 2010 - 16:03 flatpicker wrote: Great tune! Back when they were awesome! Yes! Before they got religion and lost their edge. Glad to know it's not just me. |
| cosmiclint (Vancouver BC) | Posted: Jan 25, 2010 - 16:03 Danimal174 wrote: Recommendation for a setlist - Patty Griffin - "Blue Sky" U2 - "Bullet the Blue Sky" Pink Floyd - "Goodbye Blue Sky" How 'bout "Sky Blue Sky" by Wilco in your set? |
| donnyballgame (41*53'36.29N 87*38'20.43W) | Posted: Nov 23, 2009 - 19:50 Danimal174 wrote: Recommendation for a setlist - Patty Griffin - "Blue Sky" U2 - "Bullet the Blue Sky" Pink Floyd - "Goodbye Blue Sky" Yes. Then end it with Billie Holiday - "How High is the Sky". |
| Anax (Seattle, WA) | Posted: Nov 23, 2009 - 19:44 Fierce. |