So I was watching an old U2 concert on YouTube recently, and I heard this song. Tangent: If you missed U2, The Virtual Road, I'm so sorry. The concerts were like stepping back in time and they were amazing.
Back to the story...
So watching an old U2 concert, recorded live in Paris in 2015, I heard a U2 song that I wasn't familiar with. You know how it goes (I hope), you go to a concert and, while you hear a number of great songs you expect to hear, there is also that one great song that you don't know. And it blows you away because it is such an unexpected revelation. It makes the entire concert so much better.
This was such a song.
Iris (Hold Me Close)
I didn't know the story behind the song, so I did some clicking. Wow, Iris was Bono's mother. She died when Bono (Paul Hewson) was only 14, which was a motivating factor in him becoming the musician he is today. I never knew.
Song lyrics, from AZLyrics.com:
"Iris (Hold Me Close)"
The star
That gives us light
Has been gone a while
But it’s not an illusion
The ache
In my heart
Is so much a part of who I am
Something in your eyes
Took a thousand years to get here
Something in your eyes
Took a thousand years, a thousand years
Hold me close, hold me close and don’t let me go
Hold me close like I’m someone that you might know
Hold me close the darkness just lets us see
Who we are
I’ve got your life inside of me
Iris… Iris…
Once we are born, we begin to forget
The very reason we came
But you
I’m sure I’ve met
Long before the night the stars went out
We’re meeting up again
Hold me close, hold me close and don’t let me go
Hold me close like I’m someone that you might know
Hold me close the darkness just lets us see
Who we are
I’ve got your life inside of me
Iris… Iris…
The stars are bright but do they know
The universe is beautiful but cold
You took me by the hand
I thought that I was leading you
But it was you made me your man
Machine
I dream
Where you are
Iris standing in the hall
She tells me I can do it all
Iris wakes to my nightmares
Don’t fear the world it isn’t there
Iris playing on the strand
She buries the boy beneath the sand
Iris says that I will be the death of her
It was not me
Iris… Iris…
Free yourself, to be yourself if only you could see yourself
Free yourself, to be yourself if only you could see…
