I've been listening to this song, off of 2000's
All That You Can't Leave Behind, a lot lately. Many accounts have Bono writing this song with either his two little girls or father in mind. In fact, during the first of two concerts in Ireland, August 25 and September 1 2001 at Slane Castle, in front of 80,000 of his countrymen, Bono dedicated this song to his father, whose very funeral he had attended the day before.
Musically speaking, The Edge's lazy, slow, slide guitar on the verses, before the gradual build up on the pre-chorus, into Bono's wailing on the chorus match my mood pretty well. I've been feeling very laid back, savoring the calm in my life right now, but I can feel something building within me that will, of course, climax with living overseas.
Lyrically, it's quite beautiful as well. The image of the kite floating through the sky, with the character musing over where the breeze will take it, is very powerful to me. The character in the song, however, has the maturity to know that he can get through whatever changing relationship he's going through, and so, too, does the person he's talking to (
"I'm a man, I'm not a child... a man who sees the shadow behind your eyes "). The secondary character doesn't need the main character to survive, or anyone or anything else for that matter ("
I want you to know, you don't need anyone, or anything at all") , and through this revelation comes the courage and strength to know that things will be okay because the day might come when the breeze will blow the kite back ("
...don't want to see you cry, I know that this is not goodbye") - which in the case of Bono and his father, this would be during the afterlife.
To me, the message in the song seems to be very positive. You never know what's going to happen, so you must savor everything you do as you do it ("
Life should be fragrant, rooftop to the basement") . Ultimately, despite what trials or separation you might find yourself in, there's no such thing as goodbye. Whether it's through a complete reunification, one in the afterlife, or a changed relationship that says "I'll always remember the past, and thank you for how great that was, but the time has come for a change," a final goodbye is not an option as long as hope and memory prevail.
"Kite" - U2
Something is about to give
I can feel it coming
I think I know what it is
I'm not afraid to die
I'm not afraid to live
And when I'm flat on my back
I hope to feel like I did
And hardness, it sets in
You need some protection
The thinner the skin
I want you to know
That you don't need me anymore
I want you to know
You don't need anyone
Or anything at all
Who's to say where the wind will take you?
Who's to say what it is will break you?
I don't know, which way the wind will blow
Who's to know when the time has come around?
Don't want to see you cry
I know that this is not goodbye
It's summer, I can taste the salt of the sea
There's a kite blowing out of control on the breeze
I wonder what's gonna happen to you
You wonder what has happened to me...
I'm a man, I'm not a child...
A man who sees
The shadow behind your eyes
Who's to say where the wind will take you?
Who's to say what it is will break you?
I don't know, where the wind will blow
Who's to know when the time has come around?
I don't want to see you cry
I know that this is not goodbye
Did I waste it?
Not so much I couldn't taste it
Life should be fragrant
Rooftop to the basement
The last of the rocks stars
When hip hop drove the big cars
In the time when new media
Was the big idea
