U2

YeahUmmm, hmmm

I can't believe the news todayOh, I can't close my eyes and make it go awayHow long, how long must we sing this song?

How long, how longCause tonightWe can be as one tonight

Broken bottles under children's feetBodies strewn across the dead end streetBut I won't heed the battle callIt puts my back upPuts my back up against the wall

Sunday, bloody SundaySunday, bloody SundaySunday, bloody SundaySunday, bloody Sunday

And the battle's just begunThere's many lost, but tell me who has wonThe trench is dug within our heartsAnd mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart

Sunday, bloody SundaySunday, bloody Sunday

How long, how long must we sing this song?How long, how longCause tonightWe can be as oneTonight, tonight

Sunday, bloody SundaySunday, bloody Sunday

Wipe the tears from your eyesWipe your tears awayOh, wipe your tears awayOh, wipe your tears awaySunday, bloody SundayOh, wipe your bloodshot eyesSunday, bloody Sunday

Sunday, bloody Sunday Sunday, bloody SundaySunday, bloody Sunday Sunday, bloody Sunday

And it's true we are immuneWhen fact is fiction and TV realityAnd today the millions cryWe eat and drink while tomorrow they die

(Sunday, bloody Sunday)

The real battle just begunTo claim the victory Jesus wonOn

Sunday bloody Sunday, yeah

U2 Biography

U2 started in Dublin, Ireland by Larry Mullen Jr. in 1976. U2 ‘s original name was feedback until Clayton acting as manager asked some people in the music industry for Ideas on how to get the band rolling Steven Rapid of the Radiators suggested U2. In Ireland U2 Peaked the charts with their single “Another Day” but, they were still struggling to gain a foothold in both the USA and Great Britain. In November of 1983 U2 released their live album “under a blood red sky”. U2 has continued through out the 80s and 90s releasing hit albums and sell-out concerts. In 2005 U2 won three Grammy Awards all for their hit song “Vertigo” and were inducted into the US Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. U2 official web site

Band members

Citations

"U2." Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians®, Centennial Edition. Nicolas Slonimsky, Editor Emeritus. Schirmer, 2001. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC

"Ireland Information Guide." Bloody Sunday (Northern Ireland 1972). N.p., 13 May 2010. Web. 14 May 2010. <http://www.irelandinformationguide.com/Bloody_Sunday_(Northern_Ireland_1972)>. Photo of U2. N.d. Durham Magazine - The DM Blog. Durham Magazine, n.d. Web. 28 May 2010. <http://www.durhammag.com/blog/2009/7/21/nccu-to-host-u2-conference.html>. "U2 song meanings - Sunday Bloody Sunday." lyricinterpretations. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 May 2010. <http://www.lyricinterpretations.com/u2/Sunday-Bloody-Sunday>.

Rhyming

This song does not follow a consistent rhyme scheme but many lines do rhyme and in all case it is one after the other with no lines in between Back

repetition

Bono repeats several lines for emphasis

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alliteration

Is the repetition of the first letter or sound in consecutive words like “broken bottles”

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But I won't heed the battle call U2 wont take sides. They are only

calling to end the bloodshed.

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While singing this Bono would wave a white flag as a call for peace

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History

There are to bloody Sunday’s in Irish history, one in 1920 and one in 1972. this song is mostly about the latter.

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1972

In the bloody Sunday 1972 Jan. 30, 1972 thirteen people were shot by British paratroopers firing indiscriminately into a crowd marching in protest. The British attacked to try and take out IRA agents in Dublin.

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1920

The first bloody Sunday in Irish history was an assassination of multiple British intelligence officers in Dublin, Ireland (still part of Great Britian). The British intelligence was known as the Cario Gang. Thirteen were killed and another six were wounded. That afternoon at a football game police fired into an open crowd in retaliation. 14 civilians were killed.

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IRA

The IRA was formed in `1919 to combat the British in Ireland. They used raids and ambushes to force the British government to negotiate. The subsequent treaty basically left most of Ireland to the Irish but left northern Ireland as part of the British empire. The IRA was split between those who supported the treaty (the official IRA) and those who wanted all of Ireland (“irregulars”). The civil war 1922-1923 resulted in the defeat of the irregulars. However neither side disbanded completely

Back to 1972

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Bono is comparing Bloody Sunday to Easter Sunday, which is supposed to be a peaceful holiday for both sides (Catholic and protestant).

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Bono is tired of going back to old events. “quit reopening old wounds

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Band Members

“Bono”- lead singer Paul Hewson Dublin, Ireland May 10, 1960 Bono was originally Bono Vox which means good voice in latin

Adam Clayton- Base guitar Dublin, Ireland March 13, 1960

“The Edge”- David Evans guitar Wales Aug. 8, 1961

Larry Mullen- drums and percussion Dublin, Ireland Oct. 31, 1961

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