{"id":683322,"date":"2026-11-13T08:52:39","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T08:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/683322\/"},"modified":"2026-11-13T08:52:39","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T08:52:39","slug":"bono-explains-carnaval-de-luz-the-singers-track-by-track-guide-to-u2s-new-album-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/683322\/","title":{"rendered":"Bono explains Carnaval de Luz: The singer\u2019s track by track guide to U2\u2019s new album \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> 1.GO <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"GO lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/IFS54QBFQZG3XPXFK5SVVV7554.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"300\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">GO, here we go &#8230; The opening of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/culture\/music\/review\/2026\/11\/06\/u2-carnaval-de-luz-review-irish-rocks-crazy-diamonds-shine-on-brighter-than-ever\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/culture\/music\/review\/2026\/11\/06\/u2-carnaval-de-luz-review-irish-rocks-crazy-diamonds-shine-on-brighter-than-ever\/\">CARNAVAL DE LUZ<\/a> could be described as an invocation\/invitation\/little flirtation to begin the festival and the possibility that this evening might be the best night of anybody\u2019s life &#8230; or at the very least end with a brand new start.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"GO lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/DD32QV65A5CUXPFKNTO6GKKEDE.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"333\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The credit is keyboards. But the instrument <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/brian-eno\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/brian-eno\/\">Brian Eno<\/a> plays best is the studio.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Yes, our former producer\/present-day collaborator is drawn to synthesised sounds, but with Brian they\u2019re never preprogrammed sounds &#8230; He\u2019s building his own bank of original noise. He and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/jacknife-lee\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/jacknife-lee\/\">Jacknife Lee<\/a> build out the sonic architecture of the piece.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Brian Eno at his home studio in London in 1974. Photograph: Erica Echenberg\/Redferns\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/I73Q4PF36VHBFHPATAX5Z3AI5Y.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"800\"\/>Brian Eno at his home studio in London in 1974. Photograph: Erica Echenberg\/Redferns <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Note: When Eno feels we might be getting too close to what could too easily be described as a song, he wants to destroy it. Not all Brian\u2019s instincts are to be encouraged. Some of us love songs, including Brian.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Brian was part of a collective of people that we wanted to work with for this album to push and pull us even more than we do ourselves. Plus it was joyous to record with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/larry-mullen\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/larry-mullen\/\">Larry<\/a>, conjuring the drums from The Sweet\u2019s BALLROOM BLITZ &#8230; putting the \u201cP\u201d back on \u201carty\u201d. Friction is as important as inspiration.<\/p>\n<p>2. LA REINA<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">La Reina &#8230; Ah &#8230; La Reina <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"LA REINA lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/YP3TJOL2RNETPJJGPDZCFYIFWA.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"544\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">It\u2019s a phenomenon but it shouldn\u2019t be &#8230; this tradition where someone from the streets is elected to be the queen or the king of the carnival. It turns upside down the power dynamic\/pyramid. The base taking control of the tip. The tipping point of our politics should be to make freedom contagious. We should not forget and even be encouraged that in Spain during Franco\u2019s time, carnival was cancelled for being a little too free.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"LA REINA lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/N2ORNXPSBFGJ7ATADIUC3PALDY.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"300\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Nobility has nothing to do with title. I have a real soft\/hard spot for LA REINA. It has this big, brassy guitar sound. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/the-edge\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/the-edge\/\">Edge<\/a> at his most unreasonable &#8230; right there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Yes, there is a bit of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/t-rex\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/t-rex\/\">T Rex<\/a>, as well as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/david-bowie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/david-bowie\/\">David Bowie<\/a>. And a bit of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/u2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/u2\/\">U2<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">There\u2019s this moment where you get to speak to the pageantry in the crowd: <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"LA REINA\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/HPFGUOMDSNC5HPWICIWBSZT3VA.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"400\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">I definitely stole that&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"LA REINA\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/X33UCN3NPBHHTC74ECEOTGOV5M.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"333\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Somewhere between those two thoughts is where most of us live &#8230; and the best reason to be together in a crowd. Festivals, live shows, have become church for so many of us &#8230; a source of ecstatic community. People can be themselves, gay or straight or whatever else. Whoever we are, whoever we want to be, we feel welcome, and a shot at the best night of our life.<\/p>\n<p>U2 podcast: Drummer Seeks Musicians &#8211; the story of how U2 began<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/TSDRC7CCUFAKTNFWP67ECW6AZE.jpg\"  width=\"800\"\/>In a new three-part podcast series <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/author\/roisin-ingle\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/author\/roisin-ingle\/\">R\u00f3is\u00edn Ingle<\/a> uncovers the making of U2 through interviews with classmates, teachers, friends, family and members of the band.Listen to all the episodes <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/podcasts\/story-lines\/2026\/09\/24\/drummer-seeks-musicians-the-untold-story-of-u2s-formation\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/podcasts\/story-lines\/2026\/09\/24\/drummer-seeks-musicians-the-untold-story-of-u2s-formation\/\">here<\/a>, or wherever you get your podcasts. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Oscar Wilde\u2019s the mask reveals the man. In carnival people of all shapes and sizes are dancing, swaying; though sometimes dressed up in the ridiculous, the mask will always reveal who you are.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">This is a tangent, but my favourite bit of Halloween is late at night when revellers are on their way home forgetting that they might have overindulged and lost in an argument about a subject they will be embarrassed to remember the next day &#8230; What they will never remember is they fell out with each other dressed as a chicken and a tin of beans\u2026<\/p>\n<p>3. STREET OF DREAMS<img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"U2 filming in Mexico City. Photograph: Hector Vivas\/Getty\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/6PM5TIJ6ONA4FIJ4GHXJQV4DNU.jpeg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"692\"\/>U2 filming in Mexico City. Photograph: Hector Vivas\/Getty <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Another fun fact we forget is that rock\u2019n\u2019roll was\/is a dance beat. Or at least I do.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The original beat goes back to Cuba, the Afro-Cuban clave rhythm. The Bo Diddley beat. Babababa\u2026 <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Rock music happened when it lost the roll.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">We tried to bring back some of that on this record. The carnival beats are sophisticated, complex to play. Edge was the rhythm king on this one, encouraging all of us to experiment. Larry has the chops, but his instinct was to chop them down to the size of the song &#8230; In the end he plays to the simplicity of the singer as much as the complexity of the bass. Larry Mullen Jr has the stubbornness to not be literal. You can hear his inventiveness on every song here, not just his version of carnival beats but also his choice of what not to play.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">There\u2019s something going on in Latin America at the moment. It\u2019s like a renaissance in communities. Mexico City blew our minds. It\u2019s ridiculous: full of art and artists. As well as some wild places to eat and sleep. There\u2019s an easiness with surrealism, a magic realism. I\u2019ve always been inspired by the prolific imaginations of so many great writers from that part of the world &#8230; So many I will not name one.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/the-clash\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/the-clash\/\">The Clash<\/a>. Anyone who is a fan of theirs will hear it in Street of Dreams. It\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/adam-clayton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/adam-clayton\/\">Adam<\/a> that it\u2019s coming from, I think, as well as a bit of the barking-orders thing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cBe here, be free, be yourself, and then free me.\u201d We tried to keep it playful more than self-help. \u201cJustice an obsession on the street of dreams. Love in a procession down the street of dreams.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Edge came up with the little prayer to open and close it &#8230; Well, it\u2019s a gigantic prayer; there\u2019s no such thing as a little prayer &#8230; When I said it sounded like Psalm 61 he said he had special permission to plagiarise.<\/p>\n<p>4. THE MIRROR MAKER (ROSAL\u00cdA)<img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Rosal&#xED;a: hot for God. Photograph: Gareth Cattermole\/Getty\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/EOZJQBE4RJFGNJTOKNSVXR3DU4.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"800\"\/>Rosal\u00eda: hot for God. Photograph: Gareth Cattermole\/Getty <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Ah, the mirror maker. Myself and my daughter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/jordan-joy-hewson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/jordan-joy-hewson\/\">Jordan<\/a> were obsessed with the Catalan singer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/rosalia\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/rosalia\/\">Rosal\u00eda<\/a>. The artist. Her music, her MOTOMAMI tour. Neither of us can speak much Spanish (Unos, dos, tres, catorce!), but Rosal\u00eda is speaking a whole other language, is the truth. It\u2019s not just dance, her moves &#8230; the sense of flamenco &#8230; the sense of the past &#8230; It\u2019s who she\u2019s speaking to &#8230; There\u2019s an intimate conversation going on with God both playful and serious &#8230; \u201cMe pongo guapa para Dios &#8230; I want to look hot for God, you understand?\u201d puts a whole other spin on dressing up in your Sunday best.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">As you may have noticed, artists have a touch of narcissism. There are some of us who are content to look in the mirror and see our own reflection. If we grow we might also focus on the world reflected behind us. Then you get artists more curious, who want to see through the mirror, past those reflections to discover what\u2019s on the other side. Some wish to smash the mirror. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/patti-smith\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/patti-smith\/\">Patti Smith<\/a> is one of those for me. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/bjork\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/bjork\/\">Bj\u00f6rk<\/a> too. Both of them appear on Rosal\u00eda\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/culture\/music\/review\/2025\/11\/07\/lux-rosalias-new-album-is-a-breathtaking-odyssey-into-musics-further-reaches\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/culture\/music\/review\/2025\/11\/07\/lux-rosalias-new-album-is-a-breathtaking-odyssey-into-musics-further-reaches\/\">LUX<\/a>. A seer? Let\u2019s see! It feels like serious fanboy activity to have the members of U2 and our families, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/ali-hewson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/ali-hewson\/\">my missus<\/a>, behaving like children at her shows. I am told it makes her smile that she\u2019s ended up on our album &#8230; a male quartet singing about this woman who\u2019s leading the charge of culture right now. Charge of the Light Brigade. Carnival of Light.<\/p>\n<p>5. SUPERFICIALITY<img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"SUPERFICIALITY lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/7GVLG3R3S5DEHDUDPS2NNUNPLA.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"333\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">In my head SUPERFICIALITY is like a disco song played by a punk band who can\u2019t quite play disco. This is a fun idea. The song starts out a bit Talking Heads circa 1977, but I would love somebody like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/nile-rodgers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/nile-rodgers\/\">Nile Rodgers<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/daft-punk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/daft-punk\/\">Daft Punk<\/a> or somebody who really gets the dance floor and the protest that dance music can be to remix this song. Because dance is a protest. You think about the civil-rights movement in the US, the danger of those times, people being arrested, assaulted, assassinated, yet Sly and the Family Stone, these great black artists, they refused to have their joy stolen.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"SUPERFICIALITY lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/JDUKROUJBNFZFHUH5LNWZGBNII.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"333\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Also on my mind were some words of the activist Dan Savage: \u201cDuring the darkest days of the Aids crisis we buried our friends in the morning, we protested in the afternoon and we danced all night &#8230; because it was the dance we were fighting for.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">And the silvery thread of CARNAVAL DE LUZ: \u201cYou and me are breaking news because the news can\u2019t break us \/ That don\u2019t make us superficial, serious is what that makes us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>6. IF THE WORLD IS AT WAR WE BETTER NOT BE<img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"U2 playing their final gig at Mount Temple school. Photograph: U2\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/7QWJLA2USBCRLDWY5WKSR5NN7I.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"800\"\/>U2 playing their final gig at Mount Temple school. Photograph: U2 <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"IF THE WORLD IS AT WAR WE BETTER NOT BE\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/LOTILOKGURBO3B5G3SNSGESSLY.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"333\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">From Mount Temple to the devil. I surprised myself on this one: I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever gotten quite so gothic. <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"IF THE WORLD IS AT WAR WE BETTER NOT BE lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/GNIISG7MGRFX3JQPL3OF2TNQJI.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"333\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Never fear the devil &#8230; Mock the devil and he will flee from thee.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"IF THE WORLD IS AT WAR WE BETTER NOT BE lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/V5CWTL36INGGLEQQAM6BOZ66FQ.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"333\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">I\u2019ve found it easier than most of my friends to believe that there might be a force of love and logic behind the universe and that love might be expressed as a child born in straw poverty to a particular people, at a particular time \u2013 ie the Christmas story of Jesus born in a cave in Bethlehem (the Church of the Holy Sepulchre presently surrounded by barbed wire).<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">I am easily captivated by the concept that God is LOVE, a lot less comfortable and much slower to accept its antithesis \u2013 the concept of evil \u2013 and, worse, how each and every one of us can even inadvertently serve such darkness, BUT recently, as \u201cevil\u201d seems to be much more out in the open, I\u2019ve had to evolve my position. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">I remember discovering <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/mikhail-bulgakov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/mikhail-bulgakov\/\">Mikhail Bulgakov<\/a>\u2019s THE MASTER AND MARGARITA. The devil does his best work when no one believes the devil is there.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">There\u2019s a level of darkness in the world that\u2019s too much to bear. We mustn\u2019t bear it.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"IF THE WORLD IS AT WAR WE BETTER NOT BE lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/SL3FMB5Q4VH4BGG2GPNDG6KHUI.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"769\"\/>7. SILENCIO<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Parental Warning: SILENCIO arrives with a few expletives &#8230; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/bob-geldof\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/bob-geldof\/\">Bob Geldof<\/a> is the best cusser in the English language &#8230; but if you\u2019re not Bob, swearing can become a lazy lay-off, too tempting a way to make an impression. I have to watch myself, but certain words are so percussive, with an exuberance that I can\u2019t resist.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Silencio is also a kind of prayer. It describes two kinds of silence &#8230; the one you\u2019re forced into when you\u2019re afraid to speak out, and the one that is the meditative kind &#8230; that makes you withdraw to your own silence, where you have a chance to speak to what you might call God &#8230; or encounter what you might call God speak to you.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"SILENCIO lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/OXM2YQXSEFBCVNJK3JTI2ZF53A.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"333\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Mary, Mother of Jesus, was offered a choice. I love that. I love that the angel came down and asked, \u201cWould you?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Then\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"SILENCIO lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/TDQOXNX2IVGVTKZZUKFZOITTHU.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"400\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">My own belief is that God is there for our private conversations, to be shouted at as well as praised &#8230; (the Imprecatory Psalms). If you read the Psalms you might be aghast at how some are full of raw punk energy &#8230; the birth of the blues. There\u2019s also the beautiful, silent effortless wellspring of pure joy and gratitude for being alive and waking up in the morning. I guess that\u2019s gospel. I know it\u2019s someone else\u2019s song, but gospel and the blues had a baby and they called it rock and roll.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"SILENCIO lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/J3FMMUT5CZCHNEGK6FZXG3EOWY.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"333\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph b-it-article-body__interstitial-link\">[\u00a0<a aria-label=\"Open related story\" class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/culture\/music\/2026\/09\/26\/bono-on-u2s-first-days-50-years-ago-edge-and-larry-could-play-adam-and-myself-were-bluffing\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bono on U2\u2019s first days, 50 years ago: \u2018Edge and Larry could play. Adam and myself were bluffing\u2019Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n<p>8. THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Carnaval de Luz: U2. Photograph: Viviane Sassen\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/ZX4KBMAY7NHDLPLZBPRFELUJII.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"800\"\/>Carnaval de Luz: U2. Photograph: Viviane Sassen <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH &#8230; I can feel the eye rolls &#8230; I\u2019m in my comfort zone right there. When I proposed to the band we should also use it as the name of the tour I think they wanted to cancel. Or at least cancel their lead singer. While I do happen to think our shows are pretty great, this song is far from a boast. \u201cWe were once the greatest show on Earth.\u201d If it was just about a band, or a great love, it would be heartbreaking, but there is a deeper ache in this song. THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH is not just about the lovers at their wedding Mass; it\u2019s about the cathedral where they are betrothed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">When Edge and I saw <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/baz-luhrmann\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/baz-luhrmann\/\">Baz Luhrmann<\/a>\u2019s film about <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/elvis-presley\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/elvis-presley\/\">Elvis<\/a> called <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/opinion\/2026\/03\/13\/diarmaid-ferriter-real-legacy-of-elvis-may-be-contested-but-his-story-recalls-a-better-america\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/opinion\/2026\/03\/13\/diarmaid-ferriter-real-legacy-of-elvis-may-be-contested-but-his-story-recalls-a-better-america\/\">Epic \u2013 Elvis Presley in Concert<\/a> \u2013 and heard him singing The Righteous Brothers\u2019 You\u2019ve Lost That Lovin\u2019 Feelin\u2019, we thought, that song is so raw there\u2019s no way whoever wrote it was letting go of that relationship &#8230; This is not a lament, it\u2019s a proposal &#8230; And no way that relationship was letting go of the writer either. I wanted to write a song like that, but about a performer. Performers can be hard to trust \u2013 the showmanship can lead to pretence \u2013 but this performer is trying to be real. He\u2019s trying to own up to who he is, to be honest. And in admitting his complications he may endear himself to the love he\u2019s been losing and find her once again. As for the religious interpretation&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/7HAHZ3FWTZE6RHK5NEMRXT5M5Q.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"508\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Christianity once was the greatest show on earth for a lot of people. Those cathedrals that people travelled so far to see; the sense of awe they found as their voices echoed around. The cinema of the stained glass for people that couldn\u2019t read but could look up and see stories told though coloured beams of light. I wish to worship in the Church of Love. Many have their doors open and their pews empty. I pray for revival.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Note: David Bowie turned me on to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/bertolt-brecht\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/bertolt-brecht\/\">Bertolt Brecht<\/a> when I was a teenager, and this one does go a bit Cabaret at the end.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Silencio\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/MUXA563KMFDRNHYYIIZEUB2LAM.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"872\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Maybe when you name the condition, you have a chance to survive it.<\/p>\n<p>9. GLORIFY<img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Transcendent: Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes. Photograph: Rob Kim\/Getty\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/WSQHM5CRK5HNJNTVTXJOKSM3TE.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"800\"\/>Transcendent: Brittany Howard of Alabama Shakes. Photograph: Rob Kim\/Getty <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">We had this song as a little Easter egg at the end of our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/culture\/music\/2023\/10\/01\/bono-were-not-in-the-dandelion-market-any-more-inside-u2s-mind-blowing-sphere-show\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/culture\/music\/2023\/10\/01\/bono-were-not-in-the-dandelion-market-any-more-inside-u2s-mind-blowing-sphere-show\/\">Sphere shows<\/a> with Brittany Howard from Alabama Shakes, a transcendent singer. We worked on it with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/martin-garrix\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/martin-garrix\/\">Martin Garrix<\/a>. His sounds are not the kinds of sounds we were used to, and vice versa, but these beautiful things emerged as we kept writing. With GLORIFY we ended up with a kind of demo of a U2 pop song.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">We were trying to find a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/fatboy-slim\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/fatboy-slim\/\">Fatboy Slim<\/a> PRAISE YOU-type vibe. I thought it would be fun to write it from the divine point of view \u2013 yes, I know, putting the messy in messianic \u2013 which brought a touch of gospel too. The divine voice exclaims&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"GLORIFY\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/PC2YYS337VFE3IUJIUSFQWFGHE.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"333\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">At one point I think we had the line \u201cYou\u2019re nothing but bad news, I read the reviews, but it\u2019s you I choose to glorify, glorify.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">That\u2019s the point. I\u2019m sure we believers must annoy God; we must be such a pain in the divine arse. (I know I am.) But people who know they need God \u2013 and God knows I know I do \u2013 you feel this overwhelming love. Even if you\u2019re bad news, you\u2019re never nothing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph b-it-article-body__interstitial-link\">[\u00a0<a aria-label=\"Open related story\" class=\"c-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/life-style\/people\/2026\/10\/14\/bono-has-failed-to-give-the-irish-public-any-of-the-things-we-demand-of-our-stars\/\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Bono has failed to give the Irish public any of the things we demand of our starsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n<p>10. MIDNIGHT SUNSHINE<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">U2 tries out some soul shenanigans &#8230; Smokey Robinson. It had a falsetto part in the verse originally. It\u2019s about the difference between hope and faith and how the latter can help you with the former. The devil makes another appearance. When he calls for silence it\u2019s time to turn up the music.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Carnaval de Luz lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/R5YBWAOEXNBC3LZI3JODEP5UFU.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"400\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">My favourite lines&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"MIDNIGHT SUNSHINE\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/R6N2K4OA2JCXJNYOMIJUTIH4JQ.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"373\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The discovery of our naivety, and then it goes into this mid-late section\u2026<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"MIDNIGHT SUNSHINE\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/WAK45S2G2REN7E5MC2Z3WRTUV4.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"553\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Okay, maybe these are my favourite lines&#8230; <\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Carnaval de Luz lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/X4T5X2ND7ZDMZPSCK5H56NLUWI.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"373\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">It\u2019s part of being alive, being human, to imagine the worst, what can go wrong, and get ready for it. Presently we are seeing things going very wrong out there. While we fight to put them right, we gotta be careful we don\u2019t let fearfulness become a daily routine. I just love the idea that you can fill in the blanks for \u201cstop repeating his name\u201d. You can fill in the blanks for who he or she is, but I just want these attention eaters to be spat out of our lives. Clever numbskulls are trying to control us with fear. Some ways to repel that? Faith, rock\u2019n\u2019roll, laughter, dancing as a prayer for company. <\/p>\n<p>11. CAN\u2019T STOP US NOW<img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Ernest Heminway in Cuba in 1950. Photograph: Clifford Coffin\/Vogue\/Cond&#xE9; Nast via Getty\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/XVHDH7RKRBEM5DHU5H5LYT4OPE.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"837\"\/>Ernest Heminway in Cuba in 1950. Photograph: Clifford Coffin\/Vogue\/Cond\u00e9 Nast via Getty <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">My family and I went to Cuba some years back. A mesmerising island country. It\u2019s an intoxicating place, but the hangover is a big one. Left-wing guerrillas, right-wing guerrillas: they may have different ideologies, but both tend to end up with people who just don\u2019t leave power soon enough &#8230; It was such a sore subject for the people we met. The Cubans deserve better leadership, and they also deserve not to be bullied by the rest of the world. They deserve freedom and they deserve democracy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">When we were there I wrote little notes. And for reasons I can\u2019t figure out, when writing a song about friendship, CAN\u2019T STOP US NOW, some of these words just came back at me. I was imagining these four friends meeting in a bar at the end of carnival.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">The bar I had in my head was the Floridita in Havana. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/ernest-hemingway\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/ernest-hemingway\/\">Hemingway<\/a>\u2019s favourite flytrap. He wrote about it; I stole his line&#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">\u201cMy daiquiri at the Floridita, my mojito at the Bodeguita.\u201d <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">It\u2019s not exactly a drinking song, because Adam doesn\u2019t drink alcohol &#8230; He\u2019s in the bar drinking his zero zero.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">It\u2019s about four friends who have been through a lot. And I think the opening line is the most important&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"CAN&#x2019;T STOP US NOW\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/GCWM6FHD35GXVJELOKIRPNTXOY.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"333\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Fifty years later and we\u2019re still learning how. <\/p>\n<p>12. TORN <img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Dolly Parton. Photograph: Katherine Bomboy\/NBC via Getty\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/33VIOYY4XBCDFJKQQFUWUNWF2I.jpg\"   width=\"800\" height=\"800\"\/>Dolly Parton. Photograph: Katherine Bomboy\/NBC via Getty <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">CARNAVAL DE LUZ is mostly set south of the equator, because they do carnival better than anyone. That said, New Orleans has a pretty great go at it. <\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Anyway, something happened last spring to bring us up north.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">We\u2019d always wanted to work with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/dolly-parton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/dolly-parton\/\">Dolly Parton<\/a>. I don\u2019t think anyone would question why. It\u2019d be like asking why wouldn\u2019t you want to meet Miles Davis or Bob Dylan or Brandi Carlile or Willie Nelson or Paul McCartney.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">We approached her with a couple of ideas that came out of sessions with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/johnny-mcdaid\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/johnny-mcdaid\/\">Johnny McDaid<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/ed-sheeran\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/ed-sheeran\/\">Ed Sheeran<\/a> \u2013 nothing very U2, more folky stuff which we thought Dolly might like. Which she did not. \u201cThat\u2019s a little too Irish for me, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/bono\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.irishtimes.com\/tags\/bono\/\">Bono<\/a>,\u201d she replied with a smile so big I could hear it through the phone &#8230; and before we knew it, instead of her working on one of our unfinished songs, we were working on one of hers.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">That song was TORN. She suggested we take it anywhere we wanted. It became a story of a family riven by uncivil wars &#8230; two brothers, Abel and Cain, mute at a kitchen table &#8230; America was on mine and Johnny\u2019s mind, but it could be a story around a kitchen table anywhere in the world.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" data-chromatic=\"ignore\" alt=\"Carnaval de Luz lyrics\" class=\"c-image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/4WCBEMD4CFHEDL74LGRE52EU6I.png\"   width=\"800\" height=\"505\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Dolly was everything you\u2019d think. Tolerant, funny, heartbroken and -breaking, funny, forgiving, funny, full of faith, funny &#8230; and tender enough to be that tough. We\u2019d no idea it would be her last vocal recording. We did know the moment we heard it that we were part of something bigger than our band.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">It turned out she was much sicker than she let on, but she got up and sang her heart out, delivering one of the greatest vocals in the history of vocals. It\u2019s almost indescribable for another singer to hear &#8230; the control it takes to sing like that and sound like it\u2019s effortless &#8230; It\u2019s beyond &#8230; Jacknife Lee, who was mixing her voice, explained the only time he\u2019d heard anything even close was a Pakistani singer called Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">TORN was born to be the last track on our family album. It provides an unexpected coda. A ballad, a beacon of such illumination darkness scuttles from it. The spirit of carnival bursting from a one-room shack in the Appalachians &#8230; Born in Locust Ridge, Tennessee, in a single room with 11 siblings, mother and illiterate father, Dolly Parton was\/is the queen of our carnival.<\/p>\n<p class=\"c-paragraph paywall \">Carnaval de Luz is released by Island Records<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1.GO GO, here we go &#8230; The opening of CARNAVAL DE LUZ could be described as an invocation\/invitation\/little&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":683323,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[20530,12841,5668,274210,127754,2046,26016,26686,23169,147520,687,45133,8720,5667,93,104747,289011,61,60,286595,15452,289010,26015,204995,100244,27470,26011,83588,148094,29498,37866,660],"class_list":["post-683322","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-adam-clayton","tag-ali-hewson","tag-baz-luhrmann","tag-bertolt-brecht","tag-bjork","tag-bob-geldof","tag-bono","tag-brian-eno","tag-cuba","tag-daft-punk","tag-david-bowie","tag-dolly-parton","tag-ed-sheeran","tag-elvis-presley","tag-entertainment","tag-ernest-hemingway","tag-fatboy-slim","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-jacknife-lee","tag-johnny-mcdaid","tag-jordan-joy-hewson","tag-larry-mullen","tag-martin-garrix","tag-mikhail-bulgakov","tag-nile-rodgers","tag-patti-smith","tag-rosalia","tag-t-rex","tag-the-clash","tag-the-edge","tag-u2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683322","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=683322"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/683322\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/683323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=683322"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=683322"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=683322"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}