Posted in: Rock by Stewart Cullen on June 29, 2008 | 0 Comments
An in-depth look at the meaning behind U2’s hit video clip One.
The song One by U2 was a hugely successful single of the album the Joshua Tree. This clip was one of three that were eventually made by U2 for differing reasons apart from this clip there was a naturist clip that featured various aspects of the environment but this was deemed to boring to hold intention on MTV so a new clip was made with Bono debating his life over dinner with a woman and a cigarette. It talks about the difference between cultures and communities and how stereotypes crate them into something worse then what they are the clip attempts to discuss discrimination and the side effects from this.
The first shot is of one man standing under a light this to symbolize the underlying aspect of life that we are all the same. We make look different have different skin different features but we all have a heart, all have lungs and a brain. The next shot of significance is the bass player entering a car with a female drawn on the top to this later links up with a car with a man pictured on top to show that there really is no difference between men and women. This point is reinforced by various members of U2 dressed up in drag outfits and walking on the streets. The song also addresses the love of a family and friends “One love mothers and fathers…. Sisters and brothers one”. This represents the love that runs through a family. This is also evident as the appearance of the old man throughout the clip who is believed to be Bono’s father Bono is singing to him asking for approval.
The lyrics of the song One are also of high significance. There intention as with any song is to illicit a reaction from the listener. In this case the band intends to create sympathy about the topic of love. Lyrics like “Love is a temple Love is a higher law” and “You act like never had love, and you want me to go without” suggest that the song has many more elaborate meanings then the ones already discussed, the most commonly believed ones are that;
The song is about a gay son telling his dad he is HIV positive(supported by Bono in drag singing to his father
It’s about love, relationships and all that is involved with them.
It is about a man singing to a woman who once loved him has since left him and he’s asking why,
The clip is shot entirely in black and white to show the lack of discrimination a perfect world should have aswell as the bands attack on the stereotypes of the world.
The target audience for this clip would be anyone, as the song is unspecific of its audience and in its lyrics “Sisters, brothers we must carry each other”. I believe the appeal of this song lies in its meaning the song can relate to people with its talk of love and friendship relationships and family. Anyone that hears it can relate it to something in there lives so this generates wide spread enthusiasm for the track.
In conclusion like so many of U2’s tracks this is both thought provoking and optimistic any U2 track seems to be written from the heart and has a sincere idea for the future of the world. I think it is a song which talks about hardships that we face in our life and relationship but also has a strong idea of what love is all about and that life is one, we are one and have to carry each other with us. This is a spiritual song which has a ray of hope fraught with pain and anguish.
