Released 9 March 1987 Genre Rock Label Island | Recorded 1986 Length 4:32 | |
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Writer(s) U2 (music), Bono (lyrics) | ||
"Bullet the Blue Sky" is a song by rock band U2. It is the fourth track from their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree. "Bullet the Blue Sky" is one of the band's most overtly political songs, with live performances often being heavily critical of political conflicts and violence.
Contents
The song was covered by Sepultura in their covers album Revolusongs, by P.O.D. in their album The Fundamental Elements of Southtown and Queensrÿche in their album Take Cover.
History
The song was originally written about the United States' military intervention during the 1980s in the Salvadoran Civil War. Bono told the Edge to "put El Salvador through an amplifier".
Reception
The U2 Podcast Editions in iTunes mentions that this is Paul McGuinness' (former U2 manager) favorite song. In 2004, Mojo placed the song at number 17 on its list of the "100 Epic Rock Tracks".
Live performances
"Bullet the Blue Sky" was played at nearly every live concert from its first performance at the opening night of the Joshua Tree Tour on 2 April 1987 through the Vertigo Tour. Its live performances have traditionally been paired with "Running to Stand Still"; this took place on the Joshua Tree Tour, Lovetown Tour, Zoo TV Tour, and the first 46 concerts of the Vertigo Tour. On the PopMart Tour, "Bullet" instead led into "Please"; Elevation Tour performances were followed by "With or Without You" or a cover of "What's Going On" by Marvin Gaye, on the Vertigo Tour, "Miss Sarajevo" replaced "Running to Stand Still" for the last 85 concerts. and on the Innocence + Experience Tour, it segued into "Pride (In the Name of Love)" on the first leg and an abbreviated version of "Zooropa" starting on the second leg.
During the Joshua Tree Tour, Bono would frequently grab a large spotlight and shine into peoples' faces in the audience, and would also make numerous political references to figures such as Ronald Reagan and Jerry Falwell. He also used the spotlight on the Elevation Tour. On the Innocence + Experience Tour, Bono would typically sing the majority of the song into a megaphone.
U2's following album, Rattle and Hum, featured a live performance of this song, with a pre-recorded intro of Jimi Hendrix's version of "The Star-Spangled Banner". "Bullet" then took on new meanings throughout the subsequent years. On the Zoo TV Tour, it was about Nazism; on the PopMart Tour, it, at least on occasion, featured references to consumerism and rock iconography in keeping in with the tour's theme. On the Elevation Tour, it became an indictment against handgun violence, illustrated by references to John Lennon's assassination and an ironic intro video clip featuring Charlton Heston, who was at that time the president of the National Rifle Association, while on the Vertigo Tour, it was about religious violence and the final lyrics were replaced by a snippet of "The Hands That Built America". On the Innocence + Experience Tour, the song was about corruption of money, which was emphasized with images of Wall Street and Las Vegas on the video screen, as well as Bono discussing a scenario where he meets a teenage version of himself who criticizes the wealthy man he has become.
The Edge has always used his black Fender Stratocaster to play this song (with the exception of the PopMart Tour, during which he used a Gibson Les Paul).
Live performances of the song appear on the concert films Zoo TV: Live from Sydney, PopMart: Live from Mexico City, Elevation 2001: Live from Boston, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland, Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago and Live from Paris.