this song is about desolate complaint of a lover who has been betrayed and betrayed again, yet still remains with their tormentor. later in the song, though, the narrator finally realises they will never again find happiness with the person (to stay with you, i'd be a fool), and dumps them. this song has been rumoured to be a sort of thing where it would be the edge singing this to aislinn, who were divorcing around the time the song was written.
katie duncan nick_tiger_baby
yahoo.com (contributed before the 20:th of February 1998)
The tone and pace of "So Cruel" are like that of a funeral procession, spellbinding. I found this to be the most subtle of the "Passion of Christ" series in "Achtung Baby": The followers, the women, the disciples, all look on Christ as he carries his cross to Calvary...
- "I disappeared in you..." - I became a believer, one with you.
- "I gave you everything..." - I sold all my possesions.
- "The men who love you..." - The disciples will not live to see the Earthly King they expected.
- "... Baby, you're nowhere!" - Jesus will have no physical location, only the Spirit left in the air [as further clarified in ATYCLB's "Kite"].
- "[His] skin is pale like God's only dove..." - God sent the Prince of Peace.
- "Then [He] makes you watch [Him] from above.. - Christ falls while carrying the cross.
- "Love, dying every hour..." - Jesus suffered for the three hours, just up until the beginning of the Rapture ["The Fly"].
- "Head in heaven, fingers in the mire" - carrying the cross to Calvary, Christ falls again
- "To stay with you, I'd be a fool." - The future Christians feel betrayed by Jesus, and prepare to deny Him.
Many felt that U2 had in fact lost their moral compass when AB was released. It wasn't until many, many years later, after I had paid lots and lots of attention ("Achtung" is German for "Pay Attention", as in "You have to look deep into this") until I was over this. The music was dark, decaying. The lyrics were dark, almost evil. But when linked to the Passion of Christ - Bono is just telling the Biblical stories of what the bad guys did.
k conley kevinconley271828gmail.com ( 8th of April 2013)