On first listen, “Please” sounds like a sour song of disillusionment in a world where things are crashing to the ground and the center is lost. There’s more, but the song is almost vindictive. Bono has said before performing it live, “This is an Irish song, an Irish prayer, an Irish phrase”.
It was written at the time of the collapse of the Northern Ireland cease-fire and the summer that ensued was filled with conflict and strife. The song addresses, in different verses, the people on either side of the dispute.
It’s more than a subtle and splendid insult, it’s a plea for the end of self-indulgence and hypocrisy.
Click here to download the guitar tab for Please
So you never knew love
Until you crossed the line of grace
And you never felt wanted
‘Til you had someone slap your face
So you never felt alive
Until you’d almost wasted away
You had to win
You couldn’t just pass
The smartest ass
At the top of the class
Your flying colors
Your family tree
And all your lessons in history
Please… please… please…
Get up off your knees
Please… please… please…
Please…
So you never knew
How low you’d stoop to make that call
And you never knew
What was on the ground ’til they made you crawl
So you never knew
That the heaven you keep you stole
Your catholic blues
Your convent shoes
Your stick on tattoos
Now they’re making the news
Your holy war
Your northern star
Your sermon on the mount
From the boot of your car
Please… please… please…
Get up off your knees
Please… please… please…
Leave me out of this please
So love is hard
And love is tough
But love is not
What you’re thinking of
September
Streets capsizing
Spilling over
Down the drain
Shards of glass
Splinters like rain
But you could only feel
Your own pain
October
Talking getting nowhere
November
December
Remember
Are we just starting again?
Please… please… please…
Get up off your knees
Please… please… please…
Please…
So love is big
Is bigger than us
But love is not
What you’re thinking of
It’s what lovers deal
It’s what lovers steal
You know I’ve found it hard to receive
‘Cause you my love
I could never believe
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