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"When people ask us what our influences are, we always say, 'Each other.'" -- Bono |
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"When people ask us what our influences are, we always say, 'Each other.'" -- Bono |
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Like a Song: A Celebration
@U2,
April 22, 2010
[Ed. note: This is the 45th in a series of personal essays by the @U2 staff about songs and/or albums that have had great meaning or impact in our lives.]
It was in college where I had my first real taste of working and planning events. I would spend the free time I had between classes volunteering for an organization called the Student Union Board of Governors (SUBOG). We were responsible for organizing activities around campus to encourage students to have fun. Over my four years with SUBOG, I felt like I did it all: organized homecoming and commencement activities, concert load-in and load-out, concert security, concert hospitality (including doing Faith No More’s laundry, shopping for 10,000 Maniacs’ green room, assisting the BoDeans with their day-of needs), helping with college sport giveaways, and so much more. The lessons I learned, such as heavy metal bands don’t like it if you use flower-scented fabric softener, carry with me to this day. When people ask me what I am passionate about, event planning ranks right up there with my family, my faith and church, and U2. I am so fortunate that I am able to combine just about all of these in my volunteer work here on @U2. This is why I enjoy "A Celebration" so much, as the song is about standing up for what you believe in passionately. Written 28 years ago, this song served a need to keep U2 fresh in people's minds as they were between the October and War albums. According to Niall Stokes, the song was "inspired by Neil McCormick’s review of October in Hot Press." Bono's passionate declaration of his beliefs at age 22 in "A Celebration" still resonates in him as he is about to turn 50. The song speaks of his faith, his feelings that innocent people are imprisoned, and his trust in the next generation's ability to improve society. However, I can also see where his maturity has also shifted perspective as the line "I believe in the third world war, I believe in the atomic bomb" has transformed over the decades to the album title How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. "A Celebration" holds the same ideals I committed to at about the same age that Bono wrote them, and I continue to live out as passionately as I can now. It's also about encouraging others to join you. "I believe you can dance with me...and you can go there too." The song serves as a war cry to me because it’s so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind ("We can't stop the tide and everything goes round and round") where you forget why you're doing what you're doing ("We don't have the time to watch the world go tumbling down.") "A Celebration" keeps me in check and "shake shake[s]" me up as a reminder of my core beliefs. I seem to be a fan of the "throwaway" songs in U2's catalog. When asked about "A Celebration," Bono said to Niall Stokes, "I remember thinking this will do. I do remember thinking this is good. I remember in the studio and writing it down once we had a riff, and trying to paint a picture. I did, but I am not sure how interesting a picture it is." For me, it's more than just an interesting picture. It's a litmus test to ensure I am living out the life I was designed for and to celebrate those passions with as many others as I can. "I believe in what I'm doing...And you can go there too." Will you join me? © @U2/Lawrence, 2010.
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