|
 |
|
|
|
|
"The fact that we're not easy to digest means we're a lump in the throat, and a lump in the throat has far more guts to it." -- Bono |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
"The fact that we're not easy to digest means we're a lump in the throat, and a lump in the throat has far more guts to it." -- Bono |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
Like a Song: Miracle Drug
@U2,
October 28, 2007
[Ed. note: This is the ninth 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.]
 For me, Bono's funny counting in "Vertigo" isn't the only Spanish connection in How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. The whole album has a Latin theme for me, and especially "Miracle Drug" brings to mind a mixture of sunshine and melancholy.In 2004, I spent three and a half months in Central America. The sun would wake me at 6, ready to start a new day in San José, Costa Rica. At the time, I was an intern at an Non Governmental Organization that provided micro credits for women who ran small businesses. My job was to interview participants and write newsletters, promotional material and the annual financial report. It was special, being part of a different culture, being in a different country and speaking a foreign language all day. It provided the opportunity to get to know new people, new places and new activities. Traveling has always been one of my dreams and this internship felt like a dream job when I started. It was exciting, enchanting, exhausting. But I soon discovered that it could also be lonely and frustrating at times. Initially I lived with a colleague's family, which included her, a brother and her parents as well as a family friend, a girl about my age who was also working in the city. We became good friends, but there wasn't always a lot of time to hang out, as she worked long days and was always tired in the evenings. There wasn't much else to do either, as the TV held little of interest apart from a few movies with a flood of commercial breaks. At work, my co-workers were nice people. But the president was always extremely busy, and she was the person who had to approve my articles. For me, being an inexperienced worker, it was difficult to get the attention I needed for my work and the ideas and suggestions I came up with. Sometimes I felt all but invisible and wondered what I was really doing there, so far away from home. Listening to U2 music provided an anchor for me, a connection to the home front, something I could do wherever I was. Still, I nearly missed the rejoicing fact of a new U2 album as I was so busy. It was therefore a very pleasant surprise when I finally checked online and saw that the release was only days away. As soon as I got off from work on release day, I picked up a copy of HTDAAB and was just thrilled with anticipation. However, I had to wait, since I didn't have a computer with a CD-ROM player. But by that time, my housing situation had improved, and I lived in a house with two American and two German students. One of them had a laptop and he put the music on a minidisk for me. Immediately, I had no need for any other music. I listened whenever I could, and "Miracle Drug" became a special song for me. I want to trip inside your head, spend the day there To hear the things you haven't said and see what you might see With the dreamy start, my thoughts would drift away. At the start of the song, I would imagine looking inside someone's head and seeing a stream of thoughts float out, suddenly perceptible by others. It made me think about my communication with the home front and whether my friends really thought about me and missed me. The songs are in your eyes, I see them when you smile I imagined looking into my boyfriend's eyes, hearing the songs we always treasured together. It was difficult, not being able to do that. "Miracle Drug" also made me think about relationships and about questions of honesty. I wondered, if one could really look inside someone else's thoughts and hear what they really think, would that be a pleasant or painful experience? Thoughts can be crude and without balance; it is not without reason that people don't always express them. On the other hand, it could be a really good thing to look through someone else's eyes for a day, to understand that person better. It would make many things much clearer, especially the differences between men and women and between different cultures. But most of all, the song became a source of support for me. When I felt lonely or out of place, Bono was there to help me get back on my feet. There is no failure here sweetheart, just when you quit... It was as if he sang into my ear, encouraging me to keep going. Those lyrics put things in perspective, reminding me that it wasn't all so bad, that I would make it in spite of deadlines and frustrations. It was there at 6 a.m. when I was working out in the gym and at night if there was no one around. "Miracle Drug" literally became a musical medicine, embracing and comforting me and making me think of the good things that were present and would be waiting in the future. © Meijer/@U2, 2007.
|
|
|
||||||
|
||||||||
