The "One" story and live video performances of the iconic song by
U2 and special guests.
"One" by U2 was first released in 1992 as the 3rd single
from the smash album "achtung Baby", and reached number 7 in the UK charts and number 10 in
America.
It is widely thought that the song revived the bands' directions , as at the time tensions were
begining to show with the members, and during the recording of the album there were many turbulent recording
sessions due to some of the members wanting to develop a dance and electronic music feel to the album.
Just as U2 were on the point of breaking up, The Edge was playing around with
a fiff at the time and was trying to compose a harmony for the song "ultraviolet", which when the rest of the band
heard helped as much as they could, which in turn led the band to write "one".
U2 started recording the album in Berlin, Germany, and since the creation of
"one", became more together as a band.
They returned to Ireland to finish the album, and many think this is the song that saved
U2 as a band.
In an interview, Bono interpreted the lyrics by saying "It is a song about coming together, but
it's not the old hippie idea of 'Let's all live together.' It is, in fact, the opposite. It's saying, We are one,
but we're not the same. It's not saying we even want to get along, but that we have to get along together in this
world if it is to survive. It's a reminder that we have no choice".
A matter of conjecture is the fact that 3 videos were made of "one", the first
filmed in Berlin depicts the band dressed in womens clothing with Bono singing "one" to his dad.
(increasing the thought that infact the song is about Bono's relationship with his father, Bob Hewson).
The second video version depicted photo art by David Wojnarowicz, who had died of AIDS.
A third version has Bono drinking and smoking in a bar while the band plays in concert.
Intrestingly a large proportion of the royalties were given to AIDS charities.
Some interesting live performances of "one" include;
A 1995, an orchestral-backed version of "one" was played and recorded at the Pavarotti
and Friends (uncluding U2) concert in Modena; and was later included as a B-side to the single "Miss
Sarajevo".
U2 performed "One" live on June 7, 1997 in New York at the Tibetan
Freedom Concert.
November, 29, 2003 Bono and The Edge performed "One" segueing into "Unchained
Melody" in Cape Town, South Africa.
U2 performed "One" along with "Beautiful Day" and "Vertigo" at Live 8 in
Hyde Park, London in 2005.
On September 9, 2005, U2 performed "One" with Mary J. Blige for Shelter
from the Storm: A Concert for the Gulf Coast and again at the 2006 Grammy Awards .The collaboration with mary
and U2 was later reprised and released as a single, both with U2 and
Mary.J.Blige together, and as solo effort by M.J.B, which featured on her album "The Breakthrough"
.
"One" by U2 has also gained the following accolades;
Numer 36 on The Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time (the highest position for a
U2 song and the second highest position for a song of the 1990s).
"One" was voted number 1 on Q magazines's 1001 Best Songs Ever list.
"One" was recently voted the 5th most popular song of all time, in a poll conducted by Sony.
In April 2006 it was voted as having Britain's number one lyric – "One life, with each other, sisters,
brothers" – by a VH1 poll. VH1 listed the song at #2 on the Top 100 Songs of the 1990s.
"one"
lyrics
Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you now
You got someone to blame
You say...
One love
One life
When it's one need
In the night
One love
We get to share it
Leaves you baby if you
Don't care for it
Did I disappoint you
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without
Well it's...
Too late
Tonight
To drag the past out into the light
We're one, but we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other
One...
Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
Well we
Hurt each other
Then we do it again
You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl
And I can't be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt
One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers
One life
But we're not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other
