U2 'Drowning Man'

The Edge once described ‘Drowning Man’ as ‘perfection’ and as one of the most successful pieces of recording that U2 had done. Sonically it was certainly the band’s most ambitious track prior to The Unforgettable Fire and, in terms of soundscape, it can be seen to be echoed in the dazzling aural panorama the band achieved during the ‘Joshua Tree’ recordings.

War is, perhaps, U2’s most overtly political album. Indeed Bono has stated that ‘war seemed to be the motif for 1982’. Prior to War, U2’s output had been more circumspect. Reaching, yes, but not in a wide sense; the songs and lyrics were, without doubt, grappling, but in a more personal way than later recordings. It seemed to be a spiritual journey, of the soul and inner self, rather than situating itself in the wider world.

‘Drowning Man’ is positioned between the U2 of ‘Boy’ and ‘October’ and the U2 of ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ and ‘The Joshua Tree’.  Lyrically it is firmly within the world of the personal, the world where the majority of fans, perhaps, feel most comfortable. There is no overt dealing with the world of politics but, as with all U2 songs, it transcends the personal, or at least it multiplies the personal. For this is where U2 accomplish themselves in the clearest sense. We are, after all, solitary beings bound together in an ill-defined communality. And Bono, in his lyrics, captures this sense of solitary togetherness better than anyone else.

The music is relentless, the Edge’s guitar chopping, yet almost boundless in the wider strokes of the guitar strings, as if to illustrate the sense of restraint within the almost infinite possibilities that this relationship might offer.

Bono’s vocals are at their height during this period. Don’t get me wrong, in terms of vocals, Bono can still hold his own with the best of them, but Bono is no longer 22/23 years old and, despite remaining a great vocalist, he is no longer at the peak of his powers. His ability to glide from his natural baritone to tenor and into falsetto is striking at this time, the early 80s, and indeed right up to the late 90s.

The lyrics soar; echoing the possibilities that are inherent in all of our interactions. There is a ‘magnificence’ about it all; yet this magnificence is tapered by the sense that everything might be lost at any moment. And this is the crux of all that U2 are; this belief that anything can be achieved, but that everything is grounded in the knowledge that everything can also be lost.

Bono pleads with his supposed ‘lover’ to ‘Hold on, hold on tightly’, illustrating the clear and present danger that lurks beneath many of U2’s lyrics, as the world possesses everything and nothing; that we, as individuals, possess everything and nothing. 

There is a sense of promise, a feeling that the protagonist is on a journey, a journey that, in this case, offers but two possibilities – success or failure – and it is this perception, that there is only success or failure, which heightens the sense of drama in the song.

Of course it seems almost infantile to suggest that U2 are but a manifestation of the success/failure dichotomy. Indeed it is true to say that all and every U2 songs is substantiated in the idea that while there is success and failure we are all more than this, that life is not just a prism with two outcomes. 

Certainly there is always the impression that the stakes are high, that we can succeed or fail, but there is significantly more than this; we are surely a mixture of success and failure. There is no triumph or disaster. There is just what we are, a combination of accomplishment and disappointment.

As an Irish man, U2 are a conundrum. Bono, and all that he is, and I’m sure he would recognise this himself (as would the Edge, Larry and Adam), comes across, at times, as ridiculous, not in the nonsensical or outrageous sense of the word but more in the preposterous meaning of things. I know that, to a European or American reader, this will surely seem incredible, that the idea of Bono not being anything other than sensible or reasonable or indeed wise seems almost incredulous. But, in Ireland, we have, especially when viewing our own, a different sensibility. We have an innate sense of begrudgery. Bono has achieved and, therefore, must be brought down to earth. But Bono, and U2, are unique.

Before U2, and indeed since, Ireland had never produced a singer or band on the same level as U2. I know ‘Thin Lizzy’ will be mentioned, or later on, the ‘Cranberries’, but neither achieved the success of U2. And I know that Irish traditional music, whether it be the ‘Chieftains’ or, perhaps’ ‘Planxty’, or, in the world of dance, ‘Riverdance’, has scaled the dizzy heights of success; but not like U2. U2 are unique. They are the Beatles of Dublin.

But back to ‘Drowning Man’; it is, perhaps, unlike other ‘typical’ U2 songs – it has strings after all. Certainly it stands out as different on ‘War’. Its lyrics are personal, atypical in the wider political message inherent in the other songs on ‘War’. Yet, in other ways, it positions itself at the centre of the U2 canon.

U2 have a unique relationship with their fans. It can, of course, be argued that all singers or bands have a unique relationship with their fans. But with U2 it is different. And, in many respects, the lyrics of ‘Drowning Man’ capture everything that is U2 and their fans; and everything that lies in that space between the band and their fans.

Take my hand
You know I'll be there
If you can 
I'll cross the sky for your love.
For I have promised
For to be with you tonight
And for the time that will come.

Take my hand
You know I'll be there
If you can 
I'll cross the sky for your love.
And I understand
These winds and tides
This change of times
Won't drag you away.

Hold on, and hold on tightly.
Hold on, and don't let go of my love.
The storms will pass, it won't be long now.
This love will last, this love will last forever.

            …

Promise. Hope. Redemption. The ability to see the glory and the profane. The ability to see the stars while being firmly stuck in the mud that binds our feet to the ground. This is what U2 are. This is what we are. This is what life is. This is ‘Drowning Man’.

U2 'Drowning Man'