MLK (song)
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"MLK" | |
---|---|
Song by U2 | |
from the album The Unforgettable Fire | |
Released | 1 October 1984 |
Genre | Ambient |
Length | 2:32 |
Label | Island |
Composer(s) | U2 |
Lyricist(s) | Bono |
Producer(s) |
"MLK" is a song by Irish rock band U2, and is the tenth and final track on their 1984 album, The Unforgettable Fire. An elegy to Martin Luther King Jr., it is a short, pensive piece with simple lyrics ("Sleep/Sleep tonight/And may your dreams/Be realized/If the thundercloud/Passes rain/So let it rain/Rain down on me"). It was because of this song and "Pride (In the Name of Love)", another tribute to King, that lead vocalist Bono received the highest honor of the King Center for Nonviolent Social Change, an organization founded by Coretta Scott King.
Writing and recording
"MLK" originated from a melody and set of lyrics composed by lead vocalist Bono while listening to the pitched hum of his vacuum cleaner. According to guitarist the Edge, the band "failed miserably" to find a musical arrangement that suited the melody and that the results "always sounded far too traditional". When the group decided to revisit the song, they started with just the vocal melody and a drone note to see which musical direction it would take them. The resulting arrangement sounded complete to them, convincing them not to refine it any further.[1]
Live performances
Its live debut was on 18 October 1984, as an intro to "
In popular culture
"MLK" was director
In Stephen Chbosky's 1999 novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower, "MLK" is mentioned as one of Charlie's favorite songs, along with "Blackbird".[4]
See also
References
- ^ Morse, Steve (29 November 1984). "U2 Charts New Sound". The Boston Globe. sec. Calendar, p. 10.
- ^ "U2 MLK – U2 on Tour". U2gigs.com. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ "Out of the realm of imagination", Geoff Edgers, The Boston Globe, March 21, 2004.
- ISBN 0-671-02734-4.