Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
"Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" | |
---|---|
Song by U2 | |
from the album Achtung Baby | |
Released | 18 November 1991 |
Genre | Rock |
Length | 5:31 |
Label | Island |
Composer(s) | U2 |
Lyricist(s) | Bono |
Producer(s) | Daniel Lanois with Brian Eno |
Audio sample | |
"Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" |
"Ultraviolet (Light My Way)"
The song's composition and recording incorporate both serious and throwaway elements, in keeping with the rest of Achtung Baby. While not released as a single, the song has appeared in two films and a U2 business venture was named after it. "Ultraviolet" played a featured role during the encores of the group's 1992–1993
Recording
"Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" began as two different
Composition and interpretation
"Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" is written in a 4/4 time signature.[5] The lyrics of "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" are addressed to a lover, and imply that their relationship is threatened by some sort of personal or spiritual crisis, coupled with a sense of unease over obligations.[6][7] Indeed, lead vocalist Bono has called the song "a little disturbed".[8]
The song opens with 45 seconds of soft synthesizers and ethereal vocals, somewhat akin in atmospherics to the group's early 1980s songs "Tomorrow" and "Drowning Man"; during this, Bono laments that "sometimes I feel like checking out."
Although the song is ostensibly about love and dependency, like many U2 songs, it also lends itself to religious interpretations. Listeners have heard an allusion to the
As such, the title evokes the image of
"Ultraviolet" is also one of several songs Bono has written on the theme of woman as spirit, and it echoes the band's 1980 song "Shadows and Tall Trees" by juxtaposing love with the image of ceilings.[17] A line in Raymond Carver's late 1980s poem "Suspenders", about the quiet that comes into a house where no one can sleep, was subconsciously recycled by Bono into the lyric.[8][18] In Achtung Baby's running order, "Ultraviolet" serves, with the other two songs at the album's end, "Acrobat" and "Love Is Blindness", to explore how couples face the task of reconciling the suffering they have imposed on each other.[7]
The song features a
Reception
Rolling Stone noted that "Ultraviolet" was one of the album's songs that hearkened more to the group's past than their new sound, saying that Edge's "soaring peals on [it] are instantly recognizable".[20] Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote that compared to much of the album's grim depictions of personal relations, "Ultraviolet" depicts love as a haven.[21] In contrast, U2 write John Jobling sees "Ultraviolet" as continuing the album's theme of "two people tearing each other apart", despite its "spectral pop" arrangement.[22]
Other writers were less enthusiastic. Q magazine felt that the song was weak and that "Bono falls back on his old habit of trying to be 'inspirational' by banging up the heat from simmer to meltdown between the verse and chorus."[26] U2 chroniclers Bill Graham and Caroline van Oosten de Boer also see the song as a throwback to the group's earlier sound, but say that "the band doesn't sufficiently develop the initial idea to warrant the five minutes of 'Ultra Violet'".[6]
While "Ultraviolet" was not released as a single, it was used in a scene at the end of the 2006 Adam Sandler film Click, in which Sandler's character drives home from Bed, Bath and Beyond to happily see his family, and make up for the mistakes he made with his universal remote control. It was also featured in the 2007 film The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
The name Ultra Violet was also given to one of U2's improvised mid-1990s business initiatives, a joint merchandising venture with MCA Inc.'s Winterland division; the partnership soon dissolved, but not before producing several hundred thousand pairs of Bono "Fly" glasses.[27][28]
Live performances
"Ultraviolet" was first performed at
The song was revived a decade and a half later with the launch of the
The band also played the song during its television appearance on Saturday Night Live on 26 September 2009.[33] In an appearance that avoided both their recent singles and best-known hits, "Ultraviolet" was played as the group's third number, in full 360° Tour staging style as the show's end credits scrolled.[33]
The song was performed on the Joshua Tree Tours 2017 and 2019, accompanied by images of historical female figures and achievers on the video screen.[37]
U2 performed "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)" during their 2023–2024 U2:UV Achtung Baby Live residency at the Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley. During performances, "cascading vaporous rainbows" danced across the venue's interior LED screen, according to Pollstar's Andy Gensler.[38]
Covers
The beginning of the song was also sampled by Enigma in their 1994 song "The Eyes of Truth".[40]
See also
- List of covers of U2 songs - Ultraviolet (Light My Way)
References
Footnotes
- ^ Some publications have spelled the song as "Ultra Violet (Light My Way)." The back cover of the album shows it as two words "ULTRA violet" in the mixed-case style of the track listing, but the inside package material of some issues of the album has it as one word.
- ^ "Zoo TV Station Talent". Propaganda (16). June 1992.
- ^ a b c d Stokes (2005), pp. 102, 106
- ^ "Eno". Propaganda (16). June 1992.
- ^ "Ultraviolet (Light My Way)". Musicnotes.com. 2 July 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-06.
- ^ a b c Graham (2004), p. 50
- ^ a b Flanagan (1995), p. 22
- ^ a b c d e McCormick (2006), p. 228
- ^ a b c d Scharen (2006), pp. 135–136
- ^ a b Beeaff (2000), p. 39
- ^ a b Achtung Baby (CD booklet). U2. Island Records. 1991.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ Cogan (2008), p. 66
- ^ Brothers (1999), p. 258
- ^ Stockman (2005), p. 72
- ^ Rooksby (2006), pp. 80–81
- ^ Stein (1999), p. 271
- ^ Gilmour (2005), p. 66, 76
- ^ Flanagan (1995), p. 346
- ^ Eno, Brian (1991-11-28). "Bringing Up Baby". Rolling Stone.[dead link]
- ^ Gardner, Elysa (1992-01-09). "U2: Achtung, Baby: Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on May 8, 2009.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (1991-11-17). "U2 Takes a Turn From the Universal To the Domestic". The New York Times.
- ^ Jobling (2014), p. 221
- ^ Morse, Steve (1991-11-15). "U2 bounces back". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Wyman, Bill (1991-11-19). "Achtung Baby: music review". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
- ^ Meagher, John (2009-05-09). "A bad poet? Bono? Oh no!". Irish Independent.
- ^ Snow, Mat. "U2 - Achtung Baby". Q. Archived from the original on 2009-12-12. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
- ^ Gorman (2003), p. 283
- ^ Fallon (1994)
- ^ a b c "U2 Ultra Violet (Light My Way) - U2 on tour". U2gigs.com. Retrieved 2009-11-15.
- ^ a b Beeaff (2000), pp. 60–61, 66–67
- ^ DeCurtis, Anthony (1993-10-14). "U2's Zoo World Order". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Flanagan (1995), p. 85
- ^ a b c Kreps, Daniel (2009-09-28). "U2 Bring 360 Show to "Saturday Night Live" Premiere". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 1, 2009.
- ^ a b Kot, Greg (2009-09-12). "Concert review: U2 360 Tour at Soldier Field". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (2009-09-24). "U2 in the Round, Fun With a Mission". The New York Times.
- ^ Greene, Andy (2009-09-13). "U2 Reinvent the Stadium Show as 360 Tour Launches in Chicago". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on September 18, 2009.
- ^ Pareles, Jon (15 May 2017). "Review: U2 Revisits 'The Joshua Tree' in the Here and Now". The New York Times. Retrieved 8 June 2017.
- ^ Gensler, Andy (2 October 2023). "Better Than The Real Thing: U2 Breaks Ground At Groundbreaking Sphere With Spectacular Performance". Pollstar. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
- ^ "What's On Your Free CD?". Q: 6–7. December 2011.
- ^ The Cross of Changes (CD liner notes). Enigma. Virgin Records. 1993.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
Bibliography
- Beeaff, Diane Ebertt (2000). A Grand Madness: Ten Years on the Road with U2. Tucson: Hawkmoon Publications. ISBN 0-9656188-1-1.
- Brothers, Robyn (1999). "Time to Heal, 'Desire' Time: The Cyberprophesy of U2's 'Zoo World Order'". In Dettmar, Kevin J. H.; Richey, William (eds.). Reading Rock and Roll: Authenticity, Appropriation, Aesthetics. New York: ISBN 0-231-11399-4.
- Cogan, Višnja (2008). U2: An Irish Phenomenon. New York: Pegasus Books. ISBN 978-1-933648-71-2.
- ISBN 0-316-27392-9. Unpaginated.
- ISBN 0-385-31154-0.
- Gilmour, Michael J. (2005). Call Me the Seeker: Listening to Religion in Popular Music. New York: ISBN 0-8264-1713-2.
- Gorman, Paul (2003). "Paul McGuinness: How the Fifth Man Turned Empire Builder". In Bordowitz, Hank (ed.). The U2 Reader: A Quarter Century of Commentary, Criticism, and Reviews. Milwaukee: ISBN 0-634-03832-X.
- Graham, Bill; van Oosten de Boer, Caroline (2004). U2: The Complete Guide to Their Music. London: ISBN 0-7119-9886-8.
- Jobling, John (2014). U2: The Definitive Biography. New York: ISBN 978-1-250-02789-4.
- Rooksby, Rikky (2006). Lyrics: Writing Better Words for Your Songs. San Francisco: ISBN 0-87930-885-0.
- Scharen, Christian (2006). One Step Closer: Why U2 Matters to Those Who Seek God (paperback). Grand Rapids: ISBN 1-58743-169-6.
- Stein, Atara (1999). "'Even Better than the Real Thing': U2's (Love) Songs of the Self". In Dettmar, Kevin J.H.; Richey, William (eds.). Reading Rock and Roll: Authenticity, Appropriation, Aesthetics. New York: ISBN 0-231-11399-4.
- Stockman, Steve (2005). Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 (Revised ed.). Orlando: Relevant Media Group. ISBN 0-9760357-5-8.
- ISBN 1-56025-765-2.
- ISBN 0-00-719668-7.)
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External links