1/18/18 One

I wanted to do something this week I've never done before here on MericaNotes. I've reviewed artists, playlists, albums, and genres as a whole- but I've never reviewed a single song. I'd like to take the time now to review the song "One"; originally written by U2 in 1990 from the album "Achtung Baby". The song has seen numerous covers over its 26 year span including Johnny Cash, Mary J. Blige, Mica Paris, REM, Joe Cocker, Damian Rice, Adam Lambert, and Pearl Jam. Frequently appearing on greatest songs lists, U2's song eared it's spot at number 36 on Rolling Stones' The 500 Greatest Songs Of All Time.
  While "One" in itself may sound like an slow anthemic love song, the meaning behind the song and its lyrical content goes far deeper than that. U2 frontman Bono described the song as such: "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". There is also speculation that the song describes a conversation between a father and his HIV-positive gay son, based on the connection of the song to David Wojnarowicz, a gay artist who died of AIDS. Consequentially, a Wajnarowicz painting was featured as the album art for "Achtung Baby". The song however, is also an acknowledgement of concurrent events of the 90s- with the reunification of Germany just a few years after the fall of the Berlin Wall.

8 years later in 2000, Johnny Cash covered U2's hit as an acoustic cover. Cash added signature gravitas to U2's mega ballad when he cut the song for 2000's "American III: Solitary Man". A spare, acoustic arrangement, Cash's version finds him speak-singing the lyrics, infusing them with a vitriol Bono could never muster. The line "did I disappoint you, or leave a bad taste in your mouth?" is downright indignant.

In 2005, Bono performed alongside Mary J. Blige to cover "One" on Blige's album "The Breakthrough". In addition, One was played in 2005 for the benefit concert Shelter From The Storm: A Concert For The Gulf Coast in response to Hurricane Katrina which devastated Louisiana, southeast Texas, and southern Mississippi.





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