‘Beautiful Day’: Did a U2 song launch the shift towards streaming?
Bono has always been likened to a sort of rock ‘n’ roll preacher.
On stage, the U2 frontman assumes a presence that commands attention while inviting all to join in on the energy exchange of performance. Singing anthems of war, peace and social upheaval, Bono wields an undeniably impactful and distinctly resonant power.
It makes sense, then, that the frontman looked to a preacher for inspiration when writing one of U2’s most anthemic songs, ‘Beautiful Day’. In its earliest stages, the song was written in fragmented visions of lyric and melody. The band, looking to stray from the previous decade’s experimentation with electronica and dance music, was beginning to favour a return to their interpretation of a familiar sound.
The song was almost regarded as an afterthought before Bono came up with its driving line: “It’s a beautiful day.” The allure was found in its simplicity, a reverberating reminder of life. As guitarist The Edge recalls to Mojo in 2010, the honing of that one line was “the moment it got exciting”.
He continues, “It seems in some ways such a banal sort of lyric, but combined with the music, something wild happened, and we all recognised it.”
For Bono, the force behind ‘Beautiful Day’ came from his quest for a semblance of faith. “I was influenced by an Australian preacher I know called John Smith, who was a pastor for the Hell’s Angels at one point and who is a very eloquent speaker with a brilliant mind,” Bono recalls in the band’s book, U2 by U2.
Adding, “I remember him talking to me about how depression is a nerve end. Pain is evidence of life because it reminds you there are things in your life that aren’t right. So you should be thankful for it, really, and celebrate that there is so much to live for.”
In his lyrics, Bono drew from his experiences with Jubilee 2000, an international coalition movement that urged politicians to cancel the debt of countries in the Global South by the year 2000. The central lyric, from his perspective, came from a sense of “amazement” in the ability to find beauty in struggle and upset. To him, the sheer notion that we are alive and breathing was a necessary reminder, and certainly one that woke up U2 from their creative rut and spurred them into new, expansive territories.
Opening with a kick drum and keys from co-producer Brian Eno, like the thumping of a heartbeat, the first lines of “The heart is a bloom / Shoots up through the stony ground,” suggest an emergence from beneath. The song, initially haunted by a downtrodden spirit, slowly breathes to life. The repeated “It’s a beautiful day” is layered with echoing, euphoric cries from The Edge as backing vocals, matched with sprawling drums that produce a cinematic feel. Even the most reluctant listener cannot deny that ‘Beautiful Day’ harnesses a spirited optimism that reintroduced U2 as some of rock’s greatest composers.
In turn, ‘Beautiful Day’ also introduced U2 as innovators in another realm: the internet. In the still-nascent world of digital media, the song was one of the first major releases to be made available for download online. Before its official release in September 2000, fans could visit u2.com to stream it, introducing a level of “exclusivity” that was then largely unheard of and opening a door to the instantaneous method of releasing music that we are all too familiar with today.
With the band going on to release their 13th album, Songs of Innocence, in a controversial move that automatically downloaded all of its songs to all iTunes Store customers, they can be said to constantly push the boundaries of music streaming and access (however frustrating that may be, to some).
Following its surprise release, ‘Beautiful Day’ became the lead single for U2’s tenth album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, the opening of a new era for the band that, unlike any other, shows an unmatched persistence.
