The musical “prayer” that brings Bono to his knees
The power of a great song shouldn’t be lost on anyone who gets into the music business. There might be a lot of money to be made out of someone making an excellent record, but the real payoff is seeing people become emotional because you tapped into something that went beyond words for them. Bono knows that feeling all too well whenever he played with U2, but outside of being a bit too overindulgent with his own music, he knew that a few songs could be earthshattering if they were heard in the right circumstances.
And as much as some U2 haters might not like to admit it, some of those earthshattering songs have been written by Bono’s hands. He may have no problem talking about the importance of his brand of rock and roll, but there’s no doubt that he means every word he says when he’s singing along to ‘With Or Without You’ or ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’. Those things he’s searching for may be love or spirituality, but each can also be found in a great rock song.
After all, this was the same frontman who had Joe Strummer to thank for getting him into music, so having songs that meant something greater than himself wasn’t all that unusual. His music needed to have a message behind it if it wanted to resonate with people, but he knew that there was nothing wrong with someone who was good at the craft of writing hooks. Not every Beatles song needed to be the deepest thing in the world, but it’s hard to find anyone who doesn’t get the euphoria of listening to a song like ‘She Loves You’.
But if there was an extension of what the Fab Four did in their early days, it was the Bee Gees. Despite them being known as the default ‘disco band’, that was only one side of their sound in the 1970s. The Gibb Brothers had spent the majority of their career up until that point making some of the greatest pop music of the early 1970s, and even if ‘Stayin’ Alive’ is what they’re remembered for, you don’t have the full picture unless you’ve heard ‘Massachusetts’ or ‘To Love Somebody’.
Although that side of The Bee Gees’ career is far too neglected, Bono always knew to save space for the song ‘Immortality’ in his music library, saying, “One song that brings me to my knees is ‘Immortality’. Barry Gibb came to Dublin and played for all his brothers who had passed away, and he ended the show with ‘Immortality’. It’s not really a well-known Bee Gees song, but it’s like a prayer.”
While faith and music often go hand-in-hand with Bono, it’s not hard to see where he’s coming from in this instance. Letting go of family members who have passed on is always going to be hard, but hearing Barry Gibb sing about moving forward in the face of sadness without his loved ones is enough to make anyone get up off their knees and keep going on with their lives, no matter how tragic the circumstances are.
It might not be the most pulse-pounding song the universe has ever created, but Bono knows there’s more that goes into music than simple power chords and passion. It’s about slipping in some genuine heart into everything you do, and for anyone ever struggling with their everyday lives, the Gibb brothers singing this song could practically be medicine for anyone in that vulnerable place.
