The Paul Simon song Bono believes could be “divine communication”
Though he remains a reasonably divisive figure throughout music, Bono is an interesting person to read about as his attitude towards music, life, and religion often overlap, intertwine and contradict one another. The U2 singer isn’t blind to these contradictions either, as they have formed the basis for a lot of his music and played a significant part in developing his psyche from a young age.
Bono’s early religious bonds formed in the Shalom Fellowship, a small Christian cult based in Dublin that practised “A kind of naïve first-century Christian life that anticipated few possessions but plenty of miracles.” He eventually fell out with his Christian roots, though, connecting with the general message but not being a fan of the definitive nature of it.
“In truth, something never sat right with us about this ‘in or out’ Christianity or the judgmentalism it came with,” he said, “This was exacerbated by church people’s attitude toward Adam, who didn’t identify as a believer, who wasn’t part of any faith.”
When Bono started embracing his own art, he did so with religion and its potential contradictions at the forefront of his mind. It became a massive part of him, giving his music a deeper layer. Even if it isn’t present in what was produced, it’s interesting considering what was going through Bono’s mind at the time of writing. “I, too, wanted to make music capable of carrying our own weight,” he said, “Even the weight of our own contradictions.”
He continued, “To be ‘in the world but not of it’ was the challenge in the scriptures that would take a lifetime to figure out. As artists we were slowly uncovering paradox and the idea that we are not compelled to resolve every contradictory impulse.”
One of U2’s biggest songs, ‘Mysterious Ways’, embodies this attitude massively. The lyrical basis was formed during a conversation with Jack Heaslip, a priest who served as a longtime spiritual mentor to the band. He and Bono mused over the potential gender of God and the fact that in a world where the greatest creative force in the world is a woman giving birth, it makes sense for the creative force of the universe to be a feminine spirit.
One particular story that Bono was always fascinated with was the story of Elijah, something that he thought might link Paul Simon with an aspect of divine communication. “I was always fascinated by the story of Elijah, who is told to wait on the voice of God in a cave on a hillside,” he recalls.
“When it arrived, the divine communication was such a whisper that Elijah almost didn’t recognise it. In one translation, it is described as ‘The still small voice’. In another, it is translated as ‘The sound of silence’. Maybe Paul Simon heard it too.”
It’s likely Bono made these comments with humour injected into them, but it’s not surprising that he would link God and music, given it has been a connection he has been making for decades now. Whether or not the Simon and Garfunkel classic was a whisper from God or just the product of creative brilliance remains to be seen; however, music in general, depending on who you ask, is its own miracle.
