I always loved the depth of this song, though I curiously wondered why “pride” is the song header. On different modes of existence, on what type of people we can choose to be, on the deep truth that love is the ultimate measure – I love these profound lyrics:
“One man come in the name of love
One man come and go
One man come, he to justify
One man to overthrow”
The music video is also visually striking and features shots from the Dublin Docklands area in Ireland (more on the tie to the Ireland theme later).
These lyrics remind me of my previous post on Gandhi and Finding Yourself and the quote I loved from Jonathan Kent (played by Kevin Costner) in Man of Steel: “You just have to decide what kind of a man you want to grow up to be, Clark; because whoever that man is, good character or bad, he’s… He’s gonna change the world.” Likewise, Walt Whitman’s answer to the challenges of life and our opportunity:
That you are here—that life exists and identity,
That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
What kind of person do we want to be? We’re all going to change the world; we just have to decide what our verse and contribution will be. Though I love that point, there was always a part of the song that I wondered about:
“Early morning, April four
Shot rings out in the Memphis sky
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your pride”
This refers to Martin Luther King Junior and his assignation. Though the early morning is wrong (acknowledged by Bono), April 4th in Memphis was indeed the day and place of MLK Jr’s shooting. Another interesting gem about “pride” is that the song was originally intended as a critique of Ronald Reagan and what the band believed was his pride in nuclear escalation [1]. Bono, feeling Reagan was undeserving of such a mention, took aim at a person and theme of pride that he felt was deserving. In Bono’s words:
“I remembered a wise old man who said to me, don’t try and fight darkness with light, just make the light shine brighter… “I was giving Reagan too much importance, then I thought Martin Luther King, there’s a man. We build the positive rather than fighting with the finger.”
This song is from their “Unforgettable Fire” album. Inspired by a visit to the MLK Jr exhibit at the Chicago Peace Museum in 1983 (“MLK” is another song on that album), there was also a display on the victims of the Hiroshima bombing (hence the album title). Bono was dealing with heavy themes at that time, which is unsurprising given the terrible violence occurring in Ireland. Contrasting that violence and the Hiroshima exhibit, in MLK Jr, there was key theme on offer that light and love are the answers to darkness and hate [2].
Though a tribute to Martin Luther King Junior, there is a much broader overarching theme to all world changers that there is no greater measure than love (the example and life of Christ are also given homage with “one man betrayed with a kiss”). And living and dying for a cause of justice, equality, mercy, and service – there is no higher commitment to such a cause. Indeed, “What more in the name of love” rings very close to John 15:13:
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You can kill a world changer who comes in the name of love, but you can’t take their pride – a legacy of equality, service, and commitment to the intrinsic value of all humanity – pride in the truest fulfillment and highest measure. What greater message, life, and example? What more in the name of love?
Notes:
[1] ♫ RadioNOW 100.9 | Your music…NOW! (iheart.com)
[2] Pride (In The Name Of Love) by U2 – Songfacts
Image credit: Dick DeMarsico, World Telegram staff photographer @ Wikimedia Commons
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