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Tuesday, January 13, 2009

"I just want to go home," (keep clapping)

On our 1998 trip to Paraguay, when J was leading songs in Spanish for a rural VBS;
it hit him all of a sudden that he was far from home, and over his head.
So, without missing a beat, he segued into singing in English
(which of course none of the kids could understand),

"I want out of here, I just want to go home."

He might have even sung, all smiles, something like:

"This really sucks, I am bombing big time."

The kids kept clapping along.

Bono, perhaps in a similar mood,
in an early performance of "I Fall Down," far from home (Berlin),
...which is of course also itself about feeling like a failure, and needing God to pick you up..

without warning sang:

"I feel I've nothing to say/
I think I'll go home/
I think I don't like this show"

Watch at 1:15ff below:





Sometimes we just may have to say it/pray it/preach it/sing it.
Psalm 22 style.
Romans 8:26 style.
Or paraphrased, as Bono has said elsewhere,

"How can I be a spokesman when all I've got to say is...Help!?"



Or sung elsewhere:

"Jesus help me. I'm alone in this world; and a f*#%ed up world it is, too"


Then, and only then..

Then, ironically, we often get the peace and power to carry on.
There's a second wind to sermons if we admit midsermon we are winded.

Bono found out.

Very often during that era, in the next verse, Bono has the character Julie say something
also a bit off the printed lyrics...In Berlin it's pretty vague;
but on the deluxe October version recently released, Bono has the "Julie" character sing:

"My heart is on my sleeve/
I've got this hope/
I've got this faith/
you know that I believe."

I myself heard him say something similar in New Haven (1983),
"I am a believer...I have the Spirit...I've got faith, hope love...I can believe....(God) will pick me up..."
That audio is linked here.

It sounded like a word to the church that might claim that Bono/U2/Julie are not bona fide believers. Beth has commented on this here.

In this version, Julie/Bono says she has a problem. I can't make out what it is (Beth?);
maybe she/he wants to go home; has to go potty...or is just tired of falling down
and having Christians keep you there. (1:58ff):




Either way, the crowd/congregation doesn't miss a beat.

Maybe that is okay;
it may even be the healing power of lament.

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