timojran March 2nd, 2006 09:03PM  
This song is about having true love-a soul mate but at the same time being a man (and human) feeling desire and temptation for someone else. In the end afraid to lose true love by succombing to tempatation.

anonymous November 11th, 2006 04:21PM  
If there are any die-hard u2 fans out there, I think a lot of them would agree that this song is about bono's wife, ali. If you read the lines, "brown eyed girl across the street, on rue street divine, I thought this was the one for me, but she was already mine, she was already mine..." bono has mentioned in interviews that he has been tempted by other women, but when he is, he notices that this girl he is infacuated with is indeed his wife. Thus, the line, "I could never take the chance of losing love to find romance" he is saying that he could never do anything to hurt his wife because what he has with her is love, and infacuation isn't worth losing that love. But that could just be me. Lol. I dunno.

anonymous November 24th, 2008 05:36PM  
"Little sister don’t you worry about a thing today
Take the heat from the sun
Little sister
I know that everything is not ok
But you’re like honey on my tongue"
This first verse makes me think about a man who finds this girl that is obviously not his wife. He knows that (shall we say) hanging out with this girl is not the holiest thing to do, but her love is so sweet and takes him back to the early days of his marriage when love was all about feeling good.

"True love never can be rent
But only true love can keep beauty innocent"
Bono writes perfectly about how the only pure, beautiful love is when you are married. True love isn't with a boyfriend or a girlfriend you date for a couple of months (can't be rent). It is the hardships and true commitment that make love what it is.

"I could never take a chance
Of losing love to find romance
In the mysterious distance
Between a man and a woman
No I could never take a chance
‘Cos I could never understand
The mysterious distance
Between a man and a woman"
He would never let physical and fake, rented-out love to take away the true, everlasting love he has in his marriage.

"You can run from love
And if it’s really love it will find you
Catch you by the heel
But you can’t be numb for love
The only pain is to feel nothing at all
How can I hurt when I’m holding you?"
Love, no matter how far away your spouse is, still lives on if it is truly love. True love is wonderful, but it is not pain-free. There are hardships every couple must face. The couples learn to get over their arguments and problems because in the end, how can you be mad at your everlasting friend forever? The only pain in a relationship is after the fighting is over, you feel no love for them anymore. However, this song explains how he always loves his wife no matter how many stupid arguments they get into.

"And you’re the one, there’s no-one else..."
Again, Bono expresses his deep love he has for his wife. No matter what happens, he always feels the deep love in his heart that makes his soul just float away.

"Brown eyed girl across the street
On rue Saint Divine
I thought this is the one for me
But she was already mine
You were already mine…"
This is obviously describing his wife of 26 years Ali Hewson.

"Little sister
I’ve been sleeping in the street again
Like a stray dog
Little sister
I’ve been trying to feel complete again
But you’re gone and so is God"
Finally, his wrongdoings are coming back to hit him. Not only is this girl he has been involved with left, but he has lost the only true love: his wife. Now, it is as if God has left him.

"The soul needs beauty for a soul mate
When the soul wants… the soul waits …"
This is probably my favorite line in the whole song. This line explains to me how sex is meant in the sacramental bond of marriage and with no one else. For when the soul wants real, true love expressed through sex, the soul will wait until it is with its true love AKA spouse.

"For love and sex and faith and fear
And all the things that keep us here
In the mysterious distance
Between a man and a woman"
These are all things that a couple experiences in a relationship. All of these experience, positive or negative, are just many experiences of life that keeps it going. There are also blessful life experiences that color our lives that make life worth living. He is so thankful he gets to spend those moments with his wife Ali.

anonymous December 3rd, 2008 05:48PM  
I couldn't have said it better myself. that was a beautiful interpretation about a beautiful song, and I love how you defended and explained the sanctity of marriage and sexual love in marriage

anonymous August 22nd, 2009 11:48AM  
I've read a lot of your interpretations and they are very insightful. They've helped me look at these lyrics in a new way. They've helped me think of some other ideas to bounce off you guys -

It seems like in the beginning and ending verses when he's addressing "Little Sister" - that might be the "somebody else" that's asking for a relationship with him, that he can't have b/c he's married. And he basically says he can't keep her warm, but the sun can. He's not willing to cross that line.

And then the following lines are an expression of commitment to his wife.

In the end he addresses the "Little Sister" again and says basically that any holding out for her has left him empty, where the love he has with his wife is full and pure.

I love how he seems to use the "distance between a man and woman" in different ways. At first it's the exciting chase and attraction, then it's a risk he's not willing to take - the distance with infidelity. Then it's a myriad of other ways people are close but far...

These are just thoughts. I wish he'd speak on the issue (has he?) But in any case, if a song touches you and speaks to you and you hear something you needed to hear, even if it's not what was meant, I think most artists would be pleased with that.