U2: Stay (Faraway, So Close!) Meaning

Stay (Faraway, So Close!) Lyrics

Green light, Seven Eleven
You stop in for a pack of cigarettes
You don't smoke, don't even want to
Hey now, check your change
Dressed up like a car crash
Your wheels are turning but you're upside down
You say when he hits you, you don't...

1. anonymous

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   Jul 21st 2022 !⃝

   I always heard the lyrics "when he hits you" and "because when he hurts you" as "when it hits you" (as in the car crash) and "it comes when it hurts you". I didn't hear the "he" as in a person hurting her, so none of my interpretation includes themes of abuse. Also, I didn't see either angel movie, so to me, the angel line is talking about the girl, metaphorically, silently falling. I'm also a Gen Z listening to this song, so that makes it a little different.
   
   For me, it's about anyone who's numb and you can't get through to them. Somebody who stares off into space. They've given up and they're not the same as they used to be. It can be about someone you're trying to talk with, but they're distracted, or their head is empty from TikTok, or they're not in reality, or they're letting their demons get the best of them while you're trying not to let your demons get the best of you. The world is ending and nobody cares. The person is dying inside, but they themselves are apathetic. It's just sad. It reminds me of "Numb" by U2 and a more desperate version of "Running to Stand Still" by U2 (which is a song about heroin addiction). You want them to stay but they're drowning in demons ("When the demons you drown").
   
   Anyway, I don't know if anybody thought a Gen Z would care about this song. I think the abuse and guardian angel themes people have talked about really go with this kind of interpretation, though. U2 is definitely my favorite band/artist (I've noticed their songs are a lot more serious than the pop I've grown up hearing).
2. Jan Büllesbach

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   Feb 8th 2011 !⃝

   The movie you're talking about is actually GERMAN, directed by the well-established Wim Wenders in 1993. It was called (quite fittingly) Faraway, so close, and was itself a sequel to the 1987 Wim Wenders movie "Himmel über Berlin" (Wings of Desire), only the latter is the one remade into the Nic Cage and Meg Ryan flick City of Angels, pretty much deprived of all symbolism, subtlety and pretension.
3. anonymous

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   Dec 21st 2010 !⃝

   The song is written about a french film from 1992, can't remember the title but the Nicolas Cage movie 'City of Angels' is the remake of the french film. The song is about his character 'a vampire or a victim' I believe refers to either being deceased - the victim, or he is 'the vampire' from the perspective of the victims loved ones, as in he is stealing the victim from them.
4. anonymous

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   Jan 9th 2008 !⃝

   "You say when IT hits you you don't mind" "Because when it hits you you feel alive" "When I touch you you don't feel a thing" Bono is personifying an angel, a real angel, (check out the Win Wenders video) My favorite line in the song is "You stumble from a hole in the ground. A vampire or a victim it depends on whose around" That is awesome!
5. blue

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   Oct 4th 2007 !⃝

   Now I'm no expert at analyzing U2 songs, but a lot of these lyrics tend to reference domestic violence.
   For instance:
   "You say when he hits you, you don’t mind
   Because when he hurts you, you feel alive."
   That's pretty straight in what it's saying. A woman is trying to defend her boyfriend/husband who is hurting her. Also, at the end of the song, Bono sings:
   "Three o’clock in the morning
   It’s quiet and there’s no one around
   Just the bang and the clatter
   As an angel runs to ground"
   Sounds as if the woman is either knocked down to the ground by her lover, or she gets killed. Lastly, the first line of the chorus:
   "If I could stay.. Then the night would give you up"
   Sounds like the narrator sees what is happening and wants to help, but finds it hard to do anything.
   
   Just some food for thought.

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