RJ Music Podcast 62 - U2 We're the people

In this episode, we'll listen to We Are the People, the official song of Euro 2020.

We'll also listen to an interview with Bono and The Edge. I'll explain the language used in this interview and we'll learn a lot of new words and expressions.

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https://hamibash.com/rjpodcast

Link of the video of the opening ceremony of Euro 2020:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTrIR8GVzaE

Text of the Interview:

Hi, you guys.

Hi.

Hello.

Thank you so much

for being here.

I have been waiting for this for 15 years.

And this means so much to me.

But it's just two

of you, but that's

still-- it's like, I mean,

I wanted the whole band.

And they just didn't

want to show up.

What happened?

No, no.

They're in oxygen tents.

They--

They like you.

We love you.

Yeah, that's the difference.

So Bono just has Bono.

There's no "the" before Bono,

so I know to call him Bono.

Right.

So you have The Edge.

Mm-hmm.

Should I call you The Edge, or The, or Edge?

I know it's difficult. The Edge,

only on very formal occasions.

Edge is fine in this situation.

Edge.

Perfectly fine.

And you call him Edge?

His mother called him Edge.

Really?

Mrs. The Edge called Edge, Edge.

Right.

Yes.

She was our first roadie, by the way.

Really?

Yes.

Yes, she was.

That's awesome.

She's no longer with us,

but she had a VW beetle.

Yeah.

And she used to drive us around.

We would be postering

at midnight.

We used wallpaper, and

we used to wallpaper

over other people's posters--

not very cool-- and

then she would call us

when the police came.

Saying, get out, boys!

Yeah.

Get out!

She was a Welsh, from Wales.

She drove the getaway car.

That is awesome, that

she was a roadie for you.

That's amazing.

She wasn't great at setting

up the drums, you know,

but she was really good

at plugging in the guitar

amps and all that stuff.

Plugging in, that's

what she did?

She also-- I do recall, because

we're a high school band.

So Edge had cheese

sandwiches every single day

of high school--

every single day he

had cheese sandwiches.

Yeah.

And Mrs. The Edge, when asked

about that, said, no, really?

Actually, at one point I

opted for school lunches,

and guess what they

gave me the first day?

Grilled cheese sandwich.

Oh, no.

Yeah.

Well, at least it was elevated

to grilled cheese sandwiches.

Yeah.

I've told you this before,

but I was lucky enough

to be raised in New Orleans,

which is a great music town.

We've been.

I saw incredible music

growing up there.

And my first concert was y'all.

It was U2 on a riverboat that

held maybe 200 people that went

down the Mississippi River.

And it was when you

were touring with Boy.

Yeah.

And it was the greatest concert

to be on a riverboat and to see

y'all live.

And the energy was--

it was just incredible.

And it was just--

it meant so much to me that

you were my first concert.

It was a show we will

never forget, as well.

Really?

Can you remember the

girl with the mullet?

That's right.

That was me, right there.

That's right.

We knew you'd go far.

Yeah.

We're going to see her one day--

She's great.

Party in the back,

party in the front, too.

Yes.

It was a party all

the way around,

because I was in New Orleans.

That's why.

That's right.

So you met in high

school, right?

Yeah.

Mm-hmm.

And you hit it off.

I can't believe this is, like,

40 years that the band is still

together-- same members and

you all still like each other.

You're still touring.

It's kind of more like a

family than a band sometimes.

Yeah.

That's really sweet.

A dysfunctional family.

But is it-- do you have things

that drive each other crazy?

We know each other so

well at this point that--

--we can finish each

other's sentences.

[APPLAUSE]

That was funny.

Yeah.

You're supposed to say

we can finish each other,

and you're going

to say, sandwiches.

By the way, how did you know?

Yes.

We won't get into that.

Because it would be a

cheese sandwich, too.

Blessed are the cheese makers.

But what drives you

crazy about each other?

Early on, definitely

your lunch was not safe.

Bono never had a lunch, so

he would borrow from other people's.

I was a little bit of

a stray dog as a kid.

There was no-- you know, my

mother died when I was a kid,

so I had sort of--

what do you call it, latch key?

Is that what they

call it in America?

Yeah.

Anyway, just a scavenger.

And I mean, it's no joke for me

to say nothing drives me crazy

about them in any real sense,

because genuinely they kind of

saved my life.

I mean, I really felt as

a teenager I had no reason

to exist until I found them.

And they also supplied food and refreshments.

That's amazing.

Yeah.

[APPLAUSE]

And I don't know if

this is interesting,

but my missus, Ali, I dated

her the same week I joined U2.

And that was a great week.

So you-- wait.

So you met your future

wife and your band

that you would

continue for 40 years.

I dated her.

I'd met her before.

Right.

But we started dating the same week that U2 was formed.

What an amazing--

So I just got two

good decisions, right.

Yes, yes.

Everything else,

I'll screw it up.

No.

And it is interesting.

That's fantastic.

Yeah, OK.

Lyrics

We're a million volts in a pool of lights

Electricity in the room tonight

Born from fire

Sparks flying from the sun

Yeah, I hardly know you, can I confess?

I feel your heart beatin' in my chest

If you come with me

Tonight is gonna be the one

'Cause you've faith and no fear for the fight

You pull hope from defeat in the night

There's an image of you in my mind

Could be mad but you might just be right

We are the people we've been waiting for

Out of the ruins of hate and war

Army of lovers never seen before

We are the people we've been waiting for

We are the people of the open hand

The streets of Dublin to Notre Dame

We'll build it better than we did before

We are the people we've been waiting for

We are the people we've been waiting for

Broken bells and a broken church

Heart that hurts is a heart that works

From a broken place

That's where the victory's won

'Cause you've faith and no fear for the fight

You pull hope from defeat in the night

There's an image of you in my mind

Could be mad but you might just be right

We are the people we've been waiting for

Out of the ruins of hate and war

Army of lovers never seen before

We are the people we've been waiting for

We are the people of the open hand

The streets of Dublin to Notre Dame

We'll build it better than we did before

We are the people we've been waiting for

We are the people we've been waiting for

Source: LyricFind

Songwriters: Albin Andreas Nedler / Dave Evans / Giorgio H Tuinfort / Kristoffer Fogelmark / Martijn G Garritsen / Paul Hewson / Simon Edmund Carmody

We Are The People lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC