Early
U2 was often mistakenly classified in the Christian genre. U2
band members disagreed with such a classification: U2 is not
just another Irish band and Bono is not just another Irish rocker.
Though they tend to incorporate Irish themes and styles in with
their music, it serves a purpose. In attempts to expose their
audience to different world cultures, U2 uses such styles to
do so.
Bringing
the world to his audience is one of Bono's unchanging goals;
what changes are the certain events and situations that inspire
him to continue. Events of the Northern Ireland peace process
led to the creation of many songs. In 1972 a peace march
led to the incident of Bloody Sunday, during which British paratroopers
shot and killed 14 unarmed Irish citizens. The infamous day
hit Bono hard and inspired the lyrics of the song "Sunday Bloody
Sunday." The song is often mistaken as a support anthem for
a rebel Irish group. But in fact Bono wrote the song to address
his passion for ending the revolution and the violence it caused.
Although
many themes Bono explores through his lyrics are political,
he tackles other subjects like heroine dependency. Heroine addiction
was becoming a problem for Dublin in the mid-80s. Reports showed
that 10% of Irish youths possibly had a drug dependency and
the number of drug-related deaths was remarkably rising through
the years. Bono sought to speak to those about the issue through
his music in some of his albums, including the song "Bad."
Famine
relief was another cause Bono supported mid-80s. Bono has continued
to promote awareness of famine-related cases by focusing on
debt, fair trade, disease, and helping developing countries
in and outside of his music.
Overall
making tributes to people who have died and encouraging an end
to violence inspire him to write. Songs such as "Pride",
"Stuck In A Moment That You Can't Get Out Of", and
"Tomorrow" deal with the deaths of people who were
either close to him or made an impact on his life.
