After listening to NLOTH again, thinking of all of this stuff, and skipping boots and SUC, i think its there best

that is a bold statement, but I am not sure if I disagree with you... tactful words, huh?

expanding on the "good book" metaphor... NLOTH is like one of those really good books that you are reading through it and your like "this is pretty good", but once you finish the last chapter and everything is resolved, it is just like "yes!, that was an awesome book!". I agree that the album is not linear and things are out of order in describing this character, but I think that on a another level it is very linear and this album was meant to be listened to straight through to get the "good book" affect. The first few songs (NLOTH, Magnificent, MOA, Unknown Caller) are setting the plot and setting the tone for what the rest of the album will "feel" like, the next chunk (crazy tonight, boots, stand up comedy) is where the action is. The last group of songs is the resolution, and breathe is kind of like the final battle, and cedars closes the whole thing out very nicely. However, I would agree with you guys on another level about how it is out of order in describing the character.

Dear Hey!You!Two!,

I wish the effect of NLOTH on me is as simple as you describe it: The clear linear order...the establishing of plot and mood...the unity of action in the middle...the happy resolution by the end. From this perspective, I simply cannot follow the track order. For instance, why does album switch from first to third person in its telling in such a random fashion. How does "Cedars" conclude the album in any desirable fashion? Who are the characters in this "novel" and what are their stories? Bono has stated that tracks 3 and 4 are narratively cohesive; the action centers on the same junkie character. This act or chapter of the album is clear enough; however, there is no way that "Magnificent" and "Crazy" frame this story in any meaningful manner.

Bono has related that the album probably takes place over 24 hours. Therefore, the stories must be interconnected, but if they are, why the polyphony and, perhaps more importantly, how the does the polyphonous pov weave together a coherent and conclusive story?

Hope this letter finds you and finds you well,


Stoker

I think the kinda central theme of the album is Africa; and I think that the title track, Fez/Being Born and Cedars form that "spine of the album". NLOTH starts off very epic and mysteriously - it is not clear who this girl in the title track is (I think she is just a literary device to be a subject of desire, awe, longing, hope etc). The lyrics are evocative and lean towards believing the seemingly impossible is possible: "time is irrelevant, it's not linear", "No Line on the Horizon". The song ends in a very interesting way too in the description of the character's dream - "I'm a traffic cop ... my siren's wailing but it's me that wants to get away". This is somebody who wants to escape himself and his responsibilities to pursue what he really wants - I think this is how Bono himself feels.

Fez/Being Born is an elaboration of the dream about the traffic cop (I LOVE how you can hear the motorbike in the background!). He is on the road to Cadiz, then onwards to his destination - Africa ("African Sun, at last"). The lyrics are genius in this song, merging the evocative description of the revving engine with a rebirth. There's something almost primeval about the song that I think is meant to portray an instinctive urge to get somewhere, to get to Africa and to help others. To do God's work.

Cedars is interesting because it's a complete contradiction to the first track. Now time is a precious commodity instead of being a non-existant obstacle: "spent the night tryin' to make a deadline, squeezing complicated lives into a simple headline", "I'm waiting on the waiter, he's taking a while to come". I think he is talking to the same "woman" as in the title track. "Thought of you the whole time, your salty tears". Why does he feel the need to point out her tears as being salty? Because this is a woman who's "like the sea" - imo it's referring to that. It's also interesting how he seems to be forgetting her memory, as if he hasn't seen her for years: "You took the photo from the fridge ... can't remember what then we did", "Haven't been with a woman it feels like for years, thought of you the whole time ..." The character is exhausted in the song; reflective of how much of a struggle the situation in Africa is, and there's a feeling of the character regretting and losing faith. Bono's charity work is similar to that of a journalist - presenting the situation to those who haven't or can't go there to see for themselves. The closing lines are very insightful into Bono's psyche - "choose your enemies carefully cos they will define you ... gonna last with you longer than your friends". He's very aware with what he's sacrificed with his campaigning for Africa.

That'st my take on the central theme of the album, I know many people won't share it. Just my 2 cents as they say.

Great post DGordon and I hadn't thought of it in that way before!  Very well thought and good points!  My impressions were much broader and I'm still digesting the album's elements but this makes alot of sense to me.   

while your theory works for those 3 songs, it doesn't fit in quite so well with the rest. I don't doubt that his work had a big influence in his lyric writing process, but I personally am sticking to the thought that every song is a piece of 1 puzzle. In reply to your reply, stoker, I think I am starting to piece a few things together. I was describing mood and flow from song to song that reminded me of a story (plot building, climax, resolution), that is how the album feels. But back to the characters. It is pretty jumbled up but I think there are multiple, possibly interconnected, story lines. The person in NLOTH, Magnificent, White as Snow, and Cedars are all the same. This person obviously likes a girl and is also experiencing forgiveness. The person in Unknown Caller Moment of Surrender and the person who is trying to get let into the sound because he doesn't want to drown in Get on Your Boots are all the same too. It is an addict who needs help and gets it from God. I think the part in Boots goes before Unknown caller in the chronological order. The person in Crazy Tonight and Fez are the same. He is a person who feels trapped and really needs to get away, and does in Fez. The majority of Boots and Stand up Comedy are the "moral" of the story. Not quite sure where breathe fits in yet. Perhaps they are all one person and these are just different parts of his life. Anyway, here is what I think is the chronological order for the 3 characters in the story.

Person 1
-NLOTH
-Cedars
-White as snow
-Magnificent

person 2
-Boots
-Unknown Caller
MOS

person 3
-Crazy tonight
-Fez

This is really just a shot in the dark, and I am sure their are some holes in my theories, so have at it

Does anyone think "Breathe" has two different characters in it, one for each verse, and they both join to find grace by the end of the song?

Good points in your Cedars analysis, DGordon. I totally agree with the exhaustion, etc. expressed there. There is also the element of having deliberatley run away from responsibilities popping up here again "I'm here because I don't want to go home". Seems to be a common theme on this album. However, another common theme of the album can'tbe missed in Cedars: the otherworldly voice whispering in his ear "return the call to home..." Yet another invitation to surrender?

I like the cedars analyis

I agree with it

The narrator or person in "White as Snow" is not the same as the character in "Cedars." Unless the soldier in the former survived his ordeal (presumably during the war in Iraq), was sent back home to his family in the US or wherever, could not re-integrate, trekked back to the war to tune back in, not as soldier, but as a journalist, with enough time left
between his return to Iraq and the moment dramatized in U2's song, to become completely disenchanted once more. Illogical in my mind and entirely devoid of context. "Magnificent" does not tie in at all to "Cedars." The title track may be alluded to in "Cedars" in the image of "her salty tears." But that still leaves us with difficulty of explaining how they are the same person when in "NLOTH" the narrator clearly states that he's a traffic cop not a journalist. He appears in "Being Born" again atop a motorcycle near the Bay of Cadiz. Nowhere near the war in Iraq.

The theme of the album cannot be Africa because Africa is not a theme, it's a place. Africa may be one of the numerous symbols used in the album (primarily in "Being Born"), but it does not recur often enough for any of us to state that it is the dominant theme of the album. How can Africa be a theme? What does Africa symbolize in our present day and how does it totally come to dominate the album when it is barely referenced? 'Cause of Bono's charity work? I do believe this album is meant to be an escape for the author from his daily "world saving" labor, hence the "let me in the sound" plea on "Boots." By the time we shuffle to "Fez," the "let me in the sound" soundbyte has become the album's central refrain, hence the album's underlying theme. But what does it mean? The conclusion of the album "proper" tells us. Look into track 10 for the album's rumbling revelation.

"Return the call" from "Cedars" is obviously an allusion to "MOS." Yes, it is another call to surrender. Surrender to what? Press play, listen and then rewind. Exile and return is one of the album's themes. It has been for Bono since day one. But never better expressed than on "NLOTH," where it takes on a mythical significance. On this album, the band plug into the nexus and rediscover their mojo. Rebirth is the order of the day. The theme is not new. But the form it's taken is quite novel.

If anyone can tie in "Cedars" to the rest of the album in a satisfactory way, I'll declare them the winner of the challenge before we even get to the natural conclusion of this thread.

I'll throw the gauntlet. Watch this move...

Every song on "NLOTH" dramatizes the act of transcendence, except "Cedars." The gate is sealed for him. "Return the call to home." Maybe not?

Pitchfork ranked "Joshua Tree" in the 30's on its top 100 alums of the 80's. But U2 didn't crack top 100 for either the 90's or 00's category. F'in press! I might as well go study the thematic complexities of Weezer and such. Pathetic. Their entire journalism against our heroes, all their malicious clippings and satanic numerical scores, and U2 still wins unscathed. They cannot touch us.

I am the gatekeeper and these keys are my sword. The belt-clip my scabbard.