The "American Heritage Dictionary" defines vertigo as:
ver·ti·go (vûr'tĭ-gō') n. pl. ver·ti·goes or ver·ti·gos
- a.) The sensation of dizziness, or
b.) An instance of such a sensation. - A confused, disoriented state of mind.
The video does a good job of communicating this sense of "dizzyness". Just to be safe, you may want to view it while sitting down. ;-)
To be honest, when I first started trying to figure out what this song means I experienced vertigo myself. Talk about a confusing jumble of word pictures. I do not enjoy jigsaw puzzles and trying to make sense of this song felt like trying to piece together a jigsaw puzzle to me.
I found some insight into the song by doing some focused Internet searching. Music is art though, and as such, is open to interpretation. So, keep in mind, if any die-hard U2 fans read this whose opinions differ that is fine. My collection of thoughts regarding this topic are based on my own feelings as to how the song could be interpreted, and from reading the thoughts of some others about the meaning of this song whose words ring true with me. I didn't write the song, so I can't say this is how it 'should' be interpreted. I get the feeling if we asked Bono directly what it meant he would probably say something to the effect that "great art loses its meaning if the artist has to explain the work," or something kinda deep like that.
According to a post I ran across (which I have not verified is an actual quote from Bono), in an interview Bono did discuss the song in the following terms:
'Fear, paranoia, these are the type of things we wanted from 'Vertigo'. The album ends in quite an ecstatic place and, so we wanted to start off with a little bit of electric shock treatment. It's a club maybe, and you're supposed to be having the time of your life, but you want to kill yourself (laughs)….it's a light little ditty. These are nervous times, they really are, you turn on the news, you think 'Wow, who's next? My brother, my sister, my uncle, my aunt …nervous times.'
'It's a dizzy feeling, vertigo, a sort of sick feeling, when you get up to the top of something and there's only one way to go - that's not a dictionary definition, that's mine. And in my head I create a club, called Vertigo, with all these people in it, and the music is just not the music you want to hear, the people are not the people you want to be with. And then you just see somebody, she's got a cross round her neck, and you kind of focus on it because you can't focus on anything else, and you find a little, tiny, fragment of salvation there.'--Bono
The song starts interestingly enough. People will debate whether the first word in the song is "uno" or "unos". According to the official U2 website the correct word is "Unos" -which in Spanish means eleven. Not "uno" which means one. The last number in the four number sequence is "catorce", which means fourteen. So, one would think the middle numbers are twelve and thirteen - but, again the official U2 website says they are "dos" and "tres" which mean two and three if my Spanish is right (not "doce" and "trece" which would be twelve and thirteen). So, the song begins with a confusing number sequence "11, 2, 3, 14". This sets the stage for the confusion to follow. The writer is so disoriented he can't even count right.
Here are the lyrics with some thoughts interspersed:
Lights go down, it’s dark
The jungle is your head can’t rule your heart
A feeling is so much stronger than a thought
Your eyes are wide and though your soul, it can’t be bought -Your mind can wander
- Tension, confusion, struggle ("it's a jungle out there") - between what we know is right in our heart and where our "wide open eyes" and "wandering mind" can take us.
Hello, hello (¡Hola!) "Hello"
I'm at a place called vertigo (¿Dónde está?) "Where is it?" or "Where is that?"
It’s everything I wish I didn’t know
Except you give me something I can feel, feel
- The first two lines of the chorus are like a conversation between two different people -
"Hello."
"Oh, hello."
"I'm at Vertigo." (Or, "I'm experiencing vertigo").
"Oh really? Where is that?"
This conversation amplifys the sense of confusion, but also hints at the way out of the confusion as the first voice answers - "I'm not sure how to give you directions to this place - it's all just too confusing. All I know is that you give me something I can feel. Something that is separate from this 'vertigo' that surrounds me externally. Something that I know to be true in my heart." I almost get the feeling the second voice is unfamiliar with 'vertigo' or 'confusion', as it has to ask "Where is it?" The second voice is standing outside of what the writer is experiencing and is larger than what the writer is experiencing.
The night is full of holes
As bullets rip the sky of ink with gold
They twinkle as the Boys play rock and roll
They know that they can’t dance - at least they know….
- Another word picture - this is a description of a wild Friday night - there's a band playing a show under fireworks or one heckuva light show. This is the 'Club Vertigo' that Bono was describing in his interview. There's a lot of people here, there's a lot going on, a dull moment cannot be found here. There's light, there's energy, there's noise, this is the place to be - there's buzz, there's excitement. I'm not really sure, but I think the line "they know that they can't dance - at least they know" hints at a bit of emptiness in the midst of all the activity and entertainment. Maybe this plays into the "nervous times" part of his quote. In the midst of all this activity, these are nervous times. I'm uncertain about what tomorrow holds. Even the trappings of celebrity are temporary and fleeting and do not have significance beyond the here and now.
I can’t stand the beats - I’m asking for the cheque
The girl with crimson nails has Jesus round her neck
Swinging to the music - Swinging to the music - Oh oh oh oh
- I think the second half of the second verse here, develops the emptiness hinted at in the first half of the verse. "I can't stand it here. In spite of all the trappings of celebrity. In spite of this being the 'place to be.' I want to pay my bill and leave. There's got to be more than this vertigo, doesn't there?"
Then the girl with "Jesus 'round her neck" catches his attention. She is wearing a necklace with a cross on it. The cross, the symbol of hope for something better. For a life truly fulfilled. A life beyond the 'vertigo', the confusion, the spinning, the dizziness. Whether the wearer of the necklace believes it has any significance or not is not the point here - the point is that in the midst of all the dizzying activity a reminder was found of our true hope. Re-quoting Bono from earlier, "And then you just see somebody, she's got a cross round her neck, and you kind of focus on it because you can't focus on anything else, and you find a little, tiny, fragment of salvation there."
Musically, while Bono sings "Swinging to the music, swinging to the music, oh oh oh oh," you can almost feel the dizzyness here. They did an excellent job when arranging this song to make this section make you feel like you are spinning.
Hello, hello (¡Hola!)
I'm at a place called vertigo (¿Dónde está?)
It’s everything I wish I didn’t know
Except you give me something I can feel, feel
All of this, all of this can be yours
All of this, all of this can be yours
All of this, all of this can be yours
Just give me what I want and no-one gets hurt….
- The bridge is an interesting piece of work. This seems completely out of place lyrically. It's like a third voice has been introduced into the mix. This voice is full of promises, but is quite sinister. I found some online posts whose authors speculated this part of the song is in reference to Jesus' tempation in the wilderness. The devil took him up on a high cliff and told Jesus everything he saw could be his, if Jesus would only worship him. "Jesus, you can have it all! You can rule it all! But, you've got give me what I want first - you've got to worship me!"
I don't think the writer of the song is comparing himself to Jesus, but he may just be using this event from the Bible to draw a parallel. All of the light, sound, energy, activity, entertainment, celebrity, buzz - can be yours. Just let your mind "continue to wander" and forget what you know to be true in your heart. Lose yourself in the moment. Lose yourself in the vertigo. Put on the Band-Aid and forget about the cure.
Considering the fame and success of U2, is this not a tempation that they have faced? Is this not something that Bono has wrestled with personally? So, what is his response? I think we find it in the final chorus of the song that follows here, where he is back to the original conversation between two people. The second person, at this point in the song I think we have a pretty good idea is Jesus. The writer of the song chooses the love that is teaching him how to kneel - how to be humble in spite of incredible success - how to pray and be dependent on his Creator and not on his celebrity.
Hello, hello (¡Hola!)
We’re at a place called vertigo (¿Dónde está?)
Lights go down and all I know
Is that you give me something - I can feel your love teaching me how
Your love is teaching me how, how to kneel, kneel…
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
I know this is an incredibly long blog, and blogs are actually supposed to be short, but since I've already blown that rule, I'm going to push the envelope a little further. I noticed in this last chorus the lyrics are changed where before he sang "It's everything I wish I didn't know except you give me something I can feel," he sings "Lights go down and all I know is that you give me something . . .". What happens at the end of a concert? The lights go down - the crowd goes home. There is no more "rock star." There is no more "celebrity." There is only You and Your love teaching me how to kneel - how to be humble, how to pray, and to be dependent on Your grace.
Overall, not bad for a rock song, eh? :-)
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