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Pride (In the Name of Love)
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"Pride (In the Name of Love)" is the second song on U2's 1984 album The Unforgettable Fire and was released as the album's first single. Written about Martin Luther King, Jr., "Pride" is one of the band's most recognized songs, and appeared as the opening track on the compilation The Best of 1980-1990, and on the 2006 compilation U218 Singles. The song was a mixed critical but major commercial success for the band and has since come to be regarded as one of the band's best songs.
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Encyclopedia
"Pride (In the Name of Love)" is the second song on U2's 1984 album The Unforgettable Fire and was released as the album's first single. Written about Martin Luther King, Jr., "Pride" is one of the band's most recognized songs, and appeared as the opening track on the compilation The Best of 1980-1990, and on the 2006 compilation U218 Singles. The song was a mixed critical but major commercial success for the band and has since come to be regarded as one of the band's best songs. It was named the 378th greatest song by Rolling Stone on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Origin and recording
The melody and the chords came out of a 1983 War Tour sound check in Hawaii. The song was originally intended to be about Ronald Reagan's pride in America's military power but writer Bono had been influenced by Stephen B. Oates's book Let The Trumpet Sound: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as by a biography of Malcolm X. These caused Bono to ponder the different sides of the civil rights campaigns, the violent and the non-violent. In subsequent years, Bono has expressed his dissatisfaction with the lyrics, which he describes, along with another Unforgettable Fire song "Bad", as being "left as simple sketches". He blames this on being swayed by The Edge and producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who played down the need to develop the lyrics as they thought the impressionistic nature was more important to the songs' feeling, particularly when heard by non-English speakers.
The last line of the middle verse refers to Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, "One man betrayed with a kiss".
The first line of the last verse erroneously refers to King's shooting as "Early morning, April 4", when it was actually after 6 p.m. Bono admits the error and in live performances he occasionally changes the lyric to "Early evening...", most notably at We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial.
Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders sang backing vocals on the recording. As she was married to Jim Kerr of Simple Minds at the time, her credit is in the name "Christine Kerr".
Reception
"Pride" reached #3 on the UK Singles Chart and made #8 on the Dutch Singles Chart. The song was the band's first top 40 hit in the United States, peaking at number 33. While not a big chart hit in the US, it gained considerable album oriented rock radio airplay and its video was on heavy rotation on MTV, thus helping U2 continue its commercial breakthrough begun with the War album.
It was on the New Zealand singles chart that "Pride" reached #1 givng the band their first chart topping single
Critical opinion on "Pride" was mixed. Besides Loder, Robert Christgau in The Village Voice complained of "the moralism with the turn-somebody-else's-cheek glorification of Martin Luther King's martyrdom."
However, the 1984 Pazz & Jop poll of 240 music critics ranked "Pride" as the 12th best single of that year, a higher ranking than the overall album, which finished 29th. The single's ranking remained the highest of any U2 single until "One" achieved 8th in 1992. Rolling Stone magazine placed the song at #378 in their list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Live
concert]]
"Pride" has appeared in virtually every U2 concert since the Unforgettable Fire Tour. As of 2006, it is the second-most performed song in the band's history, registering 746 known performances. ("I Will Follow" has 753 known performances, with many more earlier performances not documented.) Clips from King speeches are often shown on the stage's video screens during these performances. On January 18, 2009, U2 performed "Pride" on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, mere steps from where Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech, as part of the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial concert.
Live performances of "Pride" appear on concert films: Rattle and Hum (both the album and motion picture), Zoo TV: Live from Sydney, PopMart: Live from Mexico City, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago, Live from Paris, and U2 3D.
Music videos
Three music videos were made. The most-shown one features opening and closing shots of the docklands area in Dublin (including the recently opened East-Link between Ringsend and East Wall) in between which U2 performs the song in an empty school auditorium that gradually draws in children and staff members. There are two variations of it - the first is in black and white video, and the second one is colour. Both were directed by Donald Cammell. The other video portrays recording the song at Slane Castle, and also features Eno and Lanois. The third clip (rejected by the band) features faces of the band members, filmed from a close range. It was directed by Anton Corbijn.
Track listings
Version 1
- "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (Single Version) – 4:40
- "Boomerang II" – 4:48
A 7" release.
Version 2
- "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (Single Version) – 4:40
- "Boomerang I" (Instrumental) – 2:47
- "Boomerang II" – 4:48
- "4th of July" (Long Version) – 2:38
A 12" release in Ireland and the UK. The CD re-release has the same tracklisting. The CD itself does not list "4th of July" on the track list.
Version 3
- "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (Single Version) – 4:40
- "Boomerang I" (Instrumental) – 2:47
- "Boomerang II" – 4:48
- "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" (Long Version) – 4:10
- "Touch" – 3:21
The second 12" release, with the tracks from the "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" single.
Version 4
- "Pride (In the Name of Love)" (Single Version) – 4:40
- "Boomerang I" (Instrumental) – 2:47
- "Boomerang II" – 4:48
- "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" (Long Version) – 4:10
- "A Celebration" – 2:54
A cassette version released in the UK.
Chart positions
See also
External links
- —Lists all concerts at which "Pride" has been performed.
- —Comprehensive details on various editions, cover scans, lyrics, and more.
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