White as Snow (song)
Encyclopedia
"White as Snow" is a song by Irish
rock
band U2
and the ninth track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. It was written from the perspective of a dying soldier serving in Afghanistan
, and lasts the length of time it takes him to die. The track is based on the hymn "Veni, veni Emmanuel
", and is the only political song on the album.
to write a song for his 2009 film Brothers. Bono noted that Sheridan wanted a "complex song for a complex character" and so the band wrote two songs: "Winter
" and "White as Snow". While "Winter" is a "more universal song about the experience of the armed forces in Afghanistan", "White as Snow" focuses more on the relationship between the Cahill brothers. The band preferred "Winter" for the film, but as they also wanted to include the track on No Line on the Horizon they struggled to complete it in time for the film's planned release date. "White as Snow" was selected to be used in its place, though the push back of the film's release date meant that the band could finish "Winter" and it was ultimately used instead.
, lead singer Bono
revealed that he became tired of writing in the first-person, noting that "I'd just worn myself out as a subject matter"; as a result he created several characters, including a traffic cop, a drug addict, and a soldier serving in Afghanistan
. The soldier's character appears in "White as Snow", which focuses on the soldier's last thoughts as he dies from the wounds caused by an improvised explosive device
. Bono came up with the idea after reading Pincher Martin
, written by William Golding
.
The melody of "White as Snow" is based on that of the traditional Advent
hymn "Veni, veni Emmanuel
". Stemming from a conversation on hymns with Bono, producer Daniel Lanois
began to study the subject with Newfoundland
musician Lori Anna Reid and asked her for some suggestions of hymns U2 could play. Reid came up with several suggestions, one of which was "Veni, veni Emmanuel"; Lanois recorded a piano rendition of the hymn for the band and laid down a vocal arrangement, noting "Bono had this "white as snow" idea. It just slowly came together." Lanois later stated that it was "no accident Reid's suggestion made the album."
The song was recorded in one take during two weeks of recording sessions in Fez
, Morocco
in 2007, though it received some minor editing in the final sessions in December 2008. At this time, it was taken out of the 'Maybe' pile to balance out the rockier tunes present earlier on, with bassist Adam Clayton
noting that "it gave the listener a break." Bono noted that, with the exception of "White as Snow", the band had tried to keep the theme of war out of the album.
"White as Snow" runs for 4:41 (4 minutes, 41 seconds). According to Hal Leonard Corporation's sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, it is played in common time
at a tempo
of 88 beats per minute in the key
of G major
. Alternate sheet music by the same publisher states it is played at a tempo of 87 beats per minute in a key of E minor
. The original plan was for the track to start with an explosion, though this was later scrapped. Richard Watkins played the French horn in the song.
described it as "mostly alpine quiet — guitar, keyboard, Bono and harmonies, like The Doors
' "The Crystal Ship" crossed with an Appalachia
n ballad." Uncut
labelled it as "the most modest and most affecting track on the record, and one of the best things Bono has ever sung." Time Out called it "the absolute highlight without any doubt" of the album, while The Guardian
referred to it as "unadorned, evocative and suggestive", commenting that "you don't even have to know what it's about to feel its quiet power or sense its sadness". Mojo
had a more negative impression of the song, stating "the music is as lumpy as the words."
"White as Snow" appears as the fourth track in the Anton Corbijn
film Linear
, based on a story by Corbijn and Bono where a Paris
ian traffic cop travels across France and the Mediterranean Sea
to visit his girlfriend in Tripoli
. During the sequence, the cop, played by Saïd Taghmaoui
, pulls off the road and watches the clouds as they form into the shape of the Africa
n continent before falling asleep. It ends with him waking up and resuming his journey, where the next track, "No Line on the Horizon", begins.
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
and the ninth track on their 2009 album No Line on the Horizon. It was written from the perspective of a dying soldier serving in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
, and lasts the length of time it takes him to die. The track is based on the hymn "Veni, veni Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel is a translation of the Latin text by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin in the mid-19th century. It is a metrical version of a collation of various Advent Antiphons , which now serves as a popular Advent hymn...
", and is the only political song on the album.
Inspiration
U2 were asked by Jim SheridanJim Sheridan
Jim Sheridan is an Irish film director. A six-time Academy Award nominee, Sheridan is perhaps best known for his films My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, Get Rich or Die Tryin and In America.-Life and career:...
to write a song for his 2009 film Brothers. Bono noted that Sheridan wanted a "complex song for a complex character" and so the band wrote two songs: "Winter
Winter (U2 song)
"Winter" is a song by rock band U2. The track was originally planned to be included on the band's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, but it was cut at the end of the recording sessions as it did not fit the album's theme. The song does appear on the accompanying film Linear...
" and "White as Snow". While "Winter" is a "more universal song about the experience of the armed forces in Afghanistan", "White as Snow" focuses more on the relationship between the Cahill brothers. The band preferred "Winter" for the film, but as they also wanted to include the track on No Line on the Horizon they struggled to complete it in time for the film's planned release date. "White as Snow" was selected to be used in its place, though the push back of the film's release date meant that the band could finish "Winter" and it was ultimately used instead.
Writing, recording, and composition
In an interview with The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, lead singer Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
revealed that he became tired of writing in the first-person, noting that "I'd just worn myself out as a subject matter"; as a result he created several characters, including a traffic cop, a drug addict, and a soldier serving in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. The soldier's character appears in "White as Snow", which focuses on the soldier's last thoughts as he dies from the wounds caused by an improvised explosive device
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
. Bono came up with the idea after reading Pincher Martin
Pincher Martin
Pincher Martin: The Two Deaths of Christopher Martin , is a survivalist novel by British writer William Golding, first published in 1956...
, written by William Golding
William Golding
Sir William Gerald Golding was a British novelist, poet, playwright and Nobel Prize for Literature laureate, best known for his novel Lord of the Flies...
.
The melody of "White as Snow" is based on that of the traditional Advent
Advent
Advent is a season observed in many Western Christian churches, a time of expectant waiting and preparation for the celebration of the Nativity of Jesus at Christmas. It is the beginning of the Western liturgical year and commences on Advent Sunday, called Levavi...
hymn "Veni, veni Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel
O come, O come, Emmanuel is a translation of the Latin text by John Mason Neale and Henry Sloane Coffin in the mid-19th century. It is a metrical version of a collation of various Advent Antiphons , which now serves as a popular Advent hymn...
". Stemming from a conversation on hymns with Bono, producer Daniel Lanois
Daniel Lanois
Daniel Lanois born September 19, 1951 in Hull, Quebec) is a Canadian record producer, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. He has released a number of albums of his own work and has produced albums for a wide variety of artists, including Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Peter Gabriel, Emmylou Harris, Willie...
began to study the subject with Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
musician Lori Anna Reid and asked her for some suggestions of hymns U2 could play. Reid came up with several suggestions, one of which was "Veni, veni Emmanuel"; Lanois recorded a piano rendition of the hymn for the band and laid down a vocal arrangement, noting "Bono had this "white as snow" idea. It just slowly came together." Lanois later stated that it was "no accident Reid's suggestion made the album."
The song was recorded in one take during two weeks of recording sessions in Fez
Fes, Morocco
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
in 2007, though it received some minor editing in the final sessions in December 2008. At this time, it was taken out of the 'Maybe' pile to balance out the rockier tunes present earlier on, with bassist Adam Clayton
Adam Clayton
Adam Charles Clayton is a musician, best known as the bassist of the Irish rock band U2. Clayton has resided in County Dublin since the time his family moved to Malahide when he was five years old in 1965...
noting that "it gave the listener a break." Bono noted that, with the exception of "White as Snow", the band had tried to keep the theme of war out of the album.
"White as Snow" runs for 4:41 (4 minutes, 41 seconds). According to Hal Leonard Corporation's sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, it is played in common time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
at a tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 88 beats per minute in the key
Key (music)
In music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of G major
G major
G major is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp, F; in treble-clef key signatures, the sharp-symbol for F is usually placed on the first line from the top, though in some Baroque music it is placed on the first space from the bottom...
. Alternate sheet music by the same publisher states it is played at a tempo of 87 beats per minute in a key of E minor
E minor
E minor is a minor scale based on the note E. The E natural minor scale consists of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. The E harmonic minor scale contains the natural 7, D, rather than the flatted 7, D – to align with the major dominant chord, B7 .Its key signature has one sharp, F .Its...
. The original plan was for the track to start with an explosion, though this was later scrapped. Richard Watkins played the French horn in the song.
Reception
Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
described it as "mostly alpine quiet — guitar, keyboard, Bono and harmonies, like The Doors
The Doors
The Doors were an American rock band formed in 1965 in Los Angeles, California, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, drummer John Densmore, and guitarist Robby Krieger...
' "The Crystal Ship" crossed with an Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
n ballad." Uncut
UNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
labelled it as "the most modest and most affecting track on the record, and one of the best things Bono has ever sung." Time Out called it "the absolute highlight without any doubt" of the album, while The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
referred to it as "unadorned, evocative and suggestive", commenting that "you don't even have to know what it's about to feel its quiet power or sense its sadness". Mojo
Mojo (magazine)
MOJO is a popular music magazine published initially by Emap, and since January 2008 by Bauer, monthly in the United Kingdom. Following the success of the magazine Q, publishers Emap were looking for a title which would cater for the burgeoning interest in classic rock music...
had a more negative impression of the song, stating "the music is as lumpy as the words."
"White as Snow" appears as the fourth track in the Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn
Anton Corbijn is a Dutch photographer, music video and film director. He is the creative director behind the visual output of Depeche Mode and U2, having handled the principal promotion and sleeve photography for both for more than a decade...
film Linear
Linear (film)
Linear is a 2009 film directed by Anton Corbijn. The film includes music from U2's 2009 studio album, No Line on the Horizon, and was included on both digital and DVD formats with several editions of the album.-Development:...
, based on a story by Corbijn and Bono where a Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
ian traffic cop travels across France and the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
to visit his girlfriend in Tripoli
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...
. During the sequence, the cop, played by Saïd Taghmaoui
Saïd Taghmaoui
Saïd Taghmaoui is a French actor and screenwriter. One of his defining screen roles was that of Saïd in the award winning 1995 French film La Haine directed by Mathieu Kassovitz...
, pulls off the road and watches the clouds as they form into the shape of the Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n continent before falling asleep. It ends with him waking up and resuming his journey, where the next track, "No Line on the Horizon", begins.