Sunday Bloody Greenday? U2, Rumi, & Iran

When performing live, U2 has always loved taking its politically charged anthems and changing the context of their original commentary to make a statement about current events. This tour, the call to new awareness comes with “Sunday Bloody Sunday” getting bathed in green light as an expression of solidarity with the democracy movement in Iran.

As Larry’s always chilling drumbeats announce the fiery hymn of peace, a fragment in Persian of Rumi’s poem known as “Song of the Reed Flute” scrolls down the Claw’s colossal screens. As one translation suggests, words like “Listen to the reeds as they sway apart/hear them speak of lost friends” could easily speak to the recent protests.

Rumi’s poetry reflects the mood of No Line On the Horizon, with its North African and Middle-Eastern influences. When the album came out, critic Cathleen Falsani noted, “The ecstatic language and imagery Bono evokes throughout could have been penned by the Hebrew King David or Sufi Muslim poets Rumi or Hafez, as much as by a latter-day Christ-follower from Dublin.”

In 2007, the members of U2 attended a performance of Rumi’s poems in Fez, Morocco at the Festival of Sacred Music that honored the poet’s 800^th birthday. At the time, National Geographic reported, “Iranian singer Parissa celebrated Rumi’s memory with a spellbinding set of his poems, set to music in the Persian classical style by the impressive Dastan Ensemble. Parissa’s crystal-clear voice and emotional delivery breathed new life into Rumi’s venerable verses-even for those who couldn’t speak Farsi. Among those enthralled by Parissa’s performance were U2′s Bono and the Queen of Jordan.”

Like Bono’s lyrics, Rumi’s poems blend the spiritual and the sexual in a manner that honors both. A society that honors both might be the more peaceful place that U2′s songs and Rumi’s poems have always dreamed possible. -Andrew William Smith, Editor

Photo by Martin Stieglmayer of U2gigs.com