Album Review

U2's "War"

The title of U2’s 1983 album “War” is self-explanatory. The entire disc is a compilation of songs that protest the wrong-doings and tragedies of war. With song titles such as “The Refugee” and “Surrender”, it is full of lyrics that make you think about the horrific things that happen in war. The album is a documentation mainly of the troubles in Northern Ireland during the 1980’s. The first song on the album is “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, the most profound example of anti-war activism within U2’s music. The song is a seemingly rock ballad against a military style drum beat. The lyrics speak of the Bloody Sunday incident in 1972 in which Irish civilians were shot by the British military in a brutal blood bath. The song made listeners aware without profiling U2 as radical protesters.


Throughout the album, a diverse combination of slow melody and harsh drum beats and guitar rifts can be heard. The songs “Seconds” and “New Years Day” both feature light melodies with thought-provoking (but not too thought-provoking) lyrics that quietly criticize the government and its ongoing wars. Nearing the end of the album, “Surrender” is lighter still. The lyrics talk of living on the streets and surviving poverty. In another direction, the song “The Refugee” has more of a punk-rock feel and again protests pointless fighting. It talks of a man going to war but “he don’t know what for”. While the songs of “War” can be completely different in melody, the purpose of their lyrics is the same: to promote awareness in Ireland and the world about the adversities of senseless wars.