The track that inspired Bono to become a singer: “I turned the song into a prayer”
As the figurehead of the Irish rock band U2, Bono condensed several decades of musical evolution into a highly marketable product. The mononymous singer took heed of Bob Dylan’s protest folk, The Beatles’ progressive rock and the angst-ridden punk era, establishing a sound of refined punk and radio-conscious progression.
When it comes to the protest element of Bono’s creative outlook, his songwriting oeuvre contains sociopolitically pertinent classics like ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ and ‘Mothers of the Disappeared’. His work in this field doesn’t stop here, however. Bono is also famed for his humanitarian work and political activism on a global scale.
One of Bono’s earliest musical infatuations was the work of Bob Dylan, whom he saw as the perfect idol. Not only did the American troubadour cover eternally resonant themes of injustice and inequality, but he also honed a poetic hand millions of artists yearn to adopt to this day. Although Dylan is difficult to equal and impossible to surpass, Bono has made many fruitful efforts over the years.
While appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs in 2022, Bono waxed lyrical about his adoration for Dylan, singling out 1981’s ‘Every Grain of Sand’ as one of his all-time favourite songs. Remembering events from earlier that morning, Bono likened the Bob Dylan classic to a deeply poetic and religious experience. “This very morning, I walked to Picadilly, and there was a Christopher Wren building there, a little church, and you can just sit there,” he began.
Bono entered the building and noticed that it had hosted William Blake’s baptism many years ago. “I saw on the door, written there on the plaque: ‘To see a World in a Grain of Sand / And a Heaven in a Wild Flower / Hold Infinity in the Palm of your hand / And Eternity in an hour,'” Bono quoted. “This must’ve been in Bob Dyan, in the back of his mind… ‘Every Grain of Sand’.” While Dylan has never confirmed the inspiration behind the lyrics, he is an avid bookworm and a fan of Blake’s work.
Following Dylan’s example, much of Bono’s work contains sociopolitical and religious themes. As a boy, the U2 singer grew up in a mixed Catholic and Anglican family with a large question mark hovering over both his future and his spiritual orientation.
Before Dylan taught Bono imperative lessons in songwriting, Peter Frampton “showed him the way” to future success. “I didn’t start out as a singer, for sure,” Bono said, picking out Frampton’s 1975 song ‘Show Me the Way’ as another of his Desert Island Discs. Bono recalled that when he tried to sing in a punk style, he “didn’t have a great rock and roll voice.”
However, when Bono tried singing Frampton’s prophetically-titled hit, he found his hymnic vocal territory. “It was in the high school gym, and the band were there, and we’re singing and we’re crap. It was an awful mess,” he recalled. “But when I sang that song, something went off and… I turned the song, a teenage boy turned this song into a prayer. Honestly, at the time I didn’t tell the band, but something in me was just wanting to know what to do with my life.”