Unlike most U2 fans I talk to, I actually like “Get On Your Boots”. It’s fun and funky and a little bit rockin’ and it scratches a very particular itch for me and my taste in music. I do agree with most fans, however, that it was a poor choice for first single in support of the album No Line On the Horizon. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that it shouldn’t have been a single at all. It’s just not accessible enough to serve as the introductory tool that singles are supposed to be. I think that “Magnificent”, the topic of today’s U2101 article, would have been a much better choice for first single. “Magnificent” is as poppy and hooky as “Beautiful Day” and still sonically interesting in a way that I believe would have made casual radio listeners curious about U2’s then-new album, which is the whole job of the important first single. Bono’s lyrics have taken criticism in the past for being too vague, but I think that’s one of my favorite things about the words he writes, and Magnificent is a perfect example. In the first verse, it sounds like Bono is singing to a lover. “I was born to be with you”, he sings in a way that makes me think he’s singing to and about Ali. The chorus of “

Only love, only love can leave such a mark
. But only love, only love can heal such a scar
.” supports the theory that this is a song about a romantic relationship. Then in the second verse, though, things take a little turn toward the spiritual. The final line of the second stanza, “I give you back my voice from the womb. My first cry, it was a joyful noise.” references the book of Psalms, chapter ninety eight, verse four from the Christian Bible, where it instructs readers to “make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” Suddenly, it becomes clear that all the preceding lyrics could just as easily have been about Bono’s personal relationship with God. It’s part of what makes U2 songs so personal to the listener, this ability to allow many different interpretations of every lyric, and it’s one of my favorite things about the band’s music.

Probably because I’m so fond of the song, I was really surprised when the band dropped “Magnificent” from their setlists near the end of the 360 Tour, especially since the song was played at a couple of high-profile dates that weren’t strictly part of the 360 Tour, (like the small set they played in front of the Brandenburg Gate and the twenty-fifth anniversary concert for the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame). Still, if you had asked me six months ago, I would have said that I thought that “Magnificent” would be carried over from the 360 Tour and would see regular performances on the Innocence + Experience Tour. I didn’t take into account the band’s apparently negative feelings about No Line on the Horizon, which seems to have been relegated to the same category as Pop, that being the “let’s pretend this album never happened” category. So it was that this past week, when “Magnificent” received its Innocence + Experience Tour debut that I was astounded and overjoyed. Honestly, after some of the surprises that U2 has pulled out of their collective hat this tour, can “Mofo” and “Acrobat” be far behind? Only the future will tell, but I know that I don’t want to miss a single night of the tour.