U2’s most overtly political song was influenced by the events that took place in Derry, Northern Ireland on Sunday 30th January 1972. British soldiers opened fire on unarmed civil rights protesters, killing fourteen. The members of the Dublin-based band grew up during “the Troubles”, a Northern Ireland-based sectarian conflict which lasted from the late 1960s to 1998. The conflict was mainly between Protestant unionists, who wanted Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK, and Catholic nationalists (republicans), who wanted unification with Ireland, but there were many civilian victims.
The song is a plea for peace. An early draft of the song spoke out more explicitly against idealising the republican cause, which had a lot of support in the United States, but the lyrics were toned down. U2 stressed that the song was a condemnation of events, not a glorification of a cause, with Bono also introducing it at concerts as “not a rebel (i.e. republican) song” either. Recently, while promoting his memoir, Bono described it as “not just a song; a map, a way forward in the world.”
Lyrically, the song is entirely in the present simple, giving immediacy to the message. It begins with shock and disbelief at the news from Derry, which is impossible to ignore. The singer wonders when the conflict will end, expressing hope for a peaceful resolution. This is the “victory Jesus won” on the first Easter Sunday.
The song was a huge hit for U2 in 1983, helping them to break into the US market and become one of the most successful bands in the world.
I can’t believe the news today
Oh, I can’t close my eyes and make it go away
How long, how long must we sing this song?
How long? How long?
‘Cause tonight
We can be as one
Tonight
Broken bottles under children’s feet
Bodies strewn across the dead-end street
But I won’t heed the battle call
It puts my back up, puts my back up against the wall
[CHORUS]
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Alright, let’s go
And the battle’s just begun
There’s many lost, but tell me who has won?
The trenches dig within our hearts
And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
Sunday, Bloody Sunday
How long, how long must we sing this song?
How long? How long?
‘Cause tonight we can be as one, tonight
Tonight, tonight (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
Tonight, tonight (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
Alright, let’s go
Wipe the tears from your eyes
Wipe your tears away
I’ll wipe your tears away
I’ll wipe your tears away (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
I’ll wipe your bloodshot eyes (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
[CHORUS]
And it’s true we are immune
When fact is fiction and TV reality
And today the millions cry (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
We eat and drink while tomorrow they die (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
The real battle has begun (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
To claim the victory Jesus won (Sunday, Bloody Sunday)
On Sunday, Bloody Sunday, yeah
Sunday, Bloody Sunday