My countdown to Valentine’s Day continues with one of the most romantic songs I can think of. Paired with a brilliantly unusual video that’s somehow absolutely perfect… they have literally brought me to tears, on occasion, for over 30 years now. It. Is. So. Fucking. Great.
At the band’s peak, Bono and the Edge evoked emotion to such such an extraordinary degree. Hearing “All I Want Is You” is akin to listening to Madama Butterfly or another great piece of classical or operatic music. Remove the vocal track, and you can still follow along to this epic love story very well. “Listen, here comes that part… ” And that part is the sound of a heart, a motorcycle, perhaps both, screaming into the night. Shifting gears, higher and higher, in this howling, redlining crescendo… and then, it cuts out.
Did he reach his destination? Did he find his love? Did he miss a turn, and fly off of a cliff into the darkness? All three?
U2 – All I Want Is You 1989 (Rattle and Hum) Official Video from Jeremy Blanc on Vimeo.
