I’m only askin’
But I… I think you know
One of the greatest songs of my generation, twice played on a mixtape in the car today on a brief trip to Oly… and then when I turned on XM33, there it was again. Released as a single 35 years ago next month, from one of the greatest albums of my generation. According to legend, Bono and the Edge had individually been noodling around with different melodies and chords for a long time… but when Larry and Adam laid down an astounding rhythm track in the band’s castle-studio – boom! It changed everything. It changed U2’s career. It changed the course of my personal evolution in regards to how I listen to, and think about, music.
It’s one of those songs that you can interject your own personal stories and situations into. You can collect, crystallize your thoughts within it, while simultaneously wondering. Wandering. It’s so ingeniously emotion-stirring, and so epic. Epically Romantic, in the classic sense.
You can tell someone – a friend, a lover, a heartbreaker, whomever – “Listen to this… this is what I’m feeling right now. About myself, about my world. About you. About us.” It’s a plea, a statement, a narration, a lament. Pick one, or all. It’s whatever you want it to be. Need it to be. I never, ever tire of this song… and it seems to come along at just the right times.
“Walk on by
Walk on through
So sad to besiege your love so head on
Stay this time
Stay tonight in a lie
I’m only asking but I
I think you know
Come on take me away”
This is for my dear friend Linda, who loves it at least as much as I do. And for one or two others; maybe three. You know who you are, and hopefully you know why.
– Steve Stav
