U2 drops surprise EP with song honoring Renee Good
In a surprise drop, U2 has released a new EP of five songs and a poem, and the first track pays tribute to Renee Good.
The EP, released on Ash Wednesday and called "Days of Ash" is "of the moment we wish we weren't in ... but are," said U2 frontman Bono.
Though the band is planning to release an album later this year, the songs — inspired by the deaths of Good, Iranian schoolgirl Sarina Esmailzadeh, Palestinian activist and cinematographer Awdah Hathaleen and the war in Ukraine — "couldn't wait," Bono said.
"These songs were impatient to be out in the world. They are songs of defiance and dismay," he said.
Bono said he started writing the lyrics to the opening track "American Obituary" the day after Good was killed by an ICE agent in south Minneapolis.
"Renee Good born to die free/American mother of three/Seventh day January/A bullet for each child, you see /The color her eye/930 Minneapolis/To desecrate domestic bliss/Three bullets blast, three babies kissed/Renee the domestic terrorist???/What you can't kill can't die/America will rise/Against the people of the lie," Bono sings.
He described the song as a "bit more punk rock" than the band's 1983 protest song "Sunday Bloody Sunday" because that's how family members described Good. The rhythm of the lyrics, he said, were inspired by Bob Dylan.
"American Obituary is a song of fury ... but more than that a song a grief. Not just for Renee but for the death of an America that at the very least would have had an inquiry into her killing," Bono said.
The federal government says there is no criminal investigation into Good's killing, and cut out the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension from accessing evidence and information.
"It is an incredible honor to have the talent and impact of U2 spreading a message of peace in Renee's name. We certainly feel the urgency of the country's situation reflected in the band's powerful call for change and coming together," Good's parents said in a statement.
The band also published a special 40th anniversary edition of their magazine "Propaganda," which dives into the inspiration behind the songs and the collaboration with artists Ed Sheeran and Taras Topolia on the final track "Yours Eternally."
U2 is not the only band to write a protest song in the wake of Good's killing. In late January, Bruce Springsteen released "Streets of Minneapolis," which also honors Alex Pretti.
Read the full lyrics to "American Obituary"
You have the right to remain silent
Or not…
God above a mother's love
A guiding hand to pick you up
To crush her like a coffee cup
Why?
Crossing guard or yellow bus
Our children teach us who to trust
The worst can't kill what's best in us
But they can try
America will rise
Against the people of the lie
I love you more
Than hate loves war
I love you more
Than hate loves war
(War, war)
We love you more than hate loves war
Renee Good born to die free
American mother of three
Seventh day January
A bullet for each child, you see
The color of her eye
930 Minneapolis
To desecrate domestic bliss
Three babies blast, three babies kissed
Renee the domestic terrorist???
What you can't kill can't die
America will rise
Against the people of the lie
I love you more
Than hate loves war
I love you more
Than hate loves war
(War, war)
We love you more than hate loves war
I am not mad at you, Lord
You're the reason I was there
Could you stop a heart from breaking
By having it not care?
Could you stop a bullet it midair?
She says…
The power of the people is so much stronger than the
People in power
The power of the people is so much stronger than the
People in power
The power of the people is so much stronger than the
People in power
In the streets with children playing
In the churches where they're praying
School teachers are explaining
America, America
The power of the people!
We love you more (we say, we say) than hate loves war
I love you more (I say, I say) than hate loves war.
