"Sunday Bloody Sunday" | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Single by U2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
from the album War | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Released | 21 March 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Format | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Recorded | July 1982; Windmill Lane Studios, Dublin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Genre | Post-punk | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Length | 4:40 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Label | Island | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Writer(s) | U2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Producer(s) | Steve Lillywhite | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
U2 singles chronology | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Sunday Bloody Sunday" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1983 album War and was released as the album's third single on 11 March 1983 in Germany and the Netherlands. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted for its militaristic drumbeat, harsh guitar, and melodic harmonies. One of U2's most overtly political songs, its lyrics describe the horror felt by an observer of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, mainly focusing on the Bloody Sunday incident in Derry where British troops shot and killed unarmed civil rights protesters and bystanders who were there to rally against Operation Demetrius-related internment (imprisonment without trial), while at the same time rejecting hate and revenge as a response noted in the lyrics, "There's many lost, but tell me who has won." Along with "New Year's Day," the song helped U2 reach a wider listening audience. It was generally well received by critics on the album's release.
The song has remained a staple of U2's live concerts. During its earliest performances, the song created controversy. Lead singer Bono reasserted the song's anti-sectarian-violence message to his audience for many years. Today, it is considered one of U2's signature songs, and is one of the band's most performed tracks. Critics rate it among the best political protest songs, and it has been covered by over a dozen artists. It was named the 272nd-greatest song by Rolling Stone on their list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
"Sunday Bloody Sunday" grew from a guitar riff and lyric written by the Edge in 1982. While newlyweds Bono and Ali Hewson honeymooned in Jamaica, the Edge worked in Ireland on music for the band's upcoming album. Following an argument with his girlfriend, and a period of doubt in his own song-writing abilities, the Edge—"feeling depressed... channelled [his] fear and frustration and self-loathing into a piece of music." This early draft did not yet have a title or chorus melody, but did contain a structural outline and theme. After Bono had reworked the lyrics, the band recorded the song at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin. During the sessions, producer Steve Lillywhite encouraged drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. to use a click track, but Mullen was firmly against the idea. A chance meeting with Andy Newmark (of Sly & the Family Stone) — a drummer who used a click track religiously – changed Mullen's mind. The opening drum pattern soon developed into the song's hook. A local violinist, Steve Wickham, approached the Edge one morning at a bus stop and asked if U2 had any need for a violin on their next album. In the studio for only half a day, Wickham's electric violin became the final instrumental contribution to the song.