U2’s “Easter Lily”
U2 marked Easter with the release of the “Easter Lily” EP. The six-track collection was the follow-up to the quartet’s “Days Of Ash” EP, which was released on Ash Wednesday, February 18th.
The band described the new EP as a “reflective set of songs… emerging from a more personal, private place that some may retreat to in such times – exploring themes of friendship, loss, hope, and ultimately, renewal.”
Song For Hal
Resurrection Song
“These songs are personally revealing but definitely not prescriptive,” commented guitarist The Edge. “They’re about where we go, what works for us. The songs we feel compelled to make sense of it all.”
Easter Parade
In A Life
Bono, U2’s vocalist, added: “With ‘Easter Lily’ we ended up asking very personal questions like: Are our own relationships up to these challenging times? How hard do you fight for friendship? Can our faith survive the mangling of meaning that those algorithms love to reward? Is all religion rubbish and still ripping us apart…? Or are there answers to find in its crevices? Are there ceremonies, rituals, dances that we might be missing in our lives? From the rite of Spring to Easter and its promise of rebirth and renewal.”
“Easter Lily” Tracks:
“Song For Hal” remembers U2 collaborator, Hal Willner, a music producer who worked with the band a number of times. He passed away in 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown. The Edge handles the lead vocals.
“In a Life” celebrates friendship.
“Scars” supports encouragement and acceptance; scars and all, with a twist.
“Resurrection Song” is about pilgrimage into the unknown with a lover or friend.
“Easter Parade” is a devotional song, a celebration of new life, rebirth and resurrection.
“COEXIST (I Will Bless The Lord At All Times?)” that’s for parents of children caught up in war. It features a soundscape by Brian Eno.
“We still look to vivid Rock ‘n’ Roll as an act of resistance against all this awfulness on our small screens,” commented Bono.
Easter Lily
U2
###.
