U2
Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me

So, I have always considered this song along with "Gone" as a kind of manifesto for rock stars, or at least for the rock star Bono Vox, narrated and judged by Bono himself in a very ironic and slightly irreverent way.

The lyrics in some respects aim to almost amusingly destroy the messianic image that has been built (or was built for him?) over the '80s, and which was already largely erased after "Achtung Baby" and the "Zoo TV" (here we are in 1995).

In my opinion, it was a piece that the front man had wanted to write for a long time, but somehow could still come out thanks to its adaptation to another superstar, Batman: the song is part of the "Batman Forever" movie soundtrack, indeed.

The song has a very captivating mood, at times acidic, in perfect U2 '90s style, and perfectly synergistic with the lyrics, as we will see:

"You don't know how you took it
You just know what you got
Oh Lordy you've been stealing
From the thieves and you got caught
In the headlights
Of a stretch car
You're a star".

In the first verse, it's probably about talent, skill as a natural artistic gift ("You don't know how you took it, you just know what you got"), but at the same time a gift that the person being talked about has stolen in turn, not from just anyone, but from thieves themselves. ("You've been stealing from the thieves"). It's no secret that Bono has spoken about how every artist is someone who nurtures and draws inspiration for themselves also and especially from the work of others; if in "The Fly" the artists were "cannibals", here they are "thieves", stealing from other artists, thieves themselves. The "stretching car" will be a limousine, one of many on which our hero is now accustomed to ride.


"Dressing like your sister
Living like a tart
They don't know what you're doing
Babe, it must be art
You're a headache
In a suitcase
You're a star".

"Dressing like your sister" is perhaps a joke about some clothes he wore (often truly hideous), but generally about the somewhat effeminate clothes that all rock stars eventually use to wear, when their ego is big enough not to worry about modesty... "Living like a tart" ("You live like a little hooker"), meaning you're always on the go, our Bono was never too sedentary. "They don't know what you're doing, baby, it must be art" highlights the fact that it is always possible to mask the mishaps that might occur and somehow could damage the public image.

"Oh no, don't be shy
You don't have to go blind
Hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me".

"Oh don't be shy, you don't have to go blind" is an invitation to the fan not to be a fanatic, not to be blind and consider their idol as an untouchable figure, but to recognize their faults as well as their virtues, in order not to idealize a figure that clearly cannot be preserved for too long and can become burdensome to sustain over time. But to the fan, none of this matters, probably feeling protected by this figure, identifying with it, and somehow justifying themselves: they just want to be held, thrilled, kissed, and ultimately killed by the star.

"You don't know how you got here
You just know you want out
Believing in yourself
Almost as much as you doubt
You're a big smash
You wear it like a rash
Star".

"You don't know how you got here, you just know you want out, you believe in yourself almost as much as you doubt", here it might still be about Bono himself, with all his contrasting personality, at times very self-assured, charismatic, a leader, but in some moments also very fragile and at risk of losing all his convictions.

"Oh no, don't be shy
It takes a crowd to cry
Hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me".

"They want you to be Jesus
To go down on one knee
But they'll want their money back
If you're alive at thirty-three
And you're turning tricks
With your crucifix
You're a star"

"They want you to be like Jesus", is probably another clear reference to Bono's figure in the '80s, considered due to his humanitarian involvement and the issues addressed in his lyrics as a sort of white fly of the star system or even a new Jesus Christ by the most exaggerated. A figure from which he most wanted to dissociate himself in the '90s. "But they'll want their money back if you're alive at 33" is another beautiful biblical image linked to the previous one and highlights the well-known fact that the public, even more than putting a star on a pedestal, loves to destroy it when it is at the peak of success. In other words, you are Christ, but they are Judas.

We remain in the "religious" realm with the last verses "You can turn tricks with your crucifix" probably is one of the slides of "Helter Skelter" in "Rattle and Hum", which most fans will remember.

In short, the piece, besides being definitely cute and lively, can shed some light on what the conception of himself and the rock system by such a controversial and talked-about man as Paul David Hewson, alias Bono Vox is.