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Rating: "October,
And the trees are empty coffins
of all their clothes.
Why should I care?
October.
And kingdoms rise, and kingdoms fall,
but you go on. And on"
Yes, October. What better month to talk about this timid work?
1981. An autumn morning in Dublin. It's cold, a cat occasionally passes by to glance at some old fisherman on the barges anchored in the harbor. The water is still.
In the background, the gray buildings blend into the fog, some tired workers leaving their homes. There's some unsavory people in the alleys. It's a lost atmosphere, almost timeless. Paul, Adam, Dave, and Larry are 4 guys just over twenty. Recently, they have been making music and have a contract. In reality, they are a bit adrift, they are nice, but they don't play very well. Moreover, Island has commissioned them a second album but the singer (one who calls himself Bono) has lost all the sheets with the songs. It also seems that the band is experiencing a certain phase of creative crisis. It's hard to write, and the young Bono and Edge's heads are tangled up with the extremist beliefs of the religious sect "Shalom," whose meetings they have recently started attending.
In short, "October" was not exactly born under the best conditions. To date, it is the least known album of the band and probably (but unfortunately as well) also the most snubbed by U2 themselves. It contains practically no hits, and it is somewhat difficult to digest: well, in a few words, a "different" episode in the context of the Irish band's production, and for this reason interesting to listen to and analyze in its many nuances.
Indeed, there are many interpretations given to it. Personally, I see it as a painting, a painting with dull hues. "October" in my view is a journey between restlessness and confusion within a melancholic winter frame: its songs are among the foggiest and introverted of the entire U2 career. There's no innocence of "Boy," nor the anger of "War," there's something else unclear, like an invisible framework of pain that ties every piece together. A sort of passage between adolescence and maturity, which, although already present in the previous album, here shows itself in a much more intricate and at times tragic manner. The songs allow themselves very few breaths of serenity and dig very deeply into the dark part of human thought.
"October" is not, and will never be, considered a masterpiece. But it is a sincere work that holds tightly to its moments of class, and therefore deserves respect. An album that ages well like wine, preferably served in cold seasons.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Gloria (04:12)
try to sing this song
I, I try to stand up
But I can't find my feet.
I, I try to speak up
But only in you I'm complete.
Gloria
In te domine
Gloria
Exultate
Gloria
Gloria
Oh, Lord, loosen my lips.
I try to sing this song
I, I try to get in
But I can't find the door
The door is open
You're standing there, you let me in.
Gloria
In te domine
Gloria
Exultate
Oh, Lord, if I had anything, anything at all
I'd give it to you.
Gloria
In te domine
Gloria
Gloria
02 I Fall Down (03:39)
Julie says, John I'm getting nowhere
I wrote this letter, hope to get someplace soon
I want to get up
When I wake up
But when I get up
I fall down.
Julie wake up, Julie tell the story
You wrote the letter, said you were gonna
Get there someday
Gonna walk in the sun
And the wind and the rain
Never look back again
Now you fall down
You're falling down
You fall down
You fall down.
You're falling down
You fall down
You fall down.
Julie say something, Julie say you're sorry
You're gonna get better, you better not
Leave me here anyway
I want to get up, when you wake up
But when I get up
I fall down
I'm falling down
I fall down
I broke myself.
I fall, I fall down
I'm falling down
I fall downÖ
When you fall
I fall with you
And when you're falling down
Is when I hit the ground.
I fall with you
I fall down.
03 I Threw a Brick Through a Window (04:54)
I was talking, I was talking to myself
Somebody else talk, talk, talking.
I couldn't hear a word, a word he said.
He was my brother
I said there was no other way out of here
Be my brother
(Brother).
Got to get out, got to get out.
I was walking, I was walking into walls
And back again
I just keep walking
I walk up to a window to see myself
And my reflection, when I thought about it
My direction, going nowhere, going nowhere.
No-one, no-one is blinder
Than he who will not see.
No-one, no-one is blinder
Than me.
I was talking, I was talking in my sleep
I can't stop talk, talk, talking
I'm talking to you, it's up to you
Be my brother, there is no other way out of here
Be my brother
Got to get out, got to get out
Got to get out of here.
04 Rejoice (03:38)
It's falling, it's falling
And outside a building comes tumbling down.
And inside a child on the ground
Says he'll do it again.
And what am I to do?
What in the world am I to say?
There's nothing else to do.
He says he'll change the world some day
I rejoice.
This morning I fell out of bed
When I woke up to what he had said
Everything's crazy but I'm too lazy to lie.
And what am I to do?
Just tell me what am I supposed to say?
I can't change the world
But I can change the world in me
Rejoice.
Rejoice.
And what am I to do?
Just tell me what am I supposed to say?
I can't change the world
But I can change the world in me.
I rejoice.
05 Fire (03:50)
Calling, calling the sun is burning black
Calling, calling, it's beating on my back
With a fire
With a fire.
Calling, calling, the moon is running red
Calling, calling, it's pulling me instead
With a fire, fire.
But there's a fire inside
And I'm falling over
There's a fire in me
When I call out
You built a fire, fire
I'm going home.
Calling, calling, the stars are falling down
Calling, calling, they knock me to the ground
With a fire, fire.
But there's a fire inside
And I'm falling over
There's a fire inside
When I call out
There's a fire inside
When I'm falling over
You built a fire, fire
I'm going home.
06 Tomorrow (04:39)
Won't you come back tomorrow
Won't you come back tomorrow
Won't you come back tomorrow
Can I sleep tonight?
Outside, somebody's outside
Somebody's knocking at the door.
There's a black car parked at the side of the road
Don't go to the door
Don't go to the door.
I'm going out.
I'm going outside mother.
I'm going out there.
Won't you be back tomorrow,
Won't you be back tomorrow,
Will you be back tomorrow?
Can I sleep tonight?
Who broke the window
Who broke down the door?
Who tore the curtain
And who was it for?
Who heals the wounds
Who heals the scars?
Open the door, open the door.
Won't you come back tomorrow?
Won't you be back tomorrow?
Will you be back tomorrow?
Can I sleep tonight?
'Cause I want you
I, I want you
I really want you.
I, I want, I, I
Want you to be back tomorrow
I want you to be back tomorrow.
Will you be back tomorrow?
Can I sleep tonight?
I want you to be back tomorrow
I want you to be back tomorrow.
Will you be back tomorrow?
Open up, open up, to the Lamb Of God
To the love of He
Who made the blind to see.
He's coming back
He's coming back
O believe Him.
07 October (02:20)
October and the trees are stripped bare
Of all they wear.
What do I care?
October and kingdoms rise
And kingdoms fall
But you go on
And on.
08 With a Shout (04:02)
Oh, and where do we go
Where do we go from here
Where to go
To the side of a hill
Blood was spilt
We were still looking
At each other
Oh, we're goin' back there
Jerusalem Jerusalem
Shout, shout
With a shout, shout it out
Shout...shout it out...
I wanna go
To the foot of the messiah
To the foot of he who made me see
To the side of a hill
Where we were still
We were filled
With our love
We're gonna be there again
Jerusalem Jerusalem
Shout, shout
With a shout
Shout...
With a shout
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Other reviews
By marcmat
October opened with Gloria, creating an atmosphere of liturgical psalmody, almost an antiphon of the album itself.
OCTOBER was disconcerting for its minimal beauty: it almost lacked the courage to breathe during its two minutes, just as an audience member might hide timidly in a corner.
By claudio carpentieri
"Gloria... faithfully reflects the complexity of the unhappy situations recently faced by the band."
"An album that never gives way to compositional uncertainty, crossing a musical path characterized by a sharp sound..."
