U2
With or Without You

It is there, inevitable as the dawn.

As it has always been.

Think of something to say, maybe a joke. No, it wouldn't work in this circumstance.

But then he reasons. Those faces feign interest and joy greeting each other on the street, he thinks, maybe they are just two jerks.

Two realistic jerks, though.

They don't belong to this crowd tonight. And the social convention of greeting certainly does not belong to them.

They have emitted much more warmth in this place just by seeing each other again. Whether they like it or not.

See the stone set in your eyes, see the thorn twist in your side.

The social anthill continues to gain ground, and the streets now take the shape of so many folds; the folds on the pillow in which to sink that damn skull and sleep, he thinks.

On a bed of nails she makes me wait.

And for once in a lifetime, prevent superficiality and impulsivity, his lover, from clashing in that damn skull. For once, he reasons about the meaning of events, analyzing their causes, effects, and significance.

Everything makes sense, and whether he likes it or not, sometimes you live with bad sensations on your skin. But they are necessary, just like pain and synapses. And you can search anywhere, even in a song, a sign or a phrase, a concept or an aphorism that helps the subconscious to process it all.

Isn't this, after all, one of the reasons that makes music and words so special? Sure, not just this, but it doesn't matter. They are immersed in the anthill and have no intention of giving other meanings to what they feel tonight.

But he has processed the events and translated their meaning, he hopes.

The unmistakable bass line and the rising anxiety of the crooner make room for the intermittent shocks coming from Edge's guitar. As if he were really waiting for something on that bed of nails. And the answer is not a fairy tale, but it changes life for better or worse.