U2’s New Album: The Inspiration Behind The Title ‘Songs Of Innocence’ & The Story Of Each Track! Is It The Bands ‘Most Personal Album’ Ever?

After five long years, U2 finally released their new album with a bang! Teaming up with the mobile giant Apple, U2 announced their gift to over half a million iTunes users during the launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus: the free download of  Songs of Innocence.

Why was it called Songs of Innocence anyway? According to Rolling Stone, this album title was aptly named after William Blake's 1789 anthology of poems about childhood.  

In an exclusive interview with Gus Wenner, Bono shared, "Let's try to figure out why we wanted to be in a band, the relationships around the band, our friendships, our lovers, our family. The whole album is first journeys - first journeys geographically, spiritually, sexually. And that's hard. But we went there."

Now, let us have a glimpse of what's behind every track included in U2's new album and find out why it was touted as the band's most personal album ever.

1. 'Every Breaking Wave'

Did that intro remind you of 'With Or Without You?'Although some of you might have already heard this song way back in 2010, the 2014 version of 'Wave' has a completely re-written chorus plus a little bit of tweaks in some of the verses. This track is about the struggle of an individual to preserve long-term commitments despite the presence of all the distractions, priorities, and temptations.

2. 'Cedarwood Road'

Named after a street in Dublin where Bono enjoyed his early years, this song is dedicated to his close friend Guggi Rowan. The songs talks about every aspect of youth and friendship: how he fondly recalls all bittersweet memories including his anxieties and aggressive mindset as a teenager.

3. 'Iris (Hold Me Close)'

'The star/ That gives us light/Has been gone for a while/But it's not an illusion/The ache/In my heart/ Is so much a part of who I am'. This track is indeed close to Bono's heart as it recounts the death of his mother when he was only 14.

4. 'The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)'

This track takes us to U2's teenage years during the 70s and also reveals the band that has inspired them to be part of the music industry: the Ramones.

5. 'Raised by Wolves'

Covering another theme that U2 can really pull-off, 'Raised by Wolves' is about a political turmoil in the 70s. It was then during that time when a series of car bombs happened and Bono recounts this nightmare as he shared, "The bomb tore apart the street. I escaped but one of my mates was around the corner with his father, and it was a very hard thing for him to witness and I'm not sure he really got over it."

For the complete analysis of all the songs included in U2's new album, you may want to check out this feature.

'Songs Of Innocence' is the sweet labor of the band's collaboration with producer Danger Mouse (Brian Burton), Flood, Paul Epworth, and Ryan Tedder.

What do you think of U2's new album? Sound off in the comments section below