10 Love Songs That Are Actually Incredibly Dark
8. One - U2
For most of their career, U2 have never really been known for their love songs. Though they do have their romantic side on songs like With or Without You, people tend to remember the more militant side of the band from the days of Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year's Day. It was a new decade when we got to Achtung Baby though, and One is love with a cynical smile painted on it.
If you were to look at just the first few verses of this song, this almost feels like a breakup song, as Bono talks about disappointing his lover and wondering if his relationship is even going to get better any time soon. There are even some spots in here where Bono talks about hurting each other only to do it over again. So how does this even fit as a love song? These don't sound like compliments, but there's a more optimistic tone going through that chorus.
In this case, One is more about coming together as one people, being able to stand up for each other and carry each other through the most difficult times. There's almost a hippy style sentiment about the whole thing, as Bono compares the entire concept love to a temple that makes him feel so small based on the sheer size of it. This isn't about living together in peace for the rest of the world. It's about looking after each other and hopefully finding a way to soldier on even when things look dark.