10 Rock Songs Written About Real People
5. Pride - U2
It's no secret that U2 are not afraid to speak up for causes that they believe in. With albums like War and October, Bono's lyrics went from typical rock abstraction into pointed musical statements dealing with relevant world issues on songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day."
When the band got to recording The Unforgettable Fire, one of the standout tracks came in the form of the song "Pride," whose lyrics had a more specific antecedent. Rather than reaching for more universal topics, this tune is a beautiful tribute to the great American Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Throughout the track, Bono paints a breathtaking sonic tapestry of a man who spoke up for love and equality between humans of any creed or color.
While the song also details King's terrible assassination in April of 1968, Bono intones that death is not the end when it comes to promoting equality. Given all of the specific accounts of the man's life, "Pride" never feels like a lecture as the Edge's guitar hooks you in and Bono's vocal performance captivates you from the very beginning. By broadening their lyrical and sonic palette, U2 used their music less as entertainment and more like a cultural force to change the world around them.