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Growing up in Ireland,

it felt as if the future was always somewhere else.

In our Dublin, it felt as if there were no present,

let alone past or future.

In our band,

we felt estranged from any traditions we could have held on to.

And the question that began to intrigue us was,

"How do we fit into this story?"

I'm looking for the peanut butter cups.

I don't think we got some here.

Eh, what are those?

Just-- Just-- I don't wanna touch your food.

Well, see, now you've touched-- Okay. Thank you.

...for boarding. Thank you.

- You know, what's your name? - Felix.

Felix? I'm Dave.

Nice to see you. I'm trying to get to Dublin.

Take care. Thank you.

I'll tell you what else is, uh, great about the show tonight.

This is the biggest, the greatest,

most exciting, most influential rock-and-roll band in the world.

Ladies and gentlemen, once again, U2.

U2, ladies and gentlemen.

- Hi, Dave. - Oh, my goodness.

- A pleasure to see you again. - Good to see you.

Thank you for letting me be part of this.

Good God. What expectations you have set for yourself.

Writer, poetry and prose, musician.

Something else I forgot.

My, um, self-esteem... never been lower.

- I just wanna tell you...

...the door is now closed.

- You and I are not gonna be best friends.

D-D-Do you like retrospectives of yourself?

Do you like looking over your shoulder at this point in your life?

No.

Okay. Well, that's all we need. Thank you very much.

Let's-- Let's talk about music.

Years of reflection has caused you to change lyrics in some of these songs.

Some of them you thought perhaps were never finished in the first place.

Yeah, that's right.

We wanted to, sort of, strip away the artifice

that inevitably emerges after you've been around this long.

In the isolation of the pandemic, it was almost like the question became,

"What is left when everything is stripped away?"

But where do you take it?

All right, yeah. Let's take it from the top.

Do you-- Do you wanna know what I did during the pandemic?

- What did you do? - Calligraphy.

- Really? - Yeah.

- I've gotten very good. - How cool.

- Wow. - Yeah.

♪ We'll build a bridge Across the sea and land ♪

♪ For tonight... ♪

In between tours, while Larry was injured,

and Adam was off making an art film...

♪ I am coming home ♪

...Edge and I asked David Letterman to Dublin to talk about our songs.

Two, three, four.

And there was certainly a part of me that wanted to hear them again,

as if for the first time.

And we ask ourselves the nervous question,

"Is there any merit to these songs

if you take away the firepower of a rock band like U2?"

- Hold on.

Technical, bit of a dropdown.

Okay.

I don't know how we're gonna lift this. Can we try it?

♪ There is no them ♪

Bam!

You know, just to lift it up a bit. That's good.

♪ There is no them ♪

Oh, sorry.

There you go.

♪ There is no them ♪

♪ There is no them ♪

♪ There's only us ♪

♪ There's only us ♪

The arpeggiating thing.

It might work for you to tickle your instrument as it were.

Beautiful.

♪ There is no them ♪

When everything's died down...

♪ There's only us ♪

♪ There's only you and me ♪

♪ There's only us ♪

♪ Me and you ♪

♪ There is no them ♪

And all of you, when you're singing at the end,

make it a kinda almost an aura, you know?

♪ There's only us ♪

- Great.

What a room!

It sounds really beautiful,

and we got "His Dave-ness" to Dublin.

Where-- Where is Dave?

Holy geez! They're still alive.

- Oh, David Letterman! - David.

- Hello, men. - Hello.

Hi.

- Hi. How are you? - Hello. How are you?

How about this?

- Oh, yeah. Wow. - Wow.

- It's your first time here? - It's my first time in Dublin.

My first time out of the house, as a matter of fact.

Tell us a little bit about this establishment.

InDub Reggae Store.

- The only reggae shop in Ireland. - The only reggae shop?

Yeah, the only reggae shop in Ireland.

I'm interested in a wheel of cheese.

I've never purchased a wheel of cheese.

I would like to buy two hats for friends of mine.

- All right. - Their heads are...

One's about like this, and one's about like that.

Is there anyone here that can help an old man carrying a cheese?

I'd like to welcome you all today to the U2 walking tour.

There are certain bands, when I listen to them,

I just see streetscapes open up before me.

And Dublin and U2 is deeply connected.

In October '77, a great British punk band called The Clash played two gigs

in the Examinations Hall of Trinity College, Dublin.

And in the crowd was a young, impressionable Bono.

Seeing The Clash onstage singing these angry songs

was a moment of awakening.

Later on, when they're arguably the biggest band in the world,

they never really forget this part of Dublin,

and everything it does for them.

I-I was told there would be a hot meal.

Let's, uh, go back.

- Exactly what you don't wanna do.

How old were you kids when you got together and, uh...

So in '76, I would've been, uh, 15.

Fifteen?

That.

At age 11, I went to that school for one year.

They asked me to leave.

Had they not have, I would not have met this man.

- Really? - This is true.

Tell me about your relationship with the band.

When did that begin?

February, '82.

- You became close with them? - Close enough.

Make sure you got some sun on your faces.

Yeah, you're all about shadows, aren't you?

But you are part of the family.

H-Have you seen them, obviously, change over the years since you've met them?

Um, they're the same people, you know? I-I have to say.

- Move in. - Okay, the Edge.

This is your calendar shot.

♪ Monday morning ♪

♪ Eighteen years of dawning ♪

♪ I said, "How long?" ♪

♪ I say, "How long?" ♪

♪ It was one... ♪

I'd say the band was born out of the culture

of a particular high school at a particular time.

♪ I was so glad ♪

It was a social experiment in our country.

It's-- It's non-denominational, people of any religion can come,

and, more importantly to me, girls and boys.

♪ Boys and girls They go to school ♪

♪ And girls can make children ♪

♪ Well, not like this one ♪

We invented a whole culture of our own amongst our friends.

We called ourselves Lypton Village.

I can't remember why.

And in Lypton Village, all our friends were given their own unique nicknames.

That's where I got the name "the Edge."

Mm-hmm.

Bono's Village name was "Bono Vox of O'Connell Street."

- The-The hearing-aid store? - Right.

And this was part of a pushback

against the conservative society that we were a part of.

- So here we have the Edge. - Yeah.

- Bono. - Mm-hmm.

- Then we have Adam. - Mm-hmm.

And we have Larry.

When you hear what their original Village names were,

you would understand why they didn't run with them.

So, Larry's was-- He was known as "The Jam Jar."

The Jam Jar?

Adam was "Mrs. Burns."

The bass player is called "Mrs. Burns."

- Yeah. - Ah!

♪ We got spirit, we got soul ♪

♪ My brothers and I are out of control ♪

We had no aspirations beyond

just something fun to do on a Saturday afternoon.

But then, weirdly, as we started to play together,

and at first atrociously badly,

we recognized some chemistry there.

My, uh, nickname, "Dumbass."

- Yeah.

You and I last saw one another in the early aughts.

The early aughts. We were on doing your show.

Our next guests are a pair of talented singer-songwriters

who star in the motion picture Once...

In those days, I don't think you and I talked much of anything

other than here he is, and thank you and good night.

Yeah, you stuck your head into the room. We said a quick hello.

- It was a big deal.

Other than that, we were all told, "Avoid David."

- And don't look me in the eye. - That's what we were told, yeah.

Hi, Glen. That was beautiful. Excuse me.

Your eyes, by the way, stunningly beautiful.

Oh, thank you, David.

Uh, explain where we are.

We're in Dublin. Well, we're in Greystones.

So we're on the kind of southern edge of the "swerve of shore bend of bay."

- To quote Joyce. We're in-- Yeah. - Hmm.

Oh, you've been here less than a minute, and you're quoting Joyce.

- Good Lord.

You know, I'm meeting you. I have to impress you with the Irishness.

We're gonna talk about your buddies, U2.

Yeah. Well, I've known them pretty much all my life.

When I was ten years old, my uncle took me to see the Police,

but the opening band was U2.

- Oh, my God. - Yeah. Yeah.

And everyone, the whole, like--

This guy came onstage and he was like-- he was possessed.

- Everybody left going, "Who were they?" - Mm-hmm.

And they were Irish. They were Dubliners.

They were from the same town I'm from.

And so we all became obsessed.

It didn't sound like anything else.

Not just in Ireland, but anything else we were hearing from America or from Britain.

U2 were completely different.

♪ I was on the outside when you said ♪

♪ You said you needed me ♪

So not just America, uh, but globally,

why do people respond, uh, emotionally to this music?

Well, the first time you heard "I Will Follow" on the radio,

at that time where everything was trying to show

how much you were against everything,

you know, U2 was trying to express something with this force of sincerity.

They had a purpose and they had an earnestness in their music

that you could easily dismiss.

Because Bono was just-- He was like, uh, he was strident with something pure.

♪ Why, oh, why? ♪

The first album was made-- I would've been 18.

So we were kids, really, when we started on it.

Did you have a vision for your future at all,

or was it day-to-day, week-to-week?

It was about our concerts and about, you know, the U2 audience live

that gave us a constant sense of moving up and moving forward.

It was a complete game changer.

U2 kind of cleared the decks.

Like, any bands that were going, U2 were suddenly, boom.

♪ I was looking through the window I was lost ♪

Nobody ever would've thought that U2 would be the band.

Because they were, kind of, just, like, awkward and--

But they had something. They had a kind of a--

They had a message in their songs.

Thank you. God bless you.

Wanna go see a U2 show tomorrow?

There's a, uh, free U2 show.

- Oh. - Yeah.

Are you familiar with the band U2?

- Yes. Yes. - Have you ever seen them live?

Uh, not live, believe it or not.

- They're doing a show in town here. - Yeah. Yeah.

- Tomorrow night. - Yeah.

You should come to the show.

Just mention my name and you'll get in.

Just say, uh, "Dave said it would be okay if I came."

Yeah, okay. I'd love to. That'd be a pleasure.

Yeah, you should-- For God's sake, you should go. Yes.

- My work here is finished.

But I think what's interesting now is that I think there's--

they're going back to the beginning again.

Your biggest competition is wanting to be safe.

It feels really good to sell 20 million albums,

or whatever the heck it is.

And you know what that sounds like.

But to say, "No, we're gonna change it.

And we're gonna bring our audience with us."

- How do you sing this warm-up, the Edge?

Uh, let me guess.

Your biggest foe there is your fear of moving forward.

See, the problem with these is they don't tell you where to go.

Oh, we'll find our way.

- Don't you worry.

This is a bit of a day, isn't it?

Lovely.

- Yeah. Seeing them for the first time.

- What a venue. - Yes.

- Fantastic. - Yeah, yeah.

Is everything you do still within your comfort zone?

Rarely.

Yeah, the-- I'm rarely in my comfort zone.

And I think that's been difficult for the band,

because I don't let them be in it either.

For me, music and songwriting is just, you know, heart surgery.

Oh, no.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Do we have an idea of what we're in for tonight?

You will be very, very happy you did have this experience.

Are you ready?

Bono and the Edge.

Yeah!

♪ Lights go down ♪

♪ It's dark ♪

♪ The jungle is your head Can't rule your heart ♪

♪ A feeling so much stronger Than a thought ♪

♪ Your eyes are wide ♪

♪ And though your soul It can't be bought ♪

♪ Your mind can wander ♪

♪ Hello, hello ♪

♪ Hola! ♪

♪ We're at a place called Vertigo ♪

♪ Dónde está? ♪

♪ It's everything I wish I didn't know ♪

♪ You give me something I can feel ♪

Yeah!

♪ The night is full of holes ♪

♪ As bullets rip the sky Of ink with gold ♪

♪ They sparkle as the boys Play rock and roll ♪

♪ They know that they can't dance ♪

♪ At least they know ♪

♪ I can't stand the beats ♪

♪ I'm asking for the check ♪

♪ Girl with crimson nails Got Jesus around her neck ♪

♪ Swinging to the music ♪

♪ Swinging to the music ♪

♪ Whoa, whoa, whoa ♪

♪ Whoa, whoa, whoa ♪

♪ Ah ♪

♪ Hello, hello ♪

♪ Hola! ♪

♪ Yeah, a place called Vertigo ♪

♪ Dónde está? ♪

♪ It's everything I wish I didn't know ♪

♪ You give me something I can feel ♪

♪ Feel ♪

♪ Dime con quién andas Y te diré quién eres ♪

♪ Entendemos? ♪

♪ Entendemos? ♪

♪ Oh, yes ♪

♪ All of this ♪

♪ All of this can be yours ♪

♪ All this ♪

♪ All of this can be yours ♪

♪ Just give me what I want And no one gets hurt ♪

♪ Hello, hello ♪

♪ Hola! ♪

♪ We're at a place called Vertigo ♪

♪ Dónde está? ♪

♪ It's everything I wish I didn't know ♪

♪ But you give me something ♪

♪ I can feel your love teaching me how ♪

♪ How, how ♪

♪ Your love is teaching me how ♪

♪ How to kneel ♪

♪ Kneel ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

The genesis of the band is always linked with religious, Christian influence.

To me that sounds unusual.

When you compare it to the United States with a rock-and-roll band,

it's kids smoking weed in their garage and wanting to meet girls.

- We'll get to that.

Is that because of Ireland?

Well, I should draw you a map.

Okay, so...

Just give me a second till I get a rough Ireland for you.

Okay, that's close enough.

So we live on a tiny island in the North Sea,

brutalized by occasional bad weather and some difficult neighbors.

And in the country of Northern Ireland,

the Northern Protestants outnumbered the Catholics.

What caused the border to be established?

Our War of Independence.

So who do I dislike in this?

- I'm-- I'm eager to dislike somebody.

I'm part of the great divide.

I wanna dislike-- Shall I dislike the British?

- No. No. - Okay.

- Whoever you don't like, I don't like.

So chief among the differences here still would be the religion?

Well, yeah.

When we were kids, we were in the middle of the Troubles.

British troops, called to break up a protest, killed 13 Catholics.

It was just a constant drip, drip, drip when we were forming the band.

So, we were looking for a way to express our faith

that wasn't obviously religious.

And there was a kind of movement in Ireland in the late '70s,

uh, which was called Charismatic Renewal.

And we met some religious people.

They'd no possessions, particularly.

They lived a very disciplined life.

We thought they were a bit punk-rock actually.

And they seemed to accept us for who we are.

But they'd, kind of, started to become much more like a conventional church.

And it was then that the leadership, sort of, came to us and said,

"Look, you should be full-time for God, not this rock-and-roll thing."

Music was just something that we had to give up

because these people felt rock and roll was kind of nonsense.

And that the real job was fixing a broken world.

And Edge was in some kind of--

Yeah, agony.

So it was taken that seriously that it might actually put an end to the band.

Yeah.

Because if we are to be useful, as it were, in music, well, what is--

How's that gonna look?

So I spent this couple of weeks really trying to figure out what felt right.

It was still nagging at us,

and the actual answer came in the shape

of a song that Edge started.

And then on one particular day, this rage poured out.

This frustration at not being able to write,

not knowing if I should be in a rock-and-roll band.

Um, what the future might hold.

How old were you at this point?

Maybe 21.

♪ Can't believe the news today ♪

♪ I can't close my eyes And make it go away ♪

This was alchemy.

And I was watching it. I'm standing beside it.

I saw this transformation of internal rage to external.

♪ How long? How long must we sing this song? ♪

♪ How long? How long? ♪

♪ Tonight We can be as one ♪

♪ Tonight ♪

And I was like, "Phew! Ah, that's why I'm in a band."

- Yeah. -"That's why I'm with this dude."

- And that song, "Sunday Bloody Sunday," - Yeah.

it was a way to feel our music could mean something outside of just itself.

We got this broadcast on RTÉ of U2 at Red Rocks.

Oh, yes.

♪ Mmm, oh, oh ♪

You could tell from the beginning, they were trying to go stratospheric.

♪ Give it up! ♪

So here's a guy singing about Catholics and Protestants

in the north of Ireland, in America.

U2 had gone and made our case in front of millions of Americans.

And we were getting to see it on TV, and we were gobsmacked.

♪ Sing, "No more" ♪

-♪ No more ♪ - ♪ No more ♪

-♪ No more ♪ - ♪ No more ♪

-♪ No more ♪ - ♪ No more ♪

-♪ No more ♪ - ♪ No more ♪

♪ No more Wipe your tears away ♪

♪ Wipe your tears away ♪

-♪ Wipe your bloodshot eyes ♪ - ♪ Sunday Bloody Sunday ♪

♪ Wipe your tears away ♪

- Because it becomes a hymn... - Yeah.

...a hymn of despair, of-- of-- of-- of yearning...

♪ Sunday Bloody Sunday ♪

...just even expressing that, even though it's a pretty bleak thought,

giving it expression gives people a lot of courage and-- and consolation.

♪ I'm so sick of it ♪

So right now, we've got peace in Ireland.

Eventually, I don't know when it will be,

I hope it's in my lifetime, when the border goes away,

because it's kind of ridiculous having a border on an island this size.

And the north and the south will hopefully have more respect for each other.

That would be nice.

Before it was a cinema, this was part of Rotunda Hospital, this very room.

I was born here. Yes, I was.

Brendan Behan said,

"If you weren't born in the Rotunda, you weren't a proper Dubliner."

- There you go.

This next song is the first song, really, we wrote about Dublin.

In the '70s, it was a very different Dublin than it is today.

A very different country.

Uh, very bad.

And we called the song, "Bad."

♪ If I twist and turn away ♪

♪ If I tear myself in two again ♪

♪ If I could You know I would ♪

♪ If I could ♪

♪ I would ♪

♪ Let it go ♪

♪ Surrender ♪

♪ This is a song of surrender ♪

Could any of this have happened anywhere but Dublin?

Not just because you knew each other, but Dublin.

We're around as Ireland moves from black-and-white into color.

♪ If I could throw this lifeless lifeline To the wind ♪

The country was trying to identify itself.

Who are we?

Are we buying this myth that we've been sold?

Or are we gonna be something more extraordinary?

♪ Into the light ♪

And that's what all four members of U2 had in common with the country.

♪ You can only have it all ♪

♪ If you give it all away ♪

♪ You can only have it all ♪

♪ If you give it all away ♪

♪ Hoo-hoo Hoo-hoo ♪

♪ Hoo-hoo ♪

♪ Hoo-hoo Hoo-hoo ♪

♪ Hoo-hoo ♪

♪ To let it go ♪

♪ And so not to fade away ♪

♪ To let it go ♪

♪ And so not to fade away ♪

♪ I'm wide awake ♪

♪ I'm wide awake ♪

♪ Wide awake ♪

♪ I'm not sleeping ♪

♪ Oh, no ♪

♪ I'm not sleeping ♪

♪ Oh, no ♪

You see, I wasn't wrong about this, was I, folks? It's a wonderful night.

By the way, do you know who's doing a show tonight at Croke Park stadium?

- Adam and Larry. - Oh!

- Yeah. I hear-- I hear it's great.

- That's good. - I'm sure it is.

Let me ask you, uh, a question about songwriting.

When you're writing a song, and you end up with...

♪ Hoo-hoo Hoo-hoo ♪

- Who-- Who provided that inspiration?

Bec-- I'm telling you, it's lovely, but who says, "Okay, here's where you do"...

♪ Hoo-hoo ♪

We like to ask the big questions, so we start with "who?"

Uh-huh.

And we eventually get to "why."

- So, we'll hear "why-why" later? - Yeah.

- And "when" is coming.

- That's a full night, isn't it, folks?

Going back to the "why" of U2, you gotta stay with the "why."

And I think the band are on the same page in this one.

Yeah, they wanted to entertain, but they didn't want to just entertain.

They wanted to do something great.

Something that spiritually affected people.

And that's the "why."

We grew up as a band on a live stage.

That's-- That's how we learned to do what we do.

And "Where the Streets Have No Name," when I wrote the music,

I set myself the specific, sort of, thought exercise of,

-"What would I want to listen to"... - Mm-hmm.

..."if I was in the audience?"

What would blow me away?

Uh, please do it again

because this is an experience I'll never get again in my life, so--

"Where the Streets Have No Name" is an unusual brew of a song.

The lyric is not very fleshed out.

But the suggestion contained in the lyric is gigantic.

And what it seems to suggest is,

there's a transcendent place we can go to together.

Do you want to come?

♪ I wanna run ♪

♪ I want to hide ♪

♪ I wanna tear down the walls That hold me inside ♪

♪ I wanna reach out And touch the flame ♪

♪ Where the streets have no name ♪

Our band is a chemistry set.

♪ Where the streets have no name ♪

Chemical reaction between our audience and us.

That's what makes a good band great.

♪ Still building and burning down love ♪

♪ Burning down love ♪

♪ And when I go there ♪

♪ I go there with you ♪

♪ It's all I can do ♪

E-Explain to me the connection between "Where the Streets Have No Name"

to Super Bowl XXXVI, six months after the September 11th attack.

I recall grappling with the concept of America,

and what it meant to me and what it might mean around the world.

Um, and that this is a fragile moment.

- I wanted to use some exhortation... - Mm-hmm.

...taking away normal spectacle,

and turning it into a monument of rolling names.

The Super Bowl halftimes are a spectacle.

But the greatest spectacles are emotions.

♪ Oh ♪

I've come to understand

the connection about spirituality and religion.

You-- You feel that, and it doesn't-- doesn't hit you over the head.

But you-- It's palpable, for sure.

♪ This is all we can do ♪

Well, for me too. I wanna feel that.

That's my drug of choice.

Uh, the feeling of, not writing a song, but being sung by the song.

Sounds a little arty, but it's not--

It's-- You do-- You feel it, um, strongly coming through you.

You know, and Brian Eno, who said to us,

"You know, you should not be concerned with things like being cool.

That would be uncool for you.

- Just be yourselves." - Right.

You know, and I-I look back now and I realize that's U2's thing,

ecstatic music.

Because you're in that studio,

you have to have the courage to jump off the building and believe you can fly.

♪ The heart is a bloom ♪

♪ Shoots up through the stony ground ♪

♪ But there's no room ♪

♪ No space to rent in this town ♪

♪ You're out of luck ♪

♪ And the reason that you had to care ♪

♪ The traffic is stuck ♪

♪ You're not moving anywhere ♪

♪ You thought you'd found a friend ♪

♪ To take you out of this place ♪

♪ Someone you could lend a hand ♪

♪ In return for grace ♪

♪ It's a beautiful day ♪

♪ Sky falls, you feel like It's a beautiful day ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah ♪

♪ You're on the road ♪

♪ But you got no destination ♪

♪ You're in the mud ♪

♪ In the maze of her imagination ♪

♪ You love this town ♪

♪ Even if that doesn't ring true ♪

♪ You've been all over ♪

♪ And it's been all over you ♪

-♪ It's a beautiful day ♪ - ♪ Day ♪

♪ Don't let it get away ♪

-♪ It's a beautiful day ♪ -♪ Day ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah ♪

♪ Touch me now ♪

♪ Take me to that other place ♪

♪ Teach me love ♪

♪ I know I'm not a hopeless case ♪

That's what's interesting.

When did the tongue go into the cheek?

'Cause I think that's what saved U2.

And they kinda got the rock-star thing,

and the humor entered what they were doing.

Because they were the pilgrims.

They were the guys going to America with a Christian's mind-set,

and suddenly they were the rock stars.

Suddenly they were on a different train, and it really worked.

♪ See the bird with a leaf in her mouth ♪

♪ After the flood All the colors came out ♪

♪ Day ♪

♪ Day ♪

-♪ It was a beautiful day ♪ - ♪ Day ♪

♪ Don't let it get away ♪

-♪ A beautiful day ♪ -♪ Day ♪

♪ Yeah, yeah ♪

♪ Touch me now ♪

♪ Take me to that other place ♪

♪ Reach me ♪

♪ I know I'm not a hopeless case ♪

♪ What you don't have You don't need it now ♪

♪ What you don't know You can feel it somehow ♪

♪ What you don't have You don't need it now ♪

♪ Don't need it now ♪

♪ How it must feel to be a bird ♪

I need help here because Ireland is a young country.

♪ Roaming lonely over sea air ♪

And what I knew of Ireland growing up, was it was controlled religiously.

And then it changed, and it changed quickly.

How did it happen here?

The world into which U2 are coming,

is a society which has been kind of liberalizing,

but is now going back. [laughs] You know?

It's-- It's getting cold feet about, "Do we really wanna change?

Do we really wanna become more modern?"

And this band comes into the middle of that.

And I think they formed a, kind of, critical bridge...

...from being a conservative society to being the place it is now,

which is a very open and tolerant society.

Oh, my God. Are those real diamonds?

- Holy God.

- Dave, Dave. - Oh!

You can't leave the building with those.

Dressing like a woman makes a lot of money in this culture.

- This is your first time to Ireland? - Yes. Mm-hmm.

You need to get out more, Dave.

That's true in almost every aspect of my life.

Like many things in my life,

I'm operating on a-- from a position of ignorance.

I'm an open book, Dave.

- You can ask whatever you want. - Okay. All right.

- I'm unshockable. - Yeah, that's good.

Is it safe to say that Ireland was among the most repressive toward homosexuality,

and has now become almost the diametric opposite?

Yes.

I grew up in a country that would absolutely repress any hint of sexuality.

Dublin, all through the '80s, was this gray, aggressively normal,

if you know what I mean, kind of place.

Homosexuality wasn't even heard of.

You know, when I was a high school student in the '80s,

U2's albums were-- They exposed you.

Did you respond to those as a kid?

See, I didn't.

I unfairly maligned U2, because to me, at that time,

they were part and parcel of this culture, this sort of straight-boy rock culture

that I felt absolutely rejected by.

So I left.

I went to Japan, um, to-- to live and work and do this.

And while I was living there, U2 came and performed.

And I started to see,

oh, actually this U2 is not the U2 that I, you know, unfairly maligned.

What I saw onstage in Tokyo was outward-looking, you know?

It was sexy and fun.

♪ You're a precious stone ♪

Maybe I'm overselling it, but they were part of the reason then in the end

- that I ended up coming back eventually. - Wow. Yeah.

♪ Three hundred and sixty-five degrees ♪

♪ Burning down the house ♪

I saw a video of you onstage with Bono and the band.

Oh, right.

♪ Love ♪

It wasn't long after the same-sex marriage referendum.

Ireland was the first country in the world ever

to bring in same-sex marriage through popular vote.

One thing here.

So Bono gives you the microphone, do you remember what you said?

I don't actually.

Have you something to say to your people?

I'd just like to say I think this might be

the straightest audience I've ever played to.

I would have to check that, Dave.

That sounds like work and I don't like to do work.

So I would just like to say, on behalf of people like me, thanks a million.

- We really appreciate it.

Let's get married.

Yeah, I found my way back over the years,

but not because I changed.

I'm still the same idiot I was then.

But this country changed dramatically.

U2 was a part of what allowed Ireland to stand on its own two feet.

So actually, we have our own thing.

I appreciated that at the time and I still do now.

Well, good for you. And do you have any questions for me?

Um, yeah, I think you've always been, kind of, low-key, a fashion icon, Dave?

- You look like a cool dude now.

- Cool dude of-- What age are you now?

- Seventy-five. - Seventy-five.

You are a cool-looking 75.

- You're a cool-looking-- - What do I do about the chest pains?

- Oh! Oh!

Dave, if you get chest pains and die here, I'll be cashing in for years.

I'll have a blue plaque out there, "Dave Letterman"...

..."died here."

- Yeah.

There's several theaters in the world where I died.

- Yeah. - But this would be an honor to die here.

Thank you for that.

Thank you so much.

Your work in particular presents a difficult choice.

You're torn, uh, and there is maybe an ultimatum.

Which way are we gonna here?

Is it gonna be this or is it gonna be that?

♪ Give us your song ♪

♪ Your song ♪

♪ Your song ♪

And I think you even speculated that it was that tension

that was useful to you creatively.

That's exactly right.

You know, if you spoke to Keith Richards...

I mean, one of the things he's always been great on is duality.

He'd say... [imitating Richards] ..."Duality. It's Mona Lisa. It's the face."

Is it sad? Is it happy?

♪ Unveiled ♪

Duality is the song of, you know, tears, but I'm dancing.

- Hmm. - That's the U2 thing.

You're right in the middle of that.

My life opened up as an artist

when I realized you don't have to resolve every contradiction.

In fact, right at the center of contradiction is the place to be.

♪ Is it getting better? ♪

♪ Do you feel the same? ♪

♪ Will it make it easier on you now? ♪

♪ You got someone to blame ♪

♪ You say one love ♪

♪ One life ♪

♪ It's one need in the night ♪

♪ One love ♪

♪ We get to share it ♪

♪ Leaves you, baby ♪

♪ If you don't care for it ♪

♪ Did I disappoint you? ♪

♪ Leave a bad taste in your mouth? ♪

♪ You act like you never had love ♪

♪ And you want me to go without ♪

♪ Well, it's too late tonight ♪

♪ To drag the dirt out into the light ♪

♪ We're one, but we're not the same ♪

♪ We get to carry each other ♪

♪ Carry each other ♪

♪ One ♪

♪ Have you come here for forgiveness? ♪

♪ Have you come to raise the dead? ♪

♪ Have you come here to play Jesus ♪

♪ To the lepers in your bed? ♪

♪ Did I ask too much? ♪

♪ More than a lot ♪

♪ You give me nothing ♪

♪ Now it's all I've got ♪

♪ We're one, but we're not the same ♪

♪ Yeah, we hurt each other ♪

♪ Then we do it again ♪

♪ You say love is a temple ♪

♪ Love a higher law ♪

♪ Love is a temple ♪

♪ Love a higher law ♪

-♪ You ask me to enter ♪

♪ Then you made me crawl ♪

♪ I can't be holding on ♪

♪ To what you've got ♪

♪ When all you got is hurt ♪

♪ One love ♪

♪ One blood ♪

♪ One life ♪

♪ Got to do what you should ♪

♪ One life ♪

♪ With each other ♪

♪ Sister ♪

♪ Brother ♪

Ireland is about a hundred years old, and the band is about 50 years old.

Which is more unlikely:

That Ireland is a hundred and better than ever, and the band, uh, 50 years in?

To that question, I would say,

it's probably the fact that we're a band for this long is a more remarkable thing.

We kind of grew up working together

and learned how to be, you know, people of the world because of our band.

So we're probably, to some extent,

oh, a little institutionalized by being in U2 this long.

I don't know that I could work with my friends in a creative arena

for any length of time.

There's many times in the past, I think,

that that might've been just pushing our luck a little too far.

Friendship, it's deeply part of who we are.

But you could lose that along the way, and we have to work on it.

Do you embarrass the band?

Yes, I do.

My activism, as the band would accept,

is fairly unhip work.

If you're in a rock-and-roll band,

you don't wanna be in a photograph with some people

that might be polar opposite to the values that you hold dear.

And I did that to them.

And-- And I'll say it's extraordinary on a few levels because,

you know, it's bad for both of our images.

When I was working with Jesse Helms and we did great work together...

Edge just said, "Please, just please, whatever you do, don't bring Jesse Helms,

who personally dismantled the National Endowment for the Arts,

do not bring him to a U2 show."

- And I brought him to a U2 show. - Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

- It was very hard for us. - Yeah.

There was a lot of tension created by that.

I wouldn't have done it, I guess. I probably wouldn't have done it.

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, it-- it's an awkward one. It's an awkward one.

You know, I'm turning what we create as a band

into currency that I choose to spend in these areas.

And they, by and large, support me.

But I do know I test their patience.

And do you feel that this relationship is getting stronger as you guys get older?

Yeah. I-- I think we acknowledge each other's, um, idiosyncrasies,

and they're not-- it's not threatening.

- And we're also not in competition. - Mm-hmm.

It's-- It's just part of the way, I suppose, we show respect to each other.

Yeah, yeah.

We have an unusual relationship.

As I often explain to the audience, Edge is from the future.

And as I often ask him, "How is it?"

Which he will always reply, "Better."

-Hi, guys. - This is digital.

It's not actually me. It's not video.

- Now I'm confused. That's not you. - No.

- That's not a human being? - No.

It's a rendering of me as an avatar.

...virtual version of me. A replica. Imagine if we could take...

- I just--

Just promise me you'll always use this for good, not evil.

The thing I don't like--

- The thing I don't like about you...

The thing I don't like about Edge is that he-- he-- he doesn't need me.

I mean, he could be doing all of this,

writing, singing, performing, playing, producing, on his own.

- But he doesn't. - Mm-hmm.

- Ha ha. - 'Cause it's not as much fun.

♪ I am not afraid Of anything in this world ♪

♪ There's nothing you can throw at me ♪

♪ That I haven't already heard ♪

♪ I am just trying to find A decent melody ♪

♪ A song that I can sing ♪

♪ In my own company ♪

Your best friends are the ones that you can have the best arguments with.

And I've got pretty much the best argument you could ever find right here.

♪ You wanna stand up straight ♪

♪ Carry your own weight ♪

♪ These tears are going nowhere, baby ♪

I would trust the Edge with my life.

In fact, I have... ...trusted him with my life. Um...

Yeah. That was a good call.

"Stuck in a Moment."

♪ Yeah ♪

♪ You've got to get yourself together ♪

♪ You got stuck in a moment ♪

♪ And now you can't get out of it ♪

♪ Don't say that later will be better ♪

♪ Now you're stuck in a moment ♪

♪ And you can't get out ♪

♪ And if the night runs over ♪

♪ And if the day won't last ♪

♪ And if your way should falter ♪

♪ Along that stony pass ♪

-♪ And if the night runs over ♪ -♪ And if the night runs over ♪

-♪ And if the day won't last ♪ -♪ And if the days won't last ♪

♪ And if your way should falter ♪

♪ Along that stony pass ♪

♪ It's just a moment ♪

♪ It's just a moment ♪

♪ This too shall pass ♪

Wow. This-- You feel like you're in Ireland here, eh?

What is this called? This is the Forty Foot?

- Yeah. - The Forty Foot.

Tell us what-- Why are you here? And-- And then, why?

I'm here to swim.

- But did you lose a bet? - No.

Well, explain the routine.

Every morning, there's a crowd of swimmers and we all meet up.

- Every season? - Every season.

- Summer, spring, winter, fall? - Yeah.

- Hello, how is everyone?

Just grand.

- There's a man in a Santa hat. - He swims here every day.

- We're gonna say that that's me. - Okay.

- There I am. There's Dave.

So you want me to swim with Dave and pretend that's you?

Yes, please do. Yes, 'cause I'm freezing now.

No, no. I can make that sound without getting in.

Ooh, is that kelp?

Oh, my God!

This is like there's been some shipwreck, but yet, we've found the survivors.

- How was that? - It was actually very nice.

- You enjoyed it? - Feels brilliant. Actually brilliant.

- You're happy to be alive? - Yeah. It's amazing.

You go into the sea one person and you come out another.

- That's lovely to hear. - It's a great change. Try it.

Yeah, wait till I get back to the hotel and try it in the pool.

Yes.

Traditionally, this was only for men.

- Until 1974... - Yeah, yeah.

...and then women were allowed.

I was here when the women rushed in,

and hopped in there and swam in there naked.

There's a lovely atmosphere down here.

You never come out of a swim without a smile on your face.

- And if you've any worries--

- If you've any worries, they're just gone. - I understand the smile on your face.

- Sort of frozen on one's face. - Probably, yeah.

Well, let's just see what temperature this water is.

- I wouldn't get too close to that. - No, this is as close as I'm gonna get.

- I told you not to let me get too close.

I have to leave now. Shoes are wet.

Well, we just want to welcome the Forty Foot man.

- He's been out in the Forty Foot... - Yes.

- ...and getting splashed around in the bay. - Thank you. I, um...

It was on the news, I stripped naked and got in for 45 minutes.

You've seen more of Dublin in the last three days, he has, than...

- You know, I was-- - ...than we have in the last year.

This also was a gift.

Uh, we went somewhere and got on the DART,

and, uh, spent two hours with Glen.

Aha, well, there you go.

That means you've-- Beard-off, beard-off. Glen Hansard and you.

He has a beautiful beard, but I--

If you ever get a chance to get right up close to him,

you'll be hypnotized by his blue eyes.

Oh, my goodness, ladies and gentlemen.

There's a Moya Cannon poem

that probably speaks a lot to the idea of taking songs

and what happens to songs and where they go and where music goes.

It's called "Carrying the Songs."

It was always those with little else to carry

who carried the songs.

- Deep rhythms-- Ah, [bleep].

Every one of the poems I write, ends in "Aw, [bleep]."

- Okay, I think I have it. - All right.

Okay, one more time.

So this idea that-- that songs are what we carry...

- Yeah. - ...even when we have nothing else.

Those who are the victors write the history.

Yeah.

And those who suffered wrote the songs.

So we have a lot of songs in Ireland.

♪ Sometimes I wake up in the morning ♪

♪ A ginger lady by my bed ♪

- How long have you been sober? - Since I was 34.

"Since I was 34." Okay, fingers crossed.

- Wanna see a walk, Dave? - Yeah.

Watch this.

Okay, this is a walk-- Dublin walk. You ready?

Yeah. All right.

- Pretty good. - Dublin.

- Like that? - Yeah. That's it.

- Are we here? - This is it.

Haven't been in here for a long time.

Hello.

Hello, hello, hello.

Hi. How are ya?

What is your name? Oliver. I'm Dave.

- Aye.

Fuckin' beautiful.

Glen!

- Heya. - Good to see ya.

I believe you like me eyes.

Okay.

That was just wonderful. Thank you.

It should be the national anthem, eh?

♪ Say you want ♪

♪ A diamond on a ring of gold ♪

♪ Your story to remain untold ♪

♪ Your love not to grow cold ♪

♪ All the promises we break ♪

♪ From the cradle to the grave ♪

♪ All I want is you ♪

♪ All I want is you ♪

♪ All I want is you ♪

♪ All I want is you ♪

♪ All I want is you ♪

♪ All I want is you ♪

♪ All I want is you ♪

Wow, guys. That was badass.

You've mentioned recording phrases of music...

- Yeah. - ...on a device.

I mean, it could be literally the middle of the night,

- I'll wake up with an idea. - Mm-hmm.

So I have to get out of bed, find the phone, a guitar.

Looking at my phone this morning, I have 6,000 voice notes.

See, to be able to do this, honestly, it's like you guys are a magic act.

Well, we have some magic for you.

We were gonna write a tune for you called "Forty Foot Man."

When did this happen? How long--

- This is just downstairs. - This is, uh, 3:00 a.m. this morning.

- It started at 3:00 a.m. - Really?

So this whole little thing that you're doing for me now is fresh out of the oven?

Yeah.

- That's crazy. - Try it again. Let me try it again.

- Do you wanna give it a go? - Yeah. Okay.

- Tell me when to start. - You've written lyrics and everything.

Oh, yeah.

A one, two, three, four.

♪ We come to love this Forty Foot man ♪

♪ He keeps on doing the best that he can ♪

♪ We almost lost him there On Sandymount Strand ♪

♪ Being swept away was part of his plan ♪

♪ You can laugh nervously ♪

♪ That's how we see underneath ♪

You try this bit.

♪ He's not so exciting ♪

♪ He's not so frightening ♪

♪ Fast as lightning ♪

♪ This Forty Foot man ♪

♪ This Forty Foot man ♪

♪ Oh, yeah ♪

Oh, man.

♪ He travels... ♪

- Oh, man. - You hate this--

- Okay. - Oh, man.

The phrase in there that absolutely rings true is, "Tries the best that he can."

And I have to tell myself that every minute of every day.

Many nice things have happened for me in my life.

This is-- would be right at the top of that list.

I mean, this is like people could call and order custom-made U2 songs.

Well, I don't know about that.

You see, the thing is it's about inspiration.

- Oh, this is too much. - You gave us the inspiration.

Well, when do we talk about, uh, publishing?

- Publishing? [scoffs] Hey, back off. - Yeah.

- Back off, Letterman.

"The greatest songwriting is never conclusive...

but the search for conclusion."

Hmm.

♪ How long How long must we sing this song? ♪

♪ How long, how long? ♪

♪ 'Cause tonight ♪

♪ We can be as one ♪

♪ Tonight, tonight ♪

♪ Tonight ♪

♪ Tonight ♪

♪ Tonight ♪

Pick it up.

♪ Wipe the tears from your eyes ♪

The lyrics of this have been rewritten for the new release.

Yeah, that's right.

What a thrill to finish "Sunday Bloody Sunday" all these years later.

To go back to Derry and make it present tense.

I could never have written that song this way back then.

♪ Here at the murder scene ♪

♪ The beginning of a fiction ♪

♪ The facts will not come clean ♪

♪ Why so many mothers cry? ♪

♪ Is religion now the enemy Of holy spirit guide? ♪

♪ The real battle yet begun ♪

♪ Where is the victory Jesus won? ♪

Thank you.

So, all I want now is the answer to the question, "How do you write a song?"

And I don't have that yet.

Not to get into the weeds too much,

but chords are the foundation of all melody.

- So, actually, before we get to melody...

- ...we need to find the right chords.

I don't agree with Edge on that one.

I'm just saying, because think about what you just did to "One."

You changed the chords.

Same melody. Same words.

- You just did it. - Actually, I didn't.

We changed the key but not the chords.

We did well. We nearly got to 50 years,

- and in Marsh's Library it all fell apart. - It's coming apart.

Well, yes, but the fact you're still doing it,

and you're not tired of doing it,

- and you're still--

You know, I've certainly thought about, um, walking away from U2,

- and I know every member has. - No. No.

- Yeah, we've-- - No, no.

No, we have all thought about it, and it's really--

Thought about it, but didn't get you out the door.

But it's really the right instinct is to question

whether this should be a going concern

and what it demands of all four members of U2.

Mm-hmm.

And the reason why I want to go forward is

because something is stirring in my voice and in my singing.

And this desire to write the song that we haven't got yet, you know?

We're sort of chasing the dragon of the song we can't get.

- Do you wanna hear another song? - Yes.

Let's try "Breaking Wave," 'cause we never quite nail the vocal here.

Let's do something completely different.

This is a ten-year-in-the-making song.

♪ Every breaking wave on the shore ♪

♪ Tells the next one There'll be one more ♪

♪ And every gambler knows that to lose ♪

♪ Is what you're really there for ♪

♪ Summer I was fearlessness ♪

♪ Now I speak into an answer phone ♪

♪ Every fallen leaf on a breeze ♪

♪ Leave it alone ♪

♪ If you go ♪

♪ If you go your way and I go mine ♪

♪ Are we so ♪

♪ Are we so helpless against the tide? ♪

♪ Darling, every dog on the street ♪

♪ Knows that we're in love with defeat ♪

♪ Are we ready to be swept off our feet ♪

♪ And stop chasing every breaking wave? ♪

Uh, you know, the early songwriting was just sketching really.

Sometimes, you know, you've just started the song,

- and it might take 20 years to finish it. - Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.

But then you realize this song has been waiting for this moment.

Yeah.

♪ The sea knows just where to stop Drowning is no sin ♪

♪ You know where my heart is Same place yours has been ♪

♪ We've known better starts We stop where we begin ♪

♪ Where we begin ♪

♪ If you go ♪

♪ Your way and I go mine ♪

♪ Are we so ♪

♪ Are we so helpless against it? ♪

♪ Baby, every dog on the street ♪

♪ Knows that we're in love with defeat ♪

♪ Are we ready to be swept off our feet ♪

♪ And stop chasing every breaking wave? ♪

♪ Every breaking wave ♪

♪ Every breaking wave ♪

♪ Every breaking wave ♪

♪ Every breaking wave ♪

♪ Every breaking wave ♪

♪ Every breaking wave ♪

♪ Every breaking wave ♪

♪ Every breaking wave ♪

♪ Every breaking wave ♪

I feel like a different person. I have to lie down.

- I'm sorry. - Me too.

Do you really?

♪ Every breaking wave ♪

♪ Every breaking wave ♪

♪ Every breaking wave ♪

I think the thing that we've all been given from Dublin is

a real connection to our regular lives.

Our friends are the same friends we had when we were 15, 16.

All of the members of the band,

we've been protected, I think, from the worst excesses of rock-and-roll stardom

by being here.

- Which is a shame. - Yeah--

Two, three, four.

♪ It's like the room Just cleared of smoke ♪

♪ You didn't even want The heart you broke ♪

♪ It's yours to keep ♪

♪ You just might need one ♪

♪ I finally found my real name ♪

♪ I won't be me when you see me again ♪

♪ No, I won't be my father's son ♪

♪ I'm more than you know ♪

♪ I'm more than you see here ♪

♪ I'm more than you'll let me be ♪

♪ I'm more than you'll know ♪

♪ A body in a soul ♪

♪ You don't see me, but you will ♪

♪ I am not invisible ♪

♪ I don't dream Not as such ♪

♪ I don't even think about you that much ♪

♪ Unless I start to think at all ♪

♪ Of those frozen days ♪

♪ And your frozen ways ♪

♪ They melt away Your face like snow ♪

♪ I'm more than you know ♪

♪ I'm more than you see here ♪

♪ I'm more than you'll let me be ♪

♪ I'm more than you know ♪

♪ A body in a soul ♪

♪ You don't see me, but you will ♪

♪ I am not invisible ♪

Let's try something.

Gonna sing, uh, "There is no them. There's only us."

So you can be part of this.

♪ There is no them ♪

♪ There is no them ♪

♪ There's only us ♪

♪ There's only us ♪

♪ There is no them ♪

♪ There is no them ♪

♪ There's only us ♪

♪ There's only us ♪

Lift it up a little.

♪ There is no them ♪

♪ There is no them ♪

♪ There's only us ♪

♪ There's only us ♪

♪ There is no them ♪

♪ There is no them ♪

♪ There's only us ♪

♪ There's only us ♪

♪ There is no them ♪

- Thank you very much.

I-I am shit-faced now.

I have something to say.

Thanks to everybody here.

I've never had an experience like this.

I also wanna thank Ireland.

I mean, my God, what an education.

Glen, God bless you with that beard.

And thank you to my hosts, Bono and the Edge.

Thank you for your hospitality.

God bless everybody in this room.

Thank you, sir.

- Whoo!

By the way, Dave, I love the new look.

Just saying.

Why do you think I bought this?

- I got this from you.

It looks obvious now, through the rearview mirror,

but the real miracle of U2 is

that everything we needed, all the people we needed,

they've always been right there.

Well, that's where we began this.

- That's so unbelievable. - Yeah.

♪ We came across This Forty Foot man ♪

♪ A colossus on our tiny island ♪

♪ We nearly lost him Up on Sandycove Strand ♪

♪ But he... ♪

♪ Being swept away was part of his plan ♪

♪ And the monster's not under the sea ♪

♪ Oh, the monster's sitting next to me ♪

♪ And he's not frightening ♪

♪ Hoo-hoo ♪

♪ He's not even biting ♪

♪ Hoo-hoo ♪

♪ His tongue is like lightning ♪

♪ Hoo-hoo-hoo ♪

♪ The Forty Foot man ♪

♪ It can take a stranger To see yourself ♪

♪ An outside eye can be of great help ♪

♪ He's only one But he'll pop it right out ♪

♪ He's a caring, sharing cyclops ♪

♪ Of this there's no doubt ♪

♪ He's not that frightening ♪

♪ Hoo-hoo ♪

♪ He's not even biting ♪

♪ Hoo-hoo ♪

♪ His tongue is fast as lightning ♪

♪ Hoo-hoo-hoo ♪

♪ The Forty Foot man ♪

♪ Oh, what a wonderful discovery ♪

♪ Oh, and I find We're laughing nervously ♪

♪ He's not that frightening ♪

♪ Hoo-hoo ♪

♪ He's not even biting ♪

♪ Hoo-hoo ♪

♪ A tongue like lightning ♪

♪ Hoo-hoo-hoo ♪

♪ The Forty Foot man ♪

♪ The Forty Foot man ♪