U2 - Pride (In the Name of Love) Lyrics & Meanings | SongMeanings (2024)

The song is about Christ and MLK.

Songs mean different things to different people.

I see Pride as being about the pain that two of the most important people ever to walk the earth had to endure in the name of love.

Christ died because he loved mankind so much he took the sins of the world on himself and died on the cross so that we would be saved.

He did it in the name of love. Love for man. Regardless of their faults.

The reference to the barbed wire fence is, in my mind, the way that he kept going forward trying to save us, although the pain of doing so meant his persecution and death. If you take it metaphorically. If you were literally caught in a barbed wire fence and tried to keep going you would be cut and hurt but when you made it out of the fence you would be free. He is caught on the fence.

One man he resist... is resiting the temptations of the devil when the devil tried to tempt him. It's in the bible.

The song is obviously about MLK too, who was killed because he tried to unite the world of black and white. Regardless of the faults of both black and white peoople.

He died because he gave his life to others, as Christ did and he was murdered for it. He was killed in the name of love.

Both Christ and MLK were defiant and proud to die for what they believed in. Which was the unity of the World.

What more in the name of love... is reference to how many more people like Christ and MLK, who try to free mankind must die...in the name of love.

Great song.

The whole Joshua tree album is about faith and there are many references to christ such as in ISHFWILF. Carried the cross...I believe in the Kingdom come...

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Here is which persons are meant:

One man caught on a barbed wire fence - Dietrich Bonhoeffer - as mentioned by Wardo and Stadt

One man he resist - Mahatma Ghandi

One man washed on an empty beach - Roger Casem*nt - an Irish revolutionary who was betrayed by the Germans shortly before the Irish Eastern Rising of 1916. He was left on a beach, too sick to travel and was caught by the English who executed him after a controversial trial.

One man betrayed with a kiss - Jesus betryed by Judas

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The greatest aspect of this song is its ambiguity. Sure, Martin Luther King and Jesus are both obvious references here, but I think the unclear lines are meant to refer to others who have died 'in the name of love'. I like the idea that 'One man washed on an empty beach' refers to a soldier at Normandy on D-Day, but that's not the only possible interpretation. In fact, most of this song's lines do not have a clear interpretation one way or another. I think it spoils the song to say that particular lines ONLY refer to specific characters throughout history.

Contrary to what I presume the popular opinion is, I do not believe the song's theme is that Martin Luther King and Jesus died because of their love for society. I think the title, 'Pride (In The Name Of Love)', refers to the 'love' that the assassins strongly felt for their beliefs. As Bono repeats the line 'One More In The Name Of Love' over and over, I can't help but think of all the great leaders who have died or all the wars that have been fought for mistaken ideologies. 'One more' refers to another great leader dying and 'In The Name Of Love' refers to the misguided reasons a person might have for wanting them dead. In many cases such as Mark David Chapman (John Lennon's assassin), the assassin does not even hate their target, they are merely in love with the act of taking another life. Bono laments such an immense loss for misguided love, but proclaims that even that cannot diminish the leader's pride or accomplishments.

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I know this song is about Jesus and King. I always wondered if it referred to others as well, but I get the impression it only covers these two wonderous people.

One man come, he to justify. - Jesus (Justification... Awesome!)One man to overthrow. - King

The next verse has always left me somewhat confused. Looks like it refers to differen people in each line.

One man caught on a barbed wire fence.One man he resistsOne man washed on an empty beach.One man betrayed with a kiss.

If we break it in two, though (similar to previous verse), it may apply to just Jesus and King.

King obviously resisted racism. But he was never literally "caught on a barbed wire fence." But a barbed wire fence divides two worlds. And it's a terrible divide, one you don't cross lightly or easily. But King didn't just cross it, he bridged it -- racism cuts both ways, and he knew it. So this image feels appropriate. In the name of love, he threw himself onto that fence, and endured everything pain and suffering to bridge the gap.

In terms of Christ, he was betrayed with a kiss. (I'm actually surprised people don't know this outright... it's a common colloquialism -- though we are entering a post-Christian era now, sadly.) But washed on an empty beach? Washed up, dead, on a beach? No. But he was "washed" by John the Baptist. Three gospels imply it's empty. The fourth says "When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too." Doesn't sound too empty to me... Hmmm...

Anyway, I am still am not sure about the barbed wire fence, or the empty beach. And those are really the only lines in question in my mind. But this is the beauty and artistry of Bono's lyrics -- he doesn't hand us stuff on a silver platter, instead he challenges our ideas, our visions and our thoughts.

-Pie

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the first verse is obviously about christ.one man come in the name of love-obviousone man come and go-obviousone man come, he to justify-christ justifying us to godone man to overthrow- christ to overthrow evil

the next is about those who betrayed christ or god.the barbed wire fence is a metaphor for the struggle over what to believe for judas...should i betray jesus?one man he resist, jonah rose upto flee ...from the face of the lord. and he was thrown to the sea... and then spat upon the dry earth (empty beach)so the first line refers to judas, the second and third to jonah and finally the fourth back to judas as he betrayed christ with a kiss.One man caught on a barbed wire fence-judas struggling over the decision to betray christOne man he resist-jonah resisting to word of the lordOne man washed on an empty beach-jonah spat from the fish onto the dry earthOne man betrayed with a kiss-judas betraying christ

i think that this all fits together because god and christ have had struggles with those who have not been ready to accept them, or feared them.MLK Jr. had the same struggles and i think that it symbolizes the similarities, and rises MLK to st. status, as Bono has ended the song with before.

so if you look at it this wayfirst verse about christsecond about those who resist or challengethird about the death of MLKi think that it makes a lot of sense...even if my explanation is somewhat cluttered and not referenced

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" The "one man he resist" very well could be pointing to the lone man who stood before that huge column of tanks in Tiananmen Square "

Except the song was released in 1984 and the Tiananmen Square protests were in 1989.

Bono has spoken about the inspirations for the lyrics in a couple of interviews. The "Early morning, April 4th .............. " lines are about MLK Jr. The "One man betrayed with a kiss" line is about Jesus.

He has mentioned who the "One man caught on a barbed wire fence", "One man he resist" and "One man washed on an empty beach" lines were about but I can't remember. They were different people though.

One man caught on a barbed wire fenceOne man he resistOne man washed on an empty beach

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the first verse discusses in general how people do many things in the name of love, some good and selfless, some selfish and evil.

Second verse:

One man caught on a barbed wire fence - the soldiers of WWIOne man he resist - the pacifists who opposed the warOne man washed on an empty beach - I think this is Roger Casem*nt, who was captured on Banna Strand, arrested and executed for his part in the Easter RisingOne man betrayed with a kiss - Jesus, of course

Obviously, the last verse is about MLK.

'Pride (In The Name Of Love)', refers to the 'love' that the killers strongly felt for their beliefs. 'One more' refers to another great leader dying and 'In The Name Of Love' refers to the foolish reasons a person might have for wanting them dead.

I'm not sure, but I think it talks about John Lennon and Ghandi too.

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I think the song is a meditation on violence and nonviolence in the context of confronting injustice. It clearly acknowledges that sometimes they end up overlapping: just because your approach is nonviolent, that doesn't mean that the folks on the side of injustice (not that they see themselves that way) will necessarily respond with nonviolence. (This is something I have noticed a lot about people who are opposed to civil rights/liberties: they're so angry, it hardly seems surprising that they often end up becoming violent. And while I wasn't around then, I have no doubt that they were angry in the 1960s too.)

Like so many phrases and quotes from the Bible, the idea of betraying someone with a kiss can be used metaphorically. I think it probably does refer to Jesus here, but it's possible that it's a reference to someone else who was "betrayed with a kiss," in the sense that their betrayer was still pretending to be their friend even after having betrayed them. (There doesn't have to have been any actual guy-on-guy kissing going on or anything.)

I admit that this happened well before my time, but IIRC, King was murdered in the evening, not the morning. So (although I guess I have to include a disclaimer that I agree with everyone that the reference to MLK is obvious) technically it isn't the exact time and date of his death. Somehow, even though of course I had been familiar with the song forever (more or less), I had never noticed this discrepancy until recently when we sang it in my church choir. (the choral arrangement is pretty good, although there are some things I would have done differently.) I'm guessing it was just a mistake, although I have no doubt that some clever person on this forum will come up with an interpretation of its hidden meaning.

Any thoughts as to what the lyric "One man come and go" means? My impression is that it's supposed to be a foil to the previous line, like maybe on the one hand, you have someone who is willing to take a stand "in the name of love," and on the other, someone who doesn't really care (at least, not enough to actually do anything or take any risks).

Do you think that "one man come, he to justify" is meant in a positive way, or do you think it means justifying as in rationalising or making excuses? I noticed a couple of elements of this song that are ambiguous that way, in that they could mean something cool or something not-so-cool. "Pride" is another example: it can mean arrogance, but it can also mean self-respect or dignity. I wonder if the ambiguous word choice was perhaps intentional. (Perhaps I am over-analysing...but then, isn't that what this forum exists for?)

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