Never thought my little Monday’s special would be so quickly aptly named. But it is indeed a very special one.
U2 closed their 40 date residency at the Sphere this weekend – and if you want to hear more about that mad ride, it’s this way – and gifted us with the song we’ve all been hoping for. A song we hadn’t heard live since 2015, when it was played under very different circumstances – for those who were there, and I was, you probably can still feel the sting of that ache in our fans’ hearts seeing Dennis Sheehan up on that screen.
This song will always be his legacy to this band in a sense and we’ll never forget it, or him for that matter.
A different vibe this time obviously, hopefully, who knows with this band – but after 40 days in the desert it would have been one hell of a missed opportunity to not wrap it up with, well, ‘40’.
One last time with feeling – all the feelings to be fair.
If there’s truly a U2 song that lets God walk into the room I vote for this one. More of a chant than a song – an intent by the band but carried by the rest of us. The singalong of a congregation of believers turning those lyrics into a prayer every time : How long to sing this song?
That’s what our hearts keep asking relentlessly.
And maybe that’s why it always feels so bittersweet to me. It sounds undoubtedly like goodbyes, but also, oh so much so, like a fierce hope of meeting again. And with the years passing by it becomes fiercer than ever. Because we’re never sure when will be that last time.
So how long ?
Simple answer – as long as we’re willing to sing it together I’d say. Preferably with these guys around.
One last time until the next time.
See you around U2.
