If God Will Send His Angels
Encyclopedia
"If God Will Send His Angels" is the fifth single from U2
's 1997 album, Pop, released on 8 December 1997. It was also featured on the City of Angels
soundtrack.
, and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by The Edge
.
song written by Bono
for Willie Nelson
in 1989. Its first release was on a 1993 single, "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
", and performed solely by Bono and The Edge
. In 1997, U2 had the opportunity to record it with Nelson. This version features the entire band, in addition to vocals by Nelson and harmonica
by Mickey Raphael
. Bono and Brian Eno
provide backing vocals.
in 1992. It is a jazzy lounge song written in the style of Sinatra's music. This performance was recorded live by Bono and the Edge in a London
studio for Sinatra's 80th birthday. It was played for Sinatra in the United States at a televised birthday tribute on 19 November 1995 and was likely recorded a few days earlier. It has a string arrangement by Craig Armstrong.
Although Frank Sinatra never got a chance to record it himself, his daughter, Nancy Sinatra
, cut a version for her 2004 album Nancy Sinatra
. U2's Adam Clayton
and Larry Mullen, Jr. play bass and drums respectively for the track (interestingly, they did not appear on the original recording). Sinatra changes the pronouns in the lyrics from a first-person perspective to a third-person, presumably to refer to her father.
show at Sarajevo
, Bosnia-Herzegovina on 23 September 1997. Because Bono lost his voice early in the show, guitarist the Edge sang the song, accompanied only by his guitar. It is a quiet, pensive performance of the song, a stark contrast from the fiery original on War.
This was the first time the song was performed this way, replacing Edge's nightly karaoke
song in the set (with the exception of the immediately subsequent shows in Thessaloniki
, Greece
and Tel Aviv
, Israel
, this setlist change would continue until the end of the PopMart tour).
directed by Phil Joanou
. The video takes place in a restaurant. The screen is split horizontally, showing Bono in the top half and the person sitting across from him in the bottom half. The lighting brightly lights up each person's face (in contrast to the dim backgrounds). As Bono sings the song, numerous different people sit down at his table, talk for a while, and leave (including the three other members of the band at one point).
The video was filmed at a slower speed and sped up; thus, Bono had to learn how to sing the song slowly in order to properly synchronize with the song. The other people in the video spoke and moved at regular speed, so they appear sped up in the video.
The video appears on the DVD
for The Best of 1990-2000
, along with director's commentary.
An alternate cut of the video, in which scenes from the movie City of Angels are interspliced, was also released.
at 23 of the 35 shows on the tour's first leg. It debuted at the tour's first show, on 25 April 1997 in Las Vegas
, and segued out of "Until the End of the World
". This was the only time the full band played the song. All 22 subsequent performances were played just by Bono and The Edge, though the segue out of "Until the End of the World" was retained. Its last performance was on 27 June 1997 in Chicago and it was replaced by "New Year's Day
" the next night.
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
's 1997 album, Pop, released on 8 December 1997. It was also featured on the City of Angels
City of Angels: Music from the Motion Picture
City of Angels: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack album for the film City of Angels, released by Warner Bros. Records on March 31, 1998 .-Release history:...
soundtrack.
Track listings
All tracks performed by U2, except "Slow Dancing" by U2 featuring Willie NelsonWillie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" by The Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
.
"Slow Dancing"
"Slow Dancing" is a countryCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
song written by Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
for Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
in 1989. Its first release was on a 1993 single, "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
"Stay " is a song by the rock band U2. It is the fifth track on their 1993 album, Zooropa and was released as the album's third single on 22 November 1993. The song was a top ten hit in the Ireland, Australia, the United Kingdom, and several other countries. The music video was shot in Berlin,...
", and performed solely by Bono and The Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
. In 1997, U2 had the opportunity to record it with Nelson. This version features the entire band, in addition to vocals by Nelson and harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
by Mickey Raphael
Mickey Raphael
Michael Siegfried "Mickey" Raphael is a professional harmonica player, best known for his work with Willie Nelson. He has recorded with Vince Gill, Emmylou Harris, Elton John, Mötley Crüe, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Wynton Marsalis, Kenny Chesney, U2 and Neil Young.Raphael's style is mostly second...
. Bono and Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
provide backing vocals.
"Two Shots of Happy, One Shot of Sad"
This song was written by Bono for Frank SinatraFrank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
in 1992. It is a jazzy lounge song written in the style of Sinatra's music. This performance was recorded live by Bono and the Edge in a London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
studio for Sinatra's 80th birthday. It was played for Sinatra in the United States at a televised birthday tribute on 19 November 1995 and was likely recorded a few days earlier. It has a string arrangement by Craig Armstrong.
Although Frank Sinatra never got a chance to record it himself, his daughter, Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer and actress. She is the daughter of singer/actor Frank Sinatra, and remains best known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"....
, cut a version for her 2004 album Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sinatra (album)
Nancy Sinatra is an album by Nancy Sinatra. It was released in 2004 on Attack Records.-Track listing:#"Burnin' Down the Spark" - 4:25#"Ain't No Easy Way" - 3:23#"Don't Let Him Waste Your Time" - 3:51...
. U2's Adam Clayton
Adam Clayton
Adam Charles Clayton is a musician, best known as the bassist of the Irish rock band U2. Clayton has resided in County Dublin since the time his family moved to Malahide when he was five years old in 1965...
and Larry Mullen, Jr. play bass and drums respectively for the track (interestingly, they did not appear on the original recording). Sinatra changes the pronouns in the lyrics from a first-person perspective to a third-person, presumably to refer to her father.
"Sunday Bloody Sunday (Live from Sarajevo)"
The performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was recorded live at the band's PopMartPopmart Tour
The PopMart Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 1997 album, Pop, the tour's concerts were performed in stadiums and parks from 1997 through 1998...
show at Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, Bosnia-Herzegovina on 23 September 1997. Because Bono lost his voice early in the show, guitarist the Edge sang the song, accompanied only by his guitar. It is a quiet, pensive performance of the song, a stark contrast from the fiery original on War.
This was the first time the song was performed this way, replacing Edge's nightly karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
song in the set (with the exception of the immediately subsequent shows in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
and Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, this setlist change would continue until the end of the PopMart tour).
Alternative versions
There are three versions of this song:- The album version, which appears on Pop. This is the original and the longest version of the song.
- The single version, which appears on the single, the City of Angels soundtrack, and the music video. Its chorusesRefrainA refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
are arranged in the opposite order (moving the climax nearer to the end of the song), and it has a different ending (with actual lyrics replacing the scat singingScat singingIn vocal jazz, scat singing is vocal improvisation with wordless vocables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. Scat singing gives singers the ability to sing improvised melodies and rhythms, to create the equivalent of an instrumental solo using their voice.- Structure and syllable choice...
of the original), shortening the track by about a minute. - The Big Yam Mix (also known as the Grand Jury Mix), a remix of the song that appears on the "MOFO" single as well as the B-sides disc of The Best of 1990-2000The Best of 1990-2000The Best of 1990–2000 is the second greatest hits compilation album by Irish rock band U2. The album was released on 5 November 2002 by Island Records, except in the United States where the album was released on the Interscope label as a single-disc CD compilation...
.
Video
The song was promoted with a music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
directed by Phil Joanou
Phil Joanou
Phil Joanou is an American film director. He is also well known for his work with Irish rock band U2, having directed their rockumentary/live tape Rattle and Hum, one of three videos filmed for "One", and the video for "All Because of You"...
. The video takes place in a restaurant. The screen is split horizontally, showing Bono in the top half and the person sitting across from him in the bottom half. The lighting brightly lights up each person's face (in contrast to the dim backgrounds). As Bono sings the song, numerous different people sit down at his table, talk for a while, and leave (including the three other members of the band at one point).
The video was filmed at a slower speed and sped up; thus, Bono had to learn how to sing the song slowly in order to properly synchronize with the song. The other people in the video spoke and moved at regular speed, so they appear sped up in the video.
The video appears on the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
for The Best of 1990-2000
The Best of 1990-2000
The Best of 1990–2000 is the second greatest hits compilation album by Irish rock band U2. The album was released on 5 November 2002 by Island Records, except in the United States where the album was released on the Interscope label as a single-disc CD compilation...
, along with director's commentary.
An alternate cut of the video, in which scenes from the movie City of Angels are interspliced, was also released.
Live performances
"If God Will Send His Angels" was performed solely on the PopMart TourPopmart Tour
The PopMart Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 1997 album, Pop, the tour's concerts were performed in stadiums and parks from 1997 through 1998...
at 23 of the 35 shows on the tour's first leg. It debuted at the tour's first show, on 25 April 1997 in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
, and segued out of "Until the End of the World
Until the End of the World (song)
"Until the End of the World" is a song by rock band U2 and the fourth track from their 1991 album Achtung Baby. The song began as a guitar riff composed by lead vocalist Bono from a demo, which the band revisited with success after talking with German filmmaker Wim Wenders about providing music...
". This was the only time the full band played the song. All 22 subsequent performances were played just by Bono and The Edge, though the segue out of "Until the End of the World" was retained. Its last performance was on 27 June 1997 in Chicago and it was replaced by "New Year's Day
New Year's Day (song)
"New Year's Day" is a song by rock band U2. It is on their 1983 album War and it was released as the album's lead single in January 1983. Written about the Polish Solidarity movement, "New Year's Day" is driven by Adam Clayton's distinctive bassline and The Edge's keyboard playing...
" the next night.
Charts
| Chart (1997) | Peak |
|---|---|
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured... |
11 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
14 |
See also
- List of covers of U2 songs - If God Will Send His Angels