"New Year's Day" – the famous U2 song that changed it all
U2’s song "New Year’s Day," an instant pop hit of its time, has become a rock classic to be rolled out at the end of the year simply because of its festive name. But the true meaning behind the song remains elusive to many.
The 1983 song was released as the lead single from the album "War." It was U2’s first international hit and altered their career trajectory forever. "New Year's Day" stormed the United Kingdom charts, hitting number 10, and was the band's first song to be featured on the United States Billboard Hot 100. Rolling Stone magazine also featured it among its "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
Although it is one of U2's most well-known tunes, many fans don’t realize that the song's lyrics are actually about the Polish Solidarity movement.
And you could be forgiven, given that it is called "New Year’s Day" and it was released in January 1983.
Here’s the song in question, as seen in a studio-recorded promo video - enjoy the haircuts!
What U2's "New Year's Day" really means
The lyrics, in fact, refer to the persecuted leader of the Polish Solidarity movement, Lech Walesa. Coincidentally, after the song was released Poland's Communist government announced that they would abolish martial law.
In 1980 the Solidarity movement in Poland, under the leadership of future Nobel Peace Prize winner and president Lech Walesa, challenged the oppressive rule of the Polish government. In December 1981, the Solidarity movement was outlawed and Walesa, together with the other leaders of the movement, was arrested and put in jail.
It is believed that "New Year’s Day" initially started out as a love song, dedicated to Bono’s high-school sweetheart, Ali, whom he had recently married, but this changed.
Bono told the Rolling Stone in 2012 that he made the lyrics up on the spot, as he often does. He said, "We improvise, and the things that came out; I let them come out."
"I must have been thinking about Lech Walesa being interned. Then, when we'd recorded the song, they announced that martial law would be lifted in Poland on New Year's Day. Incredible."
U2's "New Year's Day" lyrics
Here’s the beginning of the song:
"All is quiet on New Year's Day
A world in white gets underway
I want to be with you
Be with you night and day
Nothing changes on New Year's Day
On New Year's Day.
I will be with you again
I will be with you again."
As the song continues, it further documents the growing movement of people clamoring for freedom and justice throughout Eastern Europe in the early 1980s.
"Under a blood red sky
A crowd has gathered in black and white
Arms entwined, the chosen few
The newspapers say it's true
It's true
And we can break through
Though torn in two
We can be one."
The themes of understanding in a time of global unrest were a focal point for the album "War," the title of which was inspired by the various conflicts around the world at the time. "War" raced up the charts and became a huge commercial success, in the process knocking Michael Jackson's "Thriller" from the top of the charts. It became U2's first number-one album in the UK.
So, next time you hear "New Year’s Day" being played in a bar around the end of the year, you’ll know the real story behind the song.
*Originally published in January 2015, last updated in December 2022.
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