U2’s song “One” is one of my all time favorite songs. I’ve been listening to it again…this time the Johnny Cash version of it, which is just as good as the original if not better.
“One” could be interpreted many different ways. Many probably think it is about 2 lovers breaking up. My interpretation is probably not unique. I think it is about how we get along as a society. Maybe even as a church.
The religious references in the song come to mind. “Playing Jesus to heal the lepers in your head?” “One life with each other: Sisters, Brothers.”
One is nothing new to those who are reading it from a Biblical perspective.

“There is one body and one Spirit–just as you were called to one hope when you were called– one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”
Ephesians 4:4-6

The lyric about “One love” seems to echo the Ephesians verses. “One love” could be the One God. One Lord. One Faith. One Hope.
The part that really hits home is the part which says “Love is a temple. Love the Higher Law. You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl.”
I’ve had this happen many times to me. Having people tell me to love God, but then making me crawl to get to it. No one ever said Christianity was going to be easy. But somehow it seems to difficult to come to grips with. Loving God should be easy. It’s like those people who tell you that once you become a Christian you HAVE to do X number of things in order to be a good Christian.
The song is also about hurt: “Well we hurt each other then we do it again.” “And I can’t be holding on to what you got when all you got is hurt.”
It is amazing how we as a society seem to hurt the ones we love the most. Domestic abuse. Church splits.
Maybe its because we expect so much out of the ones we love. Then when they don’t meet our expectations we hurt them. Or maybe its because the ones we love are always at arms length to us. Those who we don’t love or don’t know, are never subjected to our hurt, because they don’t care about us and we don’t care about them.
Think about it. We could yell at Saddam Hussien all day, and he wouldn’t care. Yell at your mom and she would care. She would be hurt by your words. Which is why we hear so much about estranged family members. Inheritance disputes. It’s a sad situation in today’s society.
The part about “carrying each other” reminds me of that footprints in the sand poem that you tend to see hanging of the walls of religious households. Jesus carrying us during troubled times. Maybe Bono is saying we have to carry each other when we hurt each other.
“It’s too late tonight to drag the past out into the light.” Does “too late tonight” mean a time of day or the theoretic evening of a lifespan? A lifetime of hurt being brought forth during the twilight of life? Obviously the narrator doesn’t want to hear about it. Something being too late is being past due. It’s almost as if it doesn’t matter anymore. The narrator seems to want to get the words out that hurt was brought forth by the one he loves, but that its too late to really worry about it now.
The lyrics:
One
Is it getting better
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you now
You got someone to blame
You say…
One love
One life
When 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
Or 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 past 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 head
Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it’s all I got
We’re one
But we’re not the same
Well we
Hurt each other
Then we do it again
You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you make me crawl
And I can’t be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt
One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers
One life
But we’re not the same
We get to
Carry each other
Carry each other
One…life
One