The Thinklings

"The first and most important thing to say about John Dominic Crossan's work is that it is bad history."

- D.A. Carson

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Posted by Bird @ 10:21 am CST
Filed under: Music

My mother-in-law gave me a cool book for Christmas: U2: The Ultimate Encyclopedia by Mark Chatterton.

I just read Chatterton's entry on "The Wanderer" which is, I think, one of the most interesting tracks in the U2 catalog. The track appears at the end of 1993's Zooropa album and the vocals are sung by the legendary Johnny Cash and not Bono.

Here's what Chatterton said:

The actual track (along with "The First Time") was written for a Johnny Cash album, but was put on the end of Zooropa as a devious conclusion. The lyrics could have come straight from a sci-fi movie, and, as with a lot of U2 songs, a Biblical influence is evident. For instance, the singer was carrying a bible and a gun. Somehow the track would not have worked with Bono singing the vocals. Not surprisingly it has never been performed live.

I remember reading somewhere, maybe it was in Bill Flanagan's U2: At the End of the World, where it said that Bono preferred not to sing "The Wanderer" because it would have been something like a personal confession for him. I don't think Bono actually said that, but rather that was a bit of conjecturing on Flanagan's part.

Interestingly enough in 2005 U2 finally performed the song live as part of a tribute to Johnny Cash. Some of the lyrics were changed, for example the "bible and a gun" reference was changed to "the bible and the son." To my knowledge, it was the first time anyone had heard Bono actually sing the song.

Enjoy.

Here's the original version, as performed by Cash on Zooropa:

I can't decide what version I like better. I like Johnny's vocals as a nice contrast to the end of Zooropa. I also like Bono's humming at the end of the track, a sort of signature Bono hum that stamps the track with a U2 insignia. Either way, both versions are great.

5 comments

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Comments on "The Wanderer":

1. Brian in Fresno - 12/27/2007 12:16 pm CST

Great videos, Bird! Thanks. I haven't really thought it through but I think I like the Cash version best. There is just something about his voice. How worn and weary it sounds maybe. It makes his songs so much richer. He had a unique way of making others songs his own.

2. nhe - 12/28/2007 10:12 am CST

Love it - especially if you couple it with "Still haven't found what I'm looking for".........I'm assuming Bono wrote "Wanderer"?.........it's as if all the wandering is just "hoping I'd see you".....but he still hasn't completely found it.......also "they were wanting the kingdom without God in it" is a chilling and prophetic lyric..........

3. Bird - 12/28/2007 3:40 pm CST

Yes, nhe, Bono wrote the song. Although the line about the kingdom w/out God wasn't referring to the person singing the song (Cash/Bono), but about the "they" that they are singing about in the song.

I went drifting
Through the capitals of tin
Where men can't walk
Or freely talk
And sons turn their fathers in
I stopped outside a church house
Where the citizens like to sit
They say they want the kingdom
But they don't want God in it

4. nhe - 12/29/2007 8:05 am CST

Oh.......I know......Bono has more perspective on grace and Kingdom than just about any musician out there - secular or non........

5. Mark - 12/30/2007 7:43 pm CST

I still remember the scene in the movie about Johnny where he goes into a studio and sings a milquetoast religious song and the producer says that songs like that just don't sell. So Johnny started singing Folsom Prison Blues where he sings about a guy who went to prison for shooting a man just to watch him die. Now that got some attention in the music business.

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