The Meaning Behind “Elevation” by U2 and How Bono’s Sex Song Was Written so Quickly

U2 is digging through their vaults to release deep-dive cuts and B-sides previously unavailable in the streaming era.

The Irish rock legends have called this series U2 To Love and Only Love – Deep Dives and B-Sides. On August 9, the Tomb Raider Mix of “Elevation” arrived in a 10-song set featuring even more versions of the hit single.

Lead singer Bono is a man with a zoomed-out view, a wide-lens look, peering through pitch-dark Fly shades. So what’s he going on about during “Elevation”?

The Goal Is Soul

“Elevation,” like many U2 songs, is an earthy and spiritual future-curious alt-rock song. In U2 by U2, Bono writes, “It is fun and frolics but the goal is soul.”

High, higher than the sun

You shoot me from a gun

I need you to elevate me here,

At the corner of your lips

As the orbit of your hips

Eclipse, you elevate my soul

“It is about sexuality and transcendence, a playful piece about wanting to get off, or, in this case, to literally get off the ground. I can’t actually remember writing it. It was all over in minutes, which is probably not the greatest admission to make in a song about sex,” Bono explained.

A star lit up like a cigar

Strung out like a guitar

Maybe you could educate my mind

Explain all these controls

I can’t sing but I’ve got soul

The goal is elevation

Lara Croft

The alternate mix appeared on the soundtrack of the 2001 action film Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. However, the band released the album version of “Elevation” as the third single from All that You Can’t Leave Behind (2000).

Joseph Kahn directed the music video, which is a short film featuring the Lara Croft character, portrayed by Angelina Jolie. In the expensive clip, Bono and Croft must rescue The Edge from an “evil” Bono.

Back to Basics

U2’s 10th studio album was a return to their familiar sound. They reunited with producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno after experimenting with electronic dance music during the previous decade.

Lanois and Eno helped U2 refocus their sound by using traditional song arrangements and utilizing the core instruments within the band: guitar, bass, drums, and vocals. Still, “Elevation” features an otherworldly guitar sound from The Edge, which inspired the song.

The Edge’s Guitar Pedal Kindles the Song

The Edge used an old, quirky Kay F1 Fuzz Tone guitar pedal to create the iconic riff for “Elevation.” Dallas Schoo, the guitarist’s longtime tech, explained The Edge later took the working components from the vintage pedal, and housed them inside a common wah-wah pedal which he uses on tour.

His now-famous sprawling guitar rig is a thing of fascination for U2 fans, especially the guitar-obsessed. The NASA-like rig features nearly every pedal The Edge has used across U2’s recording career.

Lanois had arrived at the studio with the orange fuzz pedal, sparking The Edge’s curiosity. Within minutes, the riff was born and Bono began improvising vocal melodies. The guitarist said the song offers light subject matter compared to album tracks like “Walk On” or “Kite.”

Excavating U2

U2 didn’t completely abandon dance music. “Elevation” sounds like gritty techno, played by the world’s best garage band. Lanois and The Edge are famous for being sonic masters, and Eno’s experimentalism adds dimension to Bono’s instinct for stadium anthems.

With the dense layers of the Pop album removed, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. and bassist Adam Clayton are heard driving a rock band at the height of its powers.

For U2, All that You Can’t Leave Behind is their version of The Beatles’ Get Back sessions. But “Elevation” still has the sound of a band of seekers moving forward.

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