"Vertigo" by U2

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Island Records
2004

This song juxtaposes the story of Jesus’ temptation by Satan with a situation in which the narrator faced significant temptation. The word “vertigo” is a description for temptation of all kinds. Being tempted feels like standing on a high building looking at the dizzying drop, much like Jesus atop the temple during his temptation experience.

Unos, dos, tres, catorce!

Lights go down, it’s dark

The jungle is your head

Can’t rule your heart

A feeling is so much stronger

Than a thought

Your eyes are wide

And though your soul

It can’t be bought

Your mind can wander

Hello, hello

I’m at a place called Vertigo

It’s everything I wish I didn’t know

Except you give me something I can feel

The night is full of holes

As bullets rip the sky of ink with gold

They twinkle as the boys play rock and roll

They know they can’t dance at least they know

I can’t stand the beats I’m asking for the cheque

The girl with crimson nails

Has Jesus round her neck swinging to the music

Hello, hello

I’m at a place called Vertigo

It’s everything I wish I didn’t know

Except you give me something I can feel

Check mated, hours of fun

All of this, all of this can be yours

Just give me what I want

And no one gets hurt

Hello, hello

We’re at a place called Vertigo

Lights go down and all I know

Is that you give me something

I can feel your love teaching me how

Your love is teaching me how, how to kneel

Interpretation

Unos, dos, tres, catorce!

Nothing is inconsequential in U2 songs. This line sets the stage for the episode of temptation by showing an escalation “1,2,3 … 14”.

Lights go down, it’s dark

The jungle is your head

Can’t rule your heart

A feeling is so much stronger

Than a thought

Your eyes are wide

And though your soul

It can’t be bought

Your mind can wander

The narrator describes a situation in which we are confronted by temptation represented by the “lights” going down. This implies the lowering of our defenses as the “jungle”—our animal desires—invades our minds (our “head”). However, these desires don’t have to rule us because our “heart” is stronger; we can resist. Our biology is not stronger than our spirit. Though we have the power to overcome temptation, we justify one more look, or a little taste, and believe that we are not compromised because of it.

Hello, hello

I’m at a place called Vertigo

It’s everything I wish I didn’t know

Except you give me something I can feel

The narrator rejects this compromise by comparing Jesus’ temptation experience with ours. Satan offers Jesus power, glory, and nourishment but rather than consider Satan’s offer, Jesus calls out to God for help. The “hello, hello” is Jesus getting God’s attention during his moment of temptation (“vertigo”). Jesus wishes he had not been confronted by that temptation but he believes God can help him overcome it. God replaces those enticing images with something tangible. Not to be confused with a happy feeling, the “something I can feel” is the Holy Spirit. With God’s presence working in us we can “feel” or touch the power that enables us to overcome temptation.

The night is full of holes

As bullets rip the sky of ink with gold

They twinkle as the boys play rock and roll

They know they can’t dance at least they know

I can’t stand the beats I’m asking for the cheque

The girl with crimson nails

Has Jesus round her neck swinging to the music

This is the narrator’s personal temptation experience in a nightclub where he is seeing a band as a reviewer or prospective agent. Despite the elaborate visual presentation complete with dancers/strippers, the performance is underwhelming and “full of holes”. The band lacks ability (“they know they can’t dance”) and resort to visual stimulation to distract the audience. The narrator doesn’t enjoy the music—he “can’t stand the beats” and wants to leave. He feels guilty because of the strippers. The “girl with crimson nails” describes the narrator’s sexual temptation radiating from the dancer/stripper (who is wearing a cross necklace and maybe nothing else). There is a degree of hypnosis occurring as the woman sways to the music.

Hello, hello

I’m at a place called Vertigo

It’s everything I wish I didn’t know

Except you give me something I can feel

The narrator finds himself at a moment of vertigo as temptation confronts him. Just like Jesus, he calls out to God for help, for something to replace the temptation.

Check mated, hours of fun

Here, the narrator in some way surrenders to temptation. It could be that he stops fighting his instinct to resist temptation and engages in sexual fantasy and/or improper physical actions.

All of this, all of this can be yours

Just give me what I want

And no one gets hurt

This is Satan speaking to Jesus during his temptation, to the narrator in the nightclub, and to all of us in times of our own temptation. In Jesus’ case, Satan promises him earthly power (“all of this can be yours”) and an escape from his execution (“no one gets hurt”) if Jesus gives in to temptation (“give me what I want”) and worships him. In our case, we are tempted to worship the wrong things like our animal lusts, material goods, fame, beauty, and power.

Hello, hello

We’re at a place called Vertigo

Lights go down and all I know

Is that you give me something

I can feel your love teaching me how

Your love is teaching me how, how to kneel

This is a united cry to God for help. We all face temptation. However, God’s love teaches us how to handle it. The prescription is “to kneel”. Like many other U2 songs, this final line has a veiled sexual reference. The sexual temptation described already makes “your love is teaching me how to kneel” carry the connotation of oral sex. This is intentional and stands in contrast to the intended meaning of supplication to God as a means of escaping temptation.